It’s summertime and Munsell is in the air. Or at least it seems that way, given the increasing number of requests for various Munsell notations that have recently come our way. And if you happen to be new to Munsell, a widely used standard for classifying colors since its debut in 1905, not to worry – there is … Read more
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This article briefly explores the permanent changes created by varnishing transparent watercolor on paper, in particular the aesthetic changes to color, value, texture, and sheen. Keep in mind that varnishing also changes the nature of the painting through the permanent addition of acrylic. While there are several approaches to varnishing watercolor, we only focused on … Read more
You might have recently noticed that we updated our labels for Grounds, Mediums and Gels to aim for better clarity, accuracy and simplicity. While reviewing the labels, we decided to both standardize the descriptions of all of these products and double check the accuracy of the sliders which help convey opacity, sheen and thickness. In … Read more
A common question we get is “how long should I wait before applying my next application of acrylic?” Actually, in most cases one can apply multiple layers at any time as this is one of the unique properties of acrylic products. It really doesn’t matter in terms of final film formation and toughness. But in … Read more
When water is applied to paper, the fibers can soak up liquid and expand. This may create the infamous buckles and cockles that can be the bane (or joy) of those who paint with watermedia. This article reports on what happened when High Flow Acrylics and Heavy Body Acrylics were applied to Arches 140 lb. … Read more
In many ways this article is a continuation from an earlier one, Waterproof India Inks and Shellac-based Primers, which focused mostly on the alkaline sensitivity of shellac-based india inks when used with acrylics. However, towards the end of the article we briefly looked at Zinsser’s B-I-N®, a common pigmented shellac primer, to see if it had similar … Read more
We’ve all seen Iridescent and Interference effects when viewing soap bubbles, oil slicks, flower petals, bird feathers, and more. They are fairly common in the natural world. If they are somewhat less common in artwork, it might simply be that they still represent new and unexplored possibilities for most people, even after being part of … Read more
Question: How often do they repaint the steel on the iconic Golden Gate Bridge? Answer: Every day, non-stop, repainting areas of corrosion (28 painters). Painting metal, especially metals exposed to variable environmental conditions is not something even our most advanced coating systems can stand up to over time, measured not in decades but in just … Read more
We all get tripped up and surprised sometimes. Even the simplest description can set in motion assumptions that lead us to expect one thing only to be sitting there, moments later, head slightly tilted, a quizzical glance showing equal parts frustration and fascination. Which is where we found ourselves a few years back when testing a variety of … Read more
The Material Specialists here at Golden Artist Colors are often requested by artists to diagnose the reasoning for problems occurring in their paintings based solely upon their words used to guide us. One of the most common emails or calls require the understanding of whether the artist is discussing a crack versus a craze … Read more