[Aquanet] a question that verges on heretical

[Barry Lindley]

Golden fluid acrylics (I don't know about DaVinci - they may be quite
different) have a very high pigment load. They are not just tube acrylics
thinned with medium, but can be thinned a lot. So, if you want them to go
further and don't need great tinting strength, you can extend them with
acrylic medium or glazing fluid - the two differ some in terms of drying,
etc.  If you simply dilute tube acrylics with medium, you are also diluting
the pigment substantially, and it just isn't the same. You may find that you
aren't saving money for the same quality of paint.  

 

There are two approaches I can think of for the drying problems with tube
acrylics:

 

1.	If you really want to use the acrylics more like watercolor, use a
porcelain butcher's tray or something similar, fold up a high quality (Viva,
e.g.) non-linting paper towel, soak it with water, and lay it across one end
of the palette.  Squeeze your paint into piles on this, mist from time to
time, and you can just pull whatever you need out into the mixing space and
dilute with water for painting.  They will behave similarly to regular
watercolor, but when dry will not lift easily.  This is Charles Harrington's
approach (I don't know if it is in his book; I learned it at a workshop).

 

2.	If you want to paint thickly with the acrylics, try Golden OPEN
acrylics.  They dry quite a bit more slowly, and there are special mediums
which preserve the slow drying.

 

Incidentally, M.Graham makes very high quality acrylics, as good as Golden,
but less expensive.

 

 <mailto:lindleybd at gmail.com>  Good luck.

 

Barry

 

Barry D. Lindley
Paintings and Drawings
www.BarryLindleyArt.com <http://www.barrylindleyart.com/> 

 

 

  _____  

From: aquanet-bounces at aquanetart.com [mailto:aquanet-bounces at aquanetart.com]
On Behalf Of Patrick Davis
Sent: Wednesday, November 18, 2009 12:56 PM
To: Aquanet The_digital_Brain
Subject: [Aquanet] a question that verges on heretical

 

Hi, gang.

Altho I am quite happy painting in w/c, I do have an urge to branch into
acrylics as well. I find, however, that the tube acrylics I have dry too
quickly on the palette and are also hard to work with in that they are
lumpy. I have just bought some liquid acrylics, but I am also quite frugal.
(Such a nice word!) Anyway, can I make my own liquid acrylics successfully
from my old tube stuff by putting them in a jar with water and acrylic
glazing fluid, or am I just teasing myself? I am trying it, but after
sitting several days in a jar with regular shaking up, I still have a lumpy
mixture. (Okay, the acrylics sat in a jar, not me)

Any suggestions- other than working on my grammar?
Pat

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