I have and love using the Jacquard Pearl-Ex Powder Pigment - Solar Gold. It’s brilliant and creates that real gold look for a very small price. It’s only $4.88 U.S. for .5oz at Jerry’s Artarama. Cheap Joe’s also carries it. I couldn’t find it at Jackson’s but I know Amazon carries it. I’ve mixed it with just water, also with water and a bit of gum arabic & mixed it with my different watercolor paints. I made Christmas gift tags and cards and even just sprinkled it on top of my wet watercolor washes. It was beautiful! They make about 8 different shades of gold as well as rose golds. Of course there is nothing like the real thing, but sometimes I need the gold when the leaf application just won’t give the effect I’m trying to achieve. Thank you, Liz for all your hard work on the excellent videos you make- so helpful and informative!
@@LizChadertonArt Aztec may be warmer, but I haven’t used it. A friend gave me the solar and it is quite close to the almost “antique” gold leaf frames on some of our paintings. It’s definitely warmer tone than 14K gold and not yellow or cold feeling like some of the paints you’ve demoed. Very close to the gold leaf on the upper right corner of your “Halcyon Bird - Kingfisher painting on your website. Gorgeous painting by the way! We don’t have an art store in our city so I’d have to order the all of them to compare…
Absolutely legendary video. I'm fascinated by the Schmincke AB, and this has saved me going out and buying every gold paint at my local art store and swatching them all myself. You've saved me many hours of squinting at different coloured paints with this vid, so thank you very much!
I use this gold to get some glitter and also the silver in my watercolors (they’re waterbased and will spread beautiful and also dry beautifully in water color paintings) it’s transformed my art! I love. I recommend. 10/10
Hello there Liz...Rus here from across the Pond in Pennsylvania...I absolutely love your videos...so thank you for all your great help! If you are looking for a truly great gold paint...have a look at Kremer Pigments!!! Their "Pale Gold" is phenomenal!!! I have been using it for a few years now and rarely use anything else! Kremer Pigments ship worldwide and have two stores in Berlin and in NYC...Their products are all amazing and priced very well too! Again thank you Liz for your videos...you are very inspiring! I've been a professional Artist for 40+ years and we never stop learning...so I have gained so much from you already....Stay well and many blessings, Rus from Pennsylvania 🤓🎨🖌❤️
Thanks for sharing this! I love experiments, and this one was terrific. I have some gold paints from Kremer, Finetec and the Schminke gold and silver. Loved their gold, hated the silver. Happy painting!
it’s weird how some colours are super in a range and others are distinctly average. it makes you wonder if they signed off the silver on Friday afternoon.
Thank you very much for this, Liz. I've tried several of the things you've demonstrated here and like you, found the Schminke Aqua Bronze better by far than anything except gold leaf itself. It also comes in several shades, plus they do silver and copper as well.
Thank you, interesting to compare the products. I have used the Schminke both gold and silver they are lovely and they do go a very looooong way so worth the price. there are also some good products that are for silk painters and wouls be suitable for use on watercolours. I have also used my Scminke on a couple of my silk paintings.
Thank you for comparing. 😊 I'm an amateur with this. My gold sheets are from temu they are so light and fly away difficult to use. I'll definitely be buying liquid gold. I've musty remembered I have a gold powder somewhere.
Hi Liz. My friend who is a calligrapher uses a thing called a *'soap mixer'* I think the name is? It's shaped like a bar of soap with a dimple in the top that you seat your ink bottle into. It kind of... er, vibrates 😳meaning you never have to pause and mix your ink if you're constantly needing to dip into it for a major piece of work! I think it set her back about £50 or £60, which is quite steep! But given her line of work, and the time she used to waste perma-shaking bottles, she felt it was money well spent. I think there are videos of people talking about and demo-ing them on YT. I'm with you on the Schmincke Gold powder, btw - it's a delight to use... 💛
Thanks for this. I got (only 3 pans) of gold watercolour from Kremer Pigments in Germany. (They are much used by another RUclipsr). I chose 2 different golds and a silver. I love them.
Thank you Liz. Most informative and helpful. I am a model and diorama builder. In this hobby I use pretty much everything mainly enamel based oils and these specialty paints like metallics I am currently building my Galleon kits (Model ships like you see in old Navy bars or a museum haha) and I am not doing wood colours 😂 don’t get me wrong I got Medium Oak stain and teak wood veneer and matching stains etc. But where I feel these will really come to life is exactly your inspiration that you had to add Gold. So I did a mock up as some of the wood used will be really Dark stained Jet black even on the mast tops and where the rigging is held in place all the ropes are black and Gold too and I think this is gonna make it all work. I have ordered Goldest Gold by Semple and I really wanted to see it in action. I’m gonna go with the winton. Only because it has for my opinion only the shiniest effect. I’ll prob buy the schminke as well but haha we will see you have helped. I also will look into the leaf is it overly expensive? Over the course of the whole project is it £7 per sheet?
