About Golden Open Acrylics….

Posted on May 10, 2010

I’ve been asked about Golden Open Acrylics – so here’s my response, which i thought would be interesting for some of you contemplating trying them:

As for Golden Opens – ah, I had been getting frustrated with my huge array of golden heavy body paints. Just dry faster than I want, and I do admit I didn’t use much medium which could be part of the prob. As well, the paintings I was most drawn to when viewing them online or in galleries were almost always oil. So I started getting some books out of the library on oil painting…..bought myself a set of water soluble oils, very excited to convert! Ha. They stink!!!!!!!!!!! So I can’t use them. That linseed oil just seems too toxic.

My alternatives? Open Acrylics.

At first they seemed a bit thin, or slippery…..i read that some folks wait a day after putting them on their palette…as the consistency changes a bit. But now I love them, straight out of the tube and it is amazing how long they stay workable. I have glass cut out for a masterson palette….don’t use any paper, or messy sponges. Just put the lid on when I’m done. They stay workable for weeks! Really.

I now have a set of 12 or so tubes and a small open medium and thinner. When I used to scrape my palette with the heavy bodies, of course all those dried up paints went in the garbage. With the opens, I just shove them to one side, mix up a lovely gray with a palette knife, and use that to neutralize any color I’m working with. If they seem to be setting up I mix (again with a palette knife) a few drops of Open Thinner into them. Perfecto! Really loving it.

All my paintings from April forward are with opens…..

What do I like about them? They gleam and smoosh around easily like a good oil. And stay open. As per usual with Golden, the quality of paint is tremendous. They are a bit more transparent than oils I’m guessing. And Golden suggests waiting 30 days to varnish…, though since I am not using impasto techniques I might sneak a layer of thin varnish on a bit sooner than that. Or maybe a light spray……haven’t figured that out yet. But I am starting to date the backs of my pieces so I can check that. I usually wait til I have a bit batch of new paintings before I varnish anyway, so 30 days shouldn’t be a problem. [With Heavy Body acrylics i usually varnish with a brush and thin coat within a couple days of finishing painting.]

Well, there you go — Enjoy these fab paints, I sure am!