[Aquanet] Golden Open Acrylics] - Try Atelier Interactive Acrylics

[Donna Barnes-Roberts]

I have also had not been posting here much lately, but I have some 
interesting recent experience with acrylics, because I had a project 
that required acrylic paint.

I was asked to participate in the "Roses on Parade" project sponsored by 
the Tournament of Roses in Pasadena.  These are the same guys who put on 
the parade.  This was a fundraising project in the model of the "Cows on 
Parade" project in Chicago, "Angels on Parade" in Los Angeles, and other 
similar projects that have happened all over the place. 

In this particular project, they produced a fiberglass statue that 
stands over 6 feet tall (including base) of a single rose in a vase.  
They then found 24 artists and schools to design and paint on these 
statues.  These "Roses" were then placed around town in various displays 
- some outside and some inside.  Since these were to be placed outdoors 
for at least some of their life, acrylics seemed to the be best choice 
of mediums - certainly not watercolors. 

Now, I mostly paint in watercolors and do some oils, but it had been a 
long time since I had used acrylics.  I wanted to do a whole bunch of 
roses (kind of like the image that is on the first part of my website).  
However, I discovered that there were some real serious problems with 
acrylics - especially since I was painting on my front porch in weather 
that was dry and usually had a high of 90 degrees and occasionally 
more.  If you put a brushfull of paint down, it dried almost 
immediately, and you could NOT rework the paint or blend, which is SO 
important to getting the look I was after. 

I looked at the Golden Open acrylics, but then I read that they could 
take 2 weeks to dry reliably and I didn't have 2 weeks.  I was at my 
wits' and looking at a looming deadline when I went to the "Learning and 
Product Expo" in Pasadena in late October.  This is a yearly art 
material trade show where many manufacturers and distributers come out 
and show what they have. 

It was there I discovered Atelier Interactive Acrylics - made by 
Chroma.  This company is based in Australia and have only had this 
particular line of paint for a couple of years.  The magic is that it 
has extended workability, plus you can CONTROL the workability.  When 
you first put the paint down it acts pretty much like normal acrylics 
except it will stay wet a bit longer because it doesn't dry just on top 
and make a film.  This film is one of the reasons why acrylics can't be 
worked for long - it is hard to manipulate paint that has a hard film on 
top.  These Interactive Acrylics dry all the way through, so you can 
smoosh stuff around for a longer time. 

The second magic of this paint is that after it seems dry, it can be 
unlocked by spraying it with water.  This can happen for as long as a 
day after the paint appears dry.  Then you can just smoosh everything 
around again.

The third magic of this paint is that after it has dried and it cannot 
be unlocked by water any more, they have an "unlocking spray" that can 
STILL unlock it for as long as 10 days after you put the paint down. 

This greatly extends the workability of the paint and makes acrylics 
usable.  Oh, and if you want to lock down a layer so you can glaze over 
it without having the lower layer mix into the glaze, they have a "fast" 
medium that you can paint over a layer and it locks the layer down so 
you cannot manipulate the paint any more.  They you can paint over what 
you already did. 

If you want to see how the rose worked out, you can see a couple of 
pictures of my rose at my blog, http://barnesroberts.blogspot.com/.

Anyways, so far it has worked out great.  From now on, this is the only 
acrylic I will use - though I don't expect to be doing tons of acrylics 
in the future. 

--

Hey Pat,
It's been a long time since I've written anything on Aquanet, mainly because 
I haven't been painting at all.  But your note has caused me to actually 
respond for a change.  I had to agree with you wholeheartedly.  I've tried 
acrylics -- even had a success with it en plein air while out in California. 
But I kept thinking all through the painting - why doesn't this stuff move a 
bit more and why can't I blend it better.  I've had the same results with 
oils as well.  I guess because I started out in watercolor, I just expect 
the other mediums to do what I expect from watercolor.  So although I've 
ventured away from watercolors over the past few years, with minor 
successes, my heart is still with watercolor.  This week, I'm going to 
venture out to a weekly class just to see if I can jumpstart my enthusiasm 
for this wonderful medium.
Regards to those I've actually met on this site,
Louise Franco

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "pat davis" <peedee at nucleus.com>
To: "aquanet" <aquanet at thedigitalbraintrust.net>
Sent: Tuesday, November 18, 2008 9:11 AM
Subject: [BGSpam][Aquanet] Golden Open Acrylics


> Hi, gang.
>
> A while ago I asked a question about this new product, and several of
> you were kind enough to respond, asking only that I give my impressions
> when I did give them a go. All I can say is that for me, the learning
> curve is so steep, it's like a cliff... and I tumbled off it.
>
> I have certainly gained a new respect for those who paint in acrylics-
> or gouache for that matter. I used to think, "Gee, it must be nice just
> to be able to paint over mistakes or to paint light over dark." I have
> discovered that while it might be "nice' there is a whole skill set
> involved- and I am a long, long way from mastering it.
>
> A photo of my efforts? No way! My life already features quite enough
> humiliation.
>
> sigh
> pat
>
> Aquanet mailing list
> Aquanet at thedigitalbraintrust.net
> http://lists.thedigitalbraintrust.net/mailman/listinfo/aquanet
>
> Check out the Aquanet web site:
> http://www.aquanetart.com
> 

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-- 
"Art is about PASSION.  And passion is beyond reason."  -- Donna Barnes-Roberts

And if you would like to learn how to control (sometimes) watercolor yourself, I teach classes in Altadena.   Contact me to learn how! I can add you to my e-mail list, and when I have space available in new classes, I can let you know.  


Go to my web site:  www.barnesroberts.com for information about art and art clubs in the Pasadena, CA area.  Plus a little arty humor, and of course information about that wonderful, nationally known watercolor artist, Donna Barnes-Roberts (me, okay). Click on my blog to see newer paintings! 

I have paintings at Tirage Fine Art in Pasadena (www.tirageart.com).