@@LizChadertonArt that is mighty awesome of you. Thank you yeah the Semple Gold is prob not gonna hold up for what I need done. I really needed you here haha. I’m gonna go with your demonstration and get the two that really worked as well as leaf. My problem is these model boats as I’m sure you’re aware. Need the tiniest of gold inlay in places all this for some tiny edging and trim pieces no bigger than a few mm a time haha I dunno why I am so set on building these but here we are. Thank you again. Do enjoy your weekend I subscribed btw.
@@LizChadertonArt what I am really asking here is does the sheet quality differ? If I go to one store that’s say £20 for so many sheets and another is 100 sheets for £7 is this pay for what you want or will the £7 be fine it claims it’s 24k
@@Trac3r. If it’s 24k price fluctuates with the international gold price and will be similar everywhere. If they say 100 sheets for £7 it’s imitation. imitation is actually easier to work with, but needs sealing as it will tarnish. Some imitation is really brassy in colour, but if you are happy with the colour then it is all much of a much.
@@LizChadertonArt most helpful. I did wonder. You absolute legend. I will be sure to check out your exquisite work. I loved the bird piece. It looks fantastic and you are totally right it does add a different demand from the viewer a sense of more delicate or regal almost. I love it thank you for sharing.
You are an absolute legend! Would you consider doing a video on different silvers as well? I've never found another comparison between real and fake gold leaf, thank you so much :)
That’s a good idea. I don’t tend to use silver that much, but I have real silver leaf and imitation. I’ll have to dig around and see what paint I have.
Great video! I work in acrylic paint mainly. If you ever have a interest in trying a superb gold (in my humble opinion) DecoArt 24k is wonderful. Even though it a craft paint it has the best shine and color than any other acrylic paint I've tried...including the paint I made from pigments. Colourarte paints and pigments makes some really beautiful golds too. I don't have a website set up yet, so there is not any place I can send you to look at my art. I love your work! It has so much More of interest, texture, life than other watercolor artists I've seen. You have a great smile too!😊
Great video. Would love to see an update, especially wirh a comparison of the top two good ones, (the schmincke aquabronze and the winsor & newton ink), with kremer pigments golds. Also expanded within and between the brands. For instance, Kremer has 5 or 6 versions of gold. Schmincke has at least 3. Also have heard that some people mix the schmincke w golden's acrylic (liquid, i think) to "boost" the effect even more. I think Margot Halloc has a vid about this. Have been looking at every "gold" video i could find lately, and so far these three (Schminke aqua-bronze , W&N ink, and Kremer pigments seem to consistently beat all the others. But haven't seen them all compared to each other. Or all the "gold" colors within each brand compared. Or any compared to Iuile yet. ...
Nicely done! I have a couple of gold leaf kits that I have not used as yet! Thank you for sharing your experience with us and showing us these different products! Going with a paint option is so tricky! I have used mica added to screen inks for that shiny surface in prints but not in a painting! Thank you.
Wonderful comparison! I was about to go out and get gold pain, so this was timely. Just from the visuals, I would go with the W&N gold ink. It looks best to me in your lighting conditions, though Schmincke sounds like an easier option. Glad to find your channel!
This video is very well presented. There are so many gold paints but probably almost all fail to reflect back the light. The same happens when mixing metallic gold paint with epoxy. The moment you do the brushwork, the pigments come to the very surface of the glue and light makes it it shine. However, seconds later it will turn dull because the pigment settles lower in the resin and light can't bounce back. I wonder whether there is a trick to avoid this..
Thanks a lot…. You have confirmed what I’ve always thought you just can’t beat gold leaf for gold accents….. one experiment I haven’t tried yet, is to paint a layer of clear gloss over a good gold paint and see if this helps…..
Excellent video! Saved me many hours of research, you are a treasure!! I wonder if the Bronze gold Sch would look better on a reddish background - more rich - than a black background? How about using a deep faded red background - I forget the technical name for it. But like you said, there is nothing like gold leaf.
