Alizarin Crimson (PR 83:1, ASTM III) Alizarin Crimson was created in 1868 by the German chemists, Grabe and Lieberman, as a more lightfast substitute to Genuine Rose Madder. This was accomplished by isolating part of the madder root colorant, 1,2 dihydroxyanthraquinone (Alizarin), from the more fugitive 1,2,4 trihydrozyanthraquinone (Purpurin). This is historically significant as it represents … Read more
Home>Acrylics > Some Historical Pigments and their Replacements
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Below are mixing ratios for historically important colors and some recently discontinued GOLDEN colors. We have tried to duplicate each hue as closely as possible, however, pigments often have unique attributes which make exact color matching impossible. When using this guide bear in mind which characteristics are important for your application, such as chroma, opacity/translucency, … Read more
Artists are often asking why our product is called “Molding Paste” while everyone else’s is called “Modeling Paste”, and is there any difference? First, I have no idea why the product was called Molding Paste. It can be placed in a mold, but it wasn’t particularly developed for that purpose. Molding Paste is what Sam … Read more
Pigment is the very essence of paint. Regardless of the vehicle that is used to adhere it to the substrate, pigment selection is based on one simple criterion. The colorant must be the right hue. Once that factor is met, the artist can compare it to other available pigments of a like hue, and determine … Read more
Nearly 300 responses to Just Paint 4’s Gesso Survey for ASTM Subcommitee on Artist Materials! Many of the artists who took the time to complete and return the Gesso Survey we ran in Just Paint, Issue 4 also used that opportunity to ask questions and make comments about our products, Just Paint, etc. There was … Read more
EDITOR’S NOTE (4/26/23): Please note that Polymer Varnish has been discontinued and replaced with Gloss Waterborne Varnish. You can read more about it here. As with any surface around the home, office, or especially, in a public place, paintings become a depository for airborne dust. They can also get touched occasionally, either inadvertently or purposefully, and may … Read more
Although acrylic paint tends to dry quickly, several techniques and additives can extend wet time. This Information Sheet discusses how acrylic paints cure and describes how that process can be controlled and manipulated to an artist’s advantage. The Acrylic Drying Process Water is Forced Out by Capillary Action: Acrylics dry as the vehicle that … Read more
If you would rather not flush water laden with acrylic paint solids down the drain, they can be removed prior to disposing of the water. This process consists of chemically treating the contaminated water to cause the solids to flocculate, followed by filtering to remove them from the water. The materials and equipment needed are … Read more
One of the most critical problems in the manufacture and use of acrylic paint is the development of foam. It can cause structural problems in the dry paint film by weakening it and can create a more permeable paint surface capable of imbibing dirt and other discoloring pollutants. But the primary problem with foam is … Read more
GOLDEN Heavy Body Acrylics were the first line of paints produced by Golden Artist Colors, Inc. in 1980. Formulated to have an exceptionally smooth, thick texture, these paints were regarded as the best quality available; however, they did not meet the needs of all users. Many artists were thinning the Heavy Body paints with water. … Read more
