Zinc Oxide: Warnings, Cautions, and Best Practices

Introduction The use of Zinc Oxide in oils has been the focus of a lot of attention lately, especially around its potential to cause an increased rate and degree of embrittlement, cracking, and cleavage of oil paint films. Passionate positions have been staked out on all sides, while various studies

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The Meaning of the Designations “C.P.” and “CC”

You may have noticed the letters “C.P.” preceding the names of our GOLDEN Acrylic Cadmium colors, or come across “(CC)” as part of the cadmium pigment listing found on the back of labels and in pigment ID charts. And…you may have wondered what they mean.  This has been a common question

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QoR Watercolor: Three Natural and Three Synthetic Earth Colors

The description “earth pigment” originally indicated both a natural material mined from the earth, and ancient iron oxide colors dominated by browns, tans, golden yellows, and rusty oranges. These are the painters’ traditional Sienna, Ochre, and Umber color families. Natural pigments now have synthetic siblings that greatly expand the earth

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Paint Additions into GAC 800 for Pouring Applications

Paint Additions Into GAC 800 for Pouring Applications Several rounds of test mixtures of GAC 800 and GOLDEN paints. By far, the most popular GOLDEN Acrylic Medium used for pouring paints is GAC 800. Our Heavy Body Acrylics, Fluid Acrylics, and High Flow Acrylic paint lines readily blend with this free-flowing

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GAC New Label Line Up

Same Formula, Different Label

You may have noticed the new labels adorning the bottles and jars in the GOLDEN Mediums, Gels, Pastes, Additives and Varnishes sections of the stores and online retailers. The new fresh look and new naming convention is our way of updating the look of our products, as well as making

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Wall of Test Samples That Will Be Shipped in October to Arizona for Accelerated Exterior Lightfastness Testing following ASTM D4303

Lightfastness Testing at Golden Artist Colors

While we often report on results from lightfastness testing, we have rarely paused to actually describe the process we follow. And let’s face it, for most people stating that our tests conform to ASTM D4303, Standard Test Methods for Lightfastness of Colorants Used in Artists’ Materials, does very little to fill in the blanks.

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Titanium White Dark Yellowed for 1.5 Years then Exposed to Sunlight for 8 Hrs

What is Dark Yellowing?

Dark yellowing is the reversible, temporary yellowing that dried oil paint undergoes when stored in the dark or subdued lighting. While noted in many historical writings, most painters remain unaware of it and become surprised or concerned when they discover it happening to their own works. Which makes sense. With

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GOLDEN Begins Extensive On-Site Exterior Mural Testing

Direct, exterior exposure is highly demanding on coatings, with the test fences set at a 45º angle to maximize the effect of sun, rain, snow and ice. In 1993 and again in 2009, long-term exterior tests of the acrylic colors lasting 4 and 3 years respectively were conducted in South Florida.

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Flattening a Transparent Watercolor Painting on Paper

When painting on watercolor paper with transparent watercolor, the paper often buckles and stays that way once the painting is dry. This article offers one possible way to flatten the paper using a temporary ‘paper press.’ This method is appropriate for paintings composed of thinly applied glazes and washes of

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Color Circle Split Primary

Defining Warm and Cool Colors: It’s All Relative

The concept of warm and cool colors has been written about for hundreds of years. Most theories start with the classic six point color wheel (three primary colors and three secondary colors). A dividing line splits the wheel into warm and cool. The line location varies based upon the reasoning

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