I have 100 color Kuretake Gansai Tambi set and let me tell you: You might have choosen the worst of their 6 or so golds for doing this test. If I recall right, most of their golds are rather subtle, but the one that might fit you is Yellow Gold, the one that is featured in both gold set and gem? set. It's the only really reflective one afaik, using it reminds me of nail powders sometimes lol. You might also try some chrome golds of different brands, they might be highly reflective. I could never be bothered to learn goldleafing, but always yearned for the effects, lol.
Hi Liz, thank you for this video. I actually liked the windsor and newton ink results. This is in the acrylic version, but since you live in the UK, have you tried "Guild Lane - GILD Acrylic Gilding Enamel Paint"? A friend of mine uses it instead of gold leaf on furniture art. I just wonder how that would compare with the goldleaf. Thank you.
In n america we use finetec coliro watercolour they have 6 diff golds and dries superbly bright and takes layers well and even can be burnished after drying…
Thanks for the latest fun comparison. It is perhaps worth saying that part of the trade off between gold leaf and paint is the way fragments of leaf go absolutely everywhere - if you're like me - and are horribly tenacious. I've had to sadly settle for paint with less glister to avoid widespread inadvertent sparkles. Or do you have a solution for that problem ?
@@LizChadertonArt Thanks Liz, I'm obviously an incurably mucky pup. I eventually settled on a set of Nevskya Palitra Metallic Gouaches that were both inexpensive and I rather like. Nowhere near as impressive as leaf but nice nonetheless.
Thanks for the review, i consider to add gold to my drawings actually, but i'm very careful with gold use. Because of course, it enrich a drawing, but it depend which drawings. I saw beginners putting gold on their drawings, and being more appreciated than better drawings without gold. It"s like it just need gold (or glitter, because it's the same with glitter) to be appreciated. In fact, i love gold almost only in illumination books from the middle-age or classical statues, because here, it have a true sense of elevation. So i'm even careful with my own drawings, because i want to deserve to use gold^^.
I see you didn't include the Coliro/Finetec Mica Watercolors. From what I've seen they seem the most popular (at least in the U.S.) and it's supposed to be super shimmery and opaque, not sure how it compares to the Schmincke Aqua Bronze though. This seems like a silly question but these watercolors come in nonstandard 30mm round pans and the Aqua Bronze comes in a 20 ml bottle, do you think the latter would last longer? I think it would, yet these aren't normal watercolor paint, I'm guessing the pigment is combined with the binder like the Aqua Bronze and they get compressed into the pans (the Aqua bronze has loose pigment in the bottle unlike Coliro). I might be overthinking this because considering the price of one Schmincke bottle I could buy three different Coliro colors 😅
I can’t really advise on which would last longer, but I love my Aquabronze as it is so flexible. You can sprinkle which takes hardly any product and still get a beautiful sheen. When I made the film it was really to test out the ‘Goldest Gold’ paint. I thought it was rather an over claim!
Great analysis, thanks very much for explaining that. Can this gold leaf be brushed onto 3d sculptures? For silver could I follow these steps? I guessed that the left swatch was 24 carot so all that expense would be wasted on me
Loose leaf gold or silver is good on 3 d, and transfer leaf is better on flat. Imitation silver is aluminium and imitation gold has lots of copper in it.
This is such an amazing video... I am wondering Liz if you have tried Acualux in gold or bronze? I too am a watercolorist but decided to try my hand at Acrylic painting... So this would be on a canvas...of course.Look forward to hearing back from you, Lisa...now living in Spain
Thanks for this, nice to see them next to each other. I was lucky to stumble upon Daniel Smith’s metallic powders but haven’t made use of them yet, except for ogling ☺️ Could you add water to GG to thin it down? They all have such different consistences.
The problems with gold paints, is they still look like paint. The closest ive come that i use on antique clocks is Rub n Buff in small tubes. I did gold leaf on 2 columns and its too shiney, so i need to antique it a bit.
@@LizChadertonArt I wasnt a fan of it at first, but ill use it over paint any day. I did a complete cast iron clock that lost all of its gold guilding. Its not super shiney, but i didnt want that, and i can add highlights to it too.
Do you find the gold leaf tarnishes? I always got lost trying to work out how to seal it! The schminke one is great but it can wipe off once its dried. Loved the comparisons ❤
imitation gold leaf has lots of copper in it, so it tarnishes. it can be sealed with a metal lacquer or spray hi glass varnish. traditionally you use shellac varnish. Real gold doesn’t tarnish… Schmincke would either need sealing to stop it wiping off or protecting under glass. I don’t think it tarnishes, but now I am curious and need to research!
