I was introduced to the Golden fluid acrylics in the first Intentional Creativity course I took from Elisabeth in Feb 2014. The flow! The colours! Mu Muse was delighted!!
Sam Golden was instrumental in developing acrylics In the 1940s, an artist visiting his uncle Leonard Bocour's Manhattan store offered them a 'honey like resin' and asked if it could be made into paint? Sam began 'tinkering' with the resin, & found that it could! Now Golden is an employee owned business, still operating on the property in New Berlin, NY where Sam & his wife 'retired' in the 1970s! (Sam, of course, kept tinkering with paint, & developed the fluid line)
Our local Art Store, Merri Artist has a great selection of art supplies, and you can order on-line! Their prices are generally the same as Dick Blick, and the online catalogue gives a nice overview of available art supplies.
They offer a 10% discount in store on non-sale items to teachers & students (online classes included!) Golden Paint & mediums go on sale twice a year, which is a great time to stock up! (the sales are in Feb & August at our local shop)
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They also offer sets in 1/2 or 1 oz size, if you're just starting out, this is a great way to get your basic colours! (There's a list of the colors in each set at the bottom of the page)
Interested in mixing your own? Golden also offers a great virtual Paint Mixer (click on 'fluid colors before you begin playing!) You can even save favorite combos!
Look on the back of the bottle for a scale that tells how transparent - opaque it is, & several other values. Sam Golden pioneered listing the pigments on the paints. Toxicity is also listed on the back under 'Health & Safety.
* Titanium Buff (or T. White) - buff is a great for skin tones - 4 oz
Zink White - not as chalky, I use it for eyes, some glazing (mixed with Glaze Medium)
* Glazing Medium - I have the satin, & got the 8 oz bottle (clear, this is mixed with paint to slow the drying time & give lighter layers)
* Airbrush Medium is a lighter medium, & can be used in place of water for early washes. With acrylics, the polymer helps bind the paint to the canvas, are warned not to dilute with more than 25-30% water, especially in early layers.
* Quinacridone Nickel Azo Gold (QNA Gold) & Transparent Red Iron Oxide - these are two of the colours most frequently used in the 'glaze' layer - brushed on with lots of water, then allowed to run or towelled off - this evens out the skin tones beautifully! (at this point it's OK to dilute with water, especially when you towel it off - there's enough paint on your canves for proper adhesion)
The above are good 4 oz purchases, we use them a lot!
Brown: * Burnt Umber - great for outlining
Burnt or Raw
Van Dyke brown - Shiloh likes mixing this with QNA Gold for her glazes
Yellow: * Yellow Ochre - great for skin
Hansa Yellow - clear yellow
Indian Yellow - a yummy golden yellow
Nickel Azo Yellow - more transparent
Orange: Quinacridone Burnt Orange (I love this one!!)
Transparent Pyrrole Orange
Red: * Alizarin Crimson or Quinacridone Crimson
Quinacridone Magenta
Blue: Turquoise (Pthtalo) Teal, Cobalt Turquoise are all yummy
Manganese blue is very transparent, if you want a blue glaze
Pthtalo Blue (red shade or green shade)
Green: Jenkin's Green - nice & dark
Green Gold - mmm - love this one
Pthtalo Green (blue shade
Purple: Ultramarine Violet - transparent
Dioxazine Purple (several folks mentioned this is a favorite for mixing with orange or yellow for a nice brown)
Quinacridone Violet (got this one in the 1/2 oz sample size that Golden provides as a bonus when you buy 25$ or more)
Neutrals: Black, Paynes Gray
Gold, Silver & Pearl are available in a set of 3/4 oz tubes, I mix a little with medium for highlights.
I adore the 'interference' colours - they look white in the bottle, & have mica tpowder which reflects light!
** A great option for someone JUST beginning to build their Golden Fluid Palette - one of the sets! These come in 1/2 oz & 1 oz.
1 oz set of 10 is ~ $43
1/2 oz set of 8 is ~ $26.
In addition to a set, I'd add the Q Nickel Azo Gold & a bottle of Glazing Medium, & perhaps the burnt umber or Van Dyke brown.
The colours in the sets (with 1/2 oz option in { } ) are:
Hansa Yellow Med,
Pyrrole Red, {1/2 oz: naphthol red light}
Quinacridone Magenta,
Ultramarine Blue,
Phthalo Blue (Green Shade),
Phthalo Green (Blue Shade),
Yellow Oxide, {1/2 oz: yellow ochre}
Titanium White {1/2 oz:zink white}
Burnt Sienna, {0}
Carbon Black, {0}
Brushes: Nice to get a variety, and as one artist says, "I can ruin a cheap brush as quickly as a more expensive one!) The synthetic bristle brushes are great for acrylics.
Merri Artist carries the Simply Simons & Princeton lines, which and several sets (Bi-Mart has sets of brushes, sketch pads, pencils, etc, is is also Employee owned!) Sets give you a chance to see what YOU like best! Also - consider old make-up brushes, shaving brushes, etc ... & a few foam (1 & 2") & inexpensive small brushes from the hardware/paint store are great.
Filberts: #8, 10, 12 & 14 are nice for faces
Round: #2, 3, 8, 10
Bright: #2 for outlines, also a liner brush
I'm fond of angled 'swords' for shading
Inexpensive hog bristle brushes are great for 'scrubing or scrumbling' dry paint in when you're 'blocking'
bigger brush for washes - get a few from the hardware section!
Spray bottle for water (2 oz is fine)
Paper towels & old rags for clean up
charcoal pencils, pastels, rose petals for drawing on canvas (you can also use heavier paper)
Happy Painting!
Golden Daffy-Down-DillyMagic Wand
2 comments:
DEAR! Dia~ Thank you for this straightforward help for me who is not yet learned in the language of painting. I especially appreciate the info about brushes. I. too, love interference colors. One of my favorite Golden yellows is DIARYLIDE YELLOW. I have VAN DYKE BROWN as well as hog bristle brushes on my wish list. Your post here takes some of the uncertainty away that I feel about purchasing supplies to paint with. Thank you for making it simple and easier!
DEAR! Dia~ Thank you for this straightforward help for me who is not yet learned in the language of painting. I especially appreciate the info about brushes. I. too, love interference colors. One of my favorite Golden yellows is DIARYLIDE YELLOW. I have VAN DYKE BROWN as well as hog bristle brushes on my wish list. Your post here takes some of the uncertainty away that I feel about purchasing supplies to paint with. Thank you for making it simple and easier!
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