Hiya Liz, Thanks very much for another really interesting comparison video. The Schmincke Aqua Bronze range has a strange, slightly unpleasant smell to me and I would take care not to breathe any in accidentally as it's powder. Do you use Japanese Gold Size to apply your leaf? That stuff sticks like nothing else, especially if you don't clean the inside of the cap before replacing it 😂 Yes, and it's never come off! The Goldfinch painting is a really gorgeous work of art, beautifully done from conception to finished piece. The cat in the painting looks quite interested on something, food perhaps? I love that too.♥️
haha, you spotted my placement of the cat! points for observation 😂 I use Polyvine gold size. it’s acrylic and is ready in 15 mins. never noticed a smell to Aqua bronze, but I try not to sniff the powder. boiling water for the lid? followed by one of those kitchen gadgets for getting lids off??
@@LizChadertonArt Thanks Liz but Japanese Gold Size is made from genuine shellac which is rock hard when set. It's used by professional Luthiers but they dilute it with some sort of alchemy! x
What color of the aqua bronze is it that you were using? They have five different colors, it wasn't copper or silver, but there's three with the name gold in it
The Goldest gold is acrylic, others were ink and others water based. You might have to consider the order of working. For example watercolour doesn’t go on top of acrylic
An artist I know named Vincent Venturella has a video on youtube about his "gold recipe" acrylic paint which is absolutely fantastic. Best I've ever used. Give it a watch if you're interested!!
I have the komorebi metallic watercolor set, but you’ve convinced me to switch to Schmincke. Even sprinkled, which you have me intrigued to try, it has to be far less messy than gold leaf, right?
It does not. I was in contact with Schminke because I wanted to know which products I could use together with the powder and they were very clear with saying that it oxidises quickly with water, meaning storing it in water will make it lose its sheen, but also painting too thick a layer will do the same since it then dries more slowly (I sometimes use an acrylic medium to paint it out with). Hope that helps! ☺️
Hi ma'am can you please share a tutorial for making a Variegated gold leaf at home. It's too costly to buy online. How to make variegated gold leaf at at home 🙏🙏
I’m afraid I don’t know how to make it at home. I know it is manufactured with heat and chemicals which react with the copper in the imitation lead f, but whether that is possible at home, I do not know. Sorry.
There is something with Aqua Bronze by Schmincke that I find defiant, probably it's me doing something not exactly correct. When I have to cover a large surface, I never get a uniform coverage on the area, because every time I pick up new pigment it gets diluted in a different way, sometimes it's more liquid, and sometimes it's more concentrated, no matter how attentive I am. I have to spread various coats of pigment to have something vaguely uniform. Any suggestion? Thanks in advance.
how large an area are you trying to cover? I’ve never used it on areas bigger than a few square cms. I tend to use it sprinkled in a wash or for line work.
@@LizChadertonArt I tried to use it as the golden background in a watercolour Bizantine icon. I can't afford true gold foil and I'm terrible at gilding, so no initiation gold foil for me.
Is the Rowney Cryla "Pale Gold" or "Rich Gold" Please I need an answer quickly because I am trying to finish this painting where I ran out of gold paint and ordered more of it and the 2nd time I got the paint shipped from China(go figure) to me the colour is different than the one before that's already on the canvas! >_
@@LizChadertonArt I've not had the chance yet. However in the miniature circles people seem to love them. Some medium and a mix of pigments and you can get a very convincing gold. Vince Venturella has a good review of them where he compares them to his wedding ring. Very convincing gold, also using the pigments you should also be able to shift the color of existing gold paint. Just like mixing it with inks and what not.
I wanted to test Goldest Gold (it’s a big claim!) against all the other golds I could find in my studio. I don’t have liquid gold leaf so it wasn’t included. is it something you use?
I have and love using the Jacquard Pearl-Ex Powder Pigment - Solar Gold. It’s brilliant and creates that real gold look for a very small price. It’s only $4.88 U.S. for .5oz at Jerry’s Artarama. Cheap Joe’s also carries it. I couldn’t find it at Jackson’s but I know Amazon carries it. I’ve mixed it with just water, also with water and a bit of gum arabic & mixed it with my different watercolor paints. I made Christmas gift tags and cards and even just sprinkled it on top of my wet watercolor washes. It was beautiful! They make about 8 different shades of gold as well as rose golds. Of course there is nothing like the real thing, but sometimes I need the gold when the leaf application just won’t give the effect I’m trying to achieve. Thank you, Liz for all your hard work on the excellent videos you make- so helpful and informative!
that’s a great tip! I’ve looked at it and you can get it in the uk. is Solar gold your favourite? or which gold is a warm one Aztec?
@@LizChadertonArt Aztec may be warmer, but I haven’t used it. A friend gave me the solar and it is quite close to the almost “antique” gold leaf frames on some of our paintings. It’s definitely warmer tone than 14K gold and not yellow or cold feeling like some of the paints you’ve demoed. Very close to the gold leaf on the upper right corner of your “Halcyon Bird - Kingfisher painting on your website. Gorgeous painting by the way! We don’t have an art store in our city so I’d have to order the all of them to compare…
That’s my problem too and you can’t tell from online swatches, can you? Thanks for the advice!@@dianes326
I like the winsor and newton too ❤
There are so many options!
Same
Absolutely legendary video. I'm fascinated by the Schmincke AB, and this has saved me going out and buying every gold paint at my local art store and swatching them all myself. You've saved me many hours of squinting at different coloured paints with this vid, so thank you very much!
Great to hear!
Schmincke has the highest quality pigments I have ever seen.
Great video. I love the analysis and the conclusions. It’s great to have a final decision on reviews like this 👍
Glad you enjoyed it!
Great analysis! Thanks for doing this and sharing via video.
My pleasure!
FYI - 2 years later Aqua Bronze gold - Schmincke - 20ml £9.90 is now almost double the price! Very sad indeed.
wow, that’s a huge jump in price
Absoutely loved this compairson
Glad it was helpful!
Miss Liz, thank you for this excellent show down of the golds! And thank you for taking the hit to the pocketbook FOR us! ❤
You are so welcome!
Folk Arts Treasure Gold mixed with a bit of Jo Sonja liquid polyurethane (water based) is the most Gold of Golds I have ever used. It’s fabulous.
I will take a look at that. Thank you
I use this gold to get some glitter and also the silver in my watercolors (they’re waterbased and will spread beautiful and also dry beautifully in water color paintings) it’s transformed my art! I love. I recommend. 10/10
Great tip, thanks. Do you need the Jo Sonja liquid? (I don't really know that that is), or can you just use water, or nothing? Thanks!
Just what I wanted!! Thank you.
😊
Thank you for this video comparison. So helpful to see the various paints beside each other!
my pleasure
Wow. A very good video. Perfect. 👌👍
Thank you very much!
Amazing video thank you! I'm planning to do a large painting that needs gold background and this video really helped. Thank you.
good luck with your painting!
thanks for the video, I love it when you test products!!!!
You are so welcome! It’s the sort of thing I always mean to do and don’t get round to it, so this was a good incentive!
Thanks Liz, really useful review. Saved me a lot of time and money experimenting with these different mediums. Much appreciated.
Glad it was helpful!
Hello there Liz...Rus here from across the Pond in Pennsylvania...I absolutely love your videos...so thank you for all your great help! If you are looking for a truly great gold paint...have a look at Kremer Pigments!!! Their "Pale Gold" is phenomenal!!! I have been using it for a few years now and rarely use anything else! Kremer Pigments ship worldwide and have two stores in Berlin and in NYC...Their products are all amazing and priced very well too! Again thank you Liz for your videos...you are very inspiring! I've been a professional Artist for 40+ years and we never stop learning...so I have gained so much from you already....Stay well and many blessings, Rus from Pennsylvania 🤓🎨🖌❤️
Thank you so much. we learn every day! will check out Kramer. I’ve not come across them before. thank you!
The Winsor Newton and aqua bronze really look nice! I've never heard of the Aqua Bronze, I'll have to see if I can get it
a little goes a long way. I love sprinkling it into wet paint
Thank you Liz! I've just started reducing my work hours to do more art and this vid was enormously helpful for my first project!
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks for sharing this! I love experiments, and this one was terrific. I have some gold paints from Kremer, Finetec and the Schminke gold and silver. Loved their gold, hated the silver. Happy painting!
it’s weird how some colours are super in a range and others are distinctly average. it makes you wonder if they signed off the silver on Friday afternoon.
I think another consideration is your substrate . Lovely video! Cheers
and well said nothing compares to Gold Leaf!
good point and very true
Thank you very much for this, Liz. I've tried several of the things you've demonstrated here and like you, found the Schminke Aqua Bronze better by far than anything except gold leaf itself. It also comes in several shades, plus they do silver and copper as well.
I love it sprinkled in a wash…magic!
Thank you for the all comparisons. Really helpful content. I'm considering adding gold to my feature wall, so this was really helpful
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks for the detailed research
Any time!
Thank you, interesting to compare the products. I have used the Schminke both gold and silver they are lovely and they do go a very looooong way so worth the price. there are also some good products that are for silk painters and wouls be suitable for use on watercolours. I have also used my Scminke on a couple of my silk paintings.
That sounds interesting. Which products for silk do you use with watercolour?
Thank you for comparing. 😊 I'm an amateur with this. My gold sheets are from temu they are so light and fly away difficult to use. I'll definitely be buying liquid gold. I've musty remembered I have a gold powder somewhere.
gold leaf is very flimsy, but lovely!
Great comparison. For how expensive they are, I wonder how Citadel's gold paints would stand up.
so many golds to try!
Hi Liz. My friend who is a calligrapher uses a thing called a *'soap mixer'* I think the name is? It's shaped like a bar of soap with a dimple in the top that you seat your ink bottle into. It kind of... er, vibrates 😳meaning you never have to pause and mix your ink if you're constantly needing to dip into it for a major piece of work!
I think it set her back about £50 or £60, which is quite steep! But given her line of work, and the time she used to waste perma-shaking bottles, she felt it was money well spent.
I think there are videos of people talking about and demo-ing them on YT. I'm with you on the Schmincke Gold powder, btw - it's a delight to use... 💛
thanks!
You can use them for mixing nail varnish I believe. If you are using it all the topime, I guess it is worth the expense!
Thanks for this. I got (only 3 pans) of gold watercolour from Kremer Pigments in Germany. (They are much used by another RUclipsr). I chose 2 different golds and a silver. I love them.
Wonderful!
Thank you Liz. Most informative and helpful. I am a model and diorama builder. In this hobby I use pretty much everything mainly enamel based oils and these specialty paints like metallics I am currently building my Galleon kits (Model ships like you see in old Navy bars or a museum haha) and I am not doing wood colours 😂 don’t get me wrong I got Medium Oak stain and teak wood veneer and matching stains etc. But where I feel these will really come to life is exactly your inspiration that you had to add Gold. So I did a mock up as some of the wood used will be really Dark stained Jet black even on the mast tops and where the rigging is held in place all the ropes are black and Gold too and I think this is gonna make it all work. I have ordered Goldest Gold by Semple and I really wanted to see it in action. I’m gonna go with the winton. Only because it has for my opinion only the shiniest effect. I’ll prob buy the schminke as well but haha we will see you have helped. I also will look into the leaf is it overly expensive? Over the course of the whole project is it £7 per sheet?
imitation leaf is not expensive at all. Real gold is 10 times the price.
@@LizChadertonArt that is mighty awesome of you. Thank you yeah the Semple Gold is prob not gonna hold up for what I need done. I really needed you here haha. I’m gonna go with your demonstration and get the two that really worked as well as leaf. My problem is these model boats as I’m sure you’re aware. Need the tiniest of gold inlay in places all this for some tiny edging and trim pieces no bigger than a few mm a time haha I dunno why I am so set on building these but here we are. Thank you again. Do enjoy your weekend I subscribed btw.
@@LizChadertonArt what I am really asking here is does the sheet quality differ? If I go to one store that’s say £20 for so many sheets and another is 100 sheets for £7 is this pay for what you want or will the £7 be fine it claims it’s 24k
@@Trac3r. If it’s 24k price fluctuates with the international gold price and will be similar everywhere. If they say 100 sheets for £7 it’s imitation. imitation is actually easier to work with, but needs sealing as it will tarnish. Some imitation is really brassy in colour, but if you are happy with the colour then it is all much of a much.
@@LizChadertonArt most helpful. I did wonder. You absolute legend. I will be sure to check out your exquisite work. I loved the bird piece. It looks fantastic and you are totally right it does add a different demand from the viewer a sense of more delicate or regal almost. I love it thank you for sharing.
You are an absolute legend! Would you consider doing a video on different silvers as well? I've never found another comparison between real and fake gold leaf, thank you so much :)
That’s a good idea. I don’t tend to use silver that much, but I have real silver leaf and imitation. I’ll have to dig around and see what paint I have.
Thank you; very informative.
Glad it was helpful!
@@LizChadertonArt …it definitely was.
@@susanmitchell4744 😁
Great video! I work in acrylic paint mainly. If you ever have a interest in trying a superb gold (in my humble opinion) DecoArt 24k is wonderful. Even though it a craft paint it has the best shine and color than any other acrylic paint I've tried...including the paint I made from pigments. Colourarte paints and pigments makes some really beautiful golds too. I don't have a website set up yet, so there is not any place I can send you to look at my art. I love your work! It has so much More of interest, texture, life than other watercolor artists I've seen. You have a great smile too!😊
That’s a great tip. I’ll look it up. and thank you for the compliment.
Thank you so much, you helped me a lot !!!
So pleased it helped!
Great video. Would love to see an update, especially wirh a comparison of the top two good ones, (the schmincke aquabronze and the winsor & newton ink), with kremer pigments golds. Also expanded within and between the brands. For instance, Kremer has 5 or 6 versions of gold. Schmincke has at least 3.
Also have heard that some people mix the schmincke w golden's acrylic (liquid, i think) to "boost" the effect even more. I think Margot Halloc has a vid about this.
Have been looking at every "gold" video i could find lately, and so far these three (Schminke aqua-bronze , W&N ink, and Kremer pigments seem to consistently beat all the others. But haven't seen them all compared to each other. Or all the "gold" colors within each brand compared. Or any compared to Iuile yet. ...
Sounds like you should make the film! There are so many options out there……
Nicely done! I have a couple of gold leaf kits that I have not used as yet! Thank you for sharing your experience with us and showing us these different products! Going with a paint option is so tricky! I have used mica added to screen inks for that shiny surface in prints but not in a painting! Thank you.
get those kits out. yes it can be a bit messy/fiddly, but nothing beats the shine!
Excellent video.
Thank you very much!
Wonderful comparison! I was about to go out and get gold pain, so this was timely. Just from the visuals, I would go with the W&N gold ink. It looks best to me in your lighting conditions, though Schmincke sounds like an easier option. Glad to find your channel!
glad it helped! No one paint is perfect for everything, so I hope you’ve found the right one for you!
Hello, 😊 what do you use to seal it. Can you use varnishes? 😊 Thank you for the great video.🎉
a spray varnish suitable for metal will seal imitation leaf
This video is very well presented. There are so many gold paints but probably almost all fail to reflect back the light. The same happens when mixing metallic gold paint with epoxy. The moment you do the brushwork, the pigments come to the very surface of the glue and light makes it it shine. However, seconds later it will turn dull because the pigment settles lower in the resin and light can't bounce back. I wonder whether there is a trick to avoid this..
good point. There are so many options, promising a lot and mostly failing to deliver….
thank you its hard to find a good opaque gold paint.
It really is!
What a lovely thing too do for us artists. I learned so much and know I can purchase the best gold color with confidence
Wonderful!
thank you for charing !
My pleasure
Golden acrylics have a beautiful gold 😊
so many golds out there!
Thanks a lot…. You have confirmed what I’ve always thought you just can’t beat gold leaf for gold accents….. one experiment I haven’t tried yet, is to paint a layer of clear gloss over a good gold paint and see if this helps…..
It might help. I’d be interested to know
Thanks so much!
You're welcome!
Thank you!
You're welcome!
Excellent video! Saved me many hours of research, you are a treasure!! I wonder if the Bronze gold Sch would look better on a reddish background - more rich - than a black background? How about using a deep faded red background - I forget the technical name for it. But like you said, there is nothing like gold leaf.
it’s called bole I think. Yes, it would look warmer and richer
You should ad Modern Masters brand. I used it in faux finishes and now in my paintings.
I did this a while back and just used the ones I had already. there are thousands out there!
thank you 🌹
You're welcome 😊
I have 100 color Kuretake Gansai Tambi set and let me tell you: You might have choosen the worst of their 6 or so golds for doing this test. If I recall right, most of their golds are rather subtle, but the one that might fit you is Yellow Gold, the one that is featured in both gold set and gem? set. It's the only really reflective one afaik, using it reminds me of nail powders sometimes lol. You might also try some chrome golds of different brands, they might be highly reflective. I could never be bothered to learn goldleafing, but always yearned for the effects, lol.
Hi Liz, thank you for this video. I actually liked the windsor and newton ink results.
This is in the acrylic version, but since you live in the UK, have you tried "Guild Lane - GILD Acrylic Gilding Enamel Paint"? A friend of mine uses it instead of gold leaf on furniture art. I just wonder how that would compare with the goldleaf. Thank you.
no, I haven’t come across that one. I will Google it
In n america we use finetec coliro watercolour they have 6 diff golds and dries superbly bright and takes layers well and even can be burnished after drying…
ooh, they sound good
Thank you!!!
You're welcome!
Thanks for the latest fun comparison. It is perhaps worth saying that part of the trade off between gold leaf and paint is the way fragments of leaf go absolutely everywhere - if you're like me - and are horribly tenacious. I've had to sadly settle for paint with less glister to avoid widespread inadvertent sparkles. Or do you have a solution for that problem ?
shut all windows, no fan, no ac….. yup it’s messy, but I have a see through vacuum cleaner, so it’s one of the few things I don’t mind clearing up!
@@LizChadertonArt Thanks Liz, I'm obviously an incurably mucky pup. I eventually settled on a set of Nevskya Palitra Metallic Gouaches that were both inexpensive and I rather like. Nowhere near as impressive as leaf but nice nonetheless.
@@atelierthhun1165 it’s all about finding what works foe you! I am very mucky so revell in the snow storm of gold leaf!
Thanks for the review, i consider to add gold to my drawings actually, but i'm very careful with gold use. Because of course, it enrich a drawing, but it depend which drawings. I saw beginners putting gold on their drawings, and being more appreciated than better drawings without gold. It"s like it just need gold (or glitter, because it's the same with glitter) to be appreciated. In fact, i love gold almost only in illumination books from the middle-age or classical statues, because here, it have a true sense of elevation. So i'm even careful with my own drawings, because i want to deserve to use gold^^.
Gold leaf can be very addictive and it needs to be used with consideration just as you would with other marks and media, for sure!
Thank you, Liz! This was very informative.
Glad it was helpful!
It's video but the Windsor Newton looked the best to me.
Fair enough!
wondered if you have better results with metal gouache. if i recall right gouache is designed to be thick and opaque
There are so many options, I really wanted to test their claim of being the Goldest gold (it wasn’t!)
thanks for this, i like the aqua bronze, what do you think would happen if i used it on leather boots?
it would rub off, I reckon. so if you intend to wear them, I don’t think it would work.
I see you didn't include the Coliro/Finetec Mica Watercolors. From what I've seen they seem the most popular (at least in the U.S.) and it's supposed to be super shimmery and opaque, not sure how it compares to the Schmincke Aqua Bronze though. This seems like a silly question but these watercolors come in nonstandard 30mm round pans and the Aqua Bronze comes in a 20 ml bottle, do you think the latter would last longer? I think it would, yet these aren't normal watercolor paint, I'm guessing the pigment is combined with the binder like the Aqua Bronze and they get compressed into the pans (the Aqua bronze has loose pigment in the bottle unlike Coliro). I might be overthinking this because considering the price of one Schmincke bottle I could buy three different Coliro colors 😅
I can’t really advise on which would last longer, but I love my Aquabronze as it is so flexible. You can sprinkle which takes hardly any product and still get a beautiful sheen. When I made the film it was really to test out the ‘Goldest Gold’ paint. I thought it was rather an over claim!
Great analysis, thanks very much for explaining that.
Can this gold leaf be brushed onto 3d sculptures?
For silver could I follow these steps?
I guessed that the left swatch was 24 carot so all that expense would be wasted on me
Loose leaf gold or silver is good on 3 d, and transfer leaf is better on flat. Imitation silver is aluminium and imitation gold has lots of copper in it.
Yes ma'am thank you.
You are so welcome
This is such an amazing video... I am wondering Liz if you have tried Acualux in gold or bronze? I too am a watercolorist but decided to try my hand at Acrylic painting... So this would be on a canvas...of course.Look forward to hearing back from you, Lisa...now living in Spain
sorry, I haven’t tried those! so many colours, so little time
@@LizChadertonArt So, I decided to try the bronze and although very nice it is not as good as the gold leaf.... Thank you,
Lisa
@@lisarosenthal3855 that’s good to know (but a shame)
Thanks for this, nice to see them next to each other. I was lucky to stumble upon Daniel Smith’s metallic powders but haven’t made use of them yet, except for ogling ☺️ Could you add water to GG to thin it down? They all have such different consistences.
so many things to play with! 😊 yes, you could thin GG and I probably should have. but it still wouldn’t have been the Goldest….
@@LizChadertonArt Guess it means more playtime! I love watching your leafing process. Thank you.
The problems with gold paints, is they still look like paint. The closest ive come that i use on antique clocks is Rub n Buff in small tubes. I did gold leaf on 2 columns and its too shiney, so i need to antique it a bit.
Yes - the paints over promise. I’ve not come across Rub n Buff.
@@LizChadertonArt I wasnt a fan of it at first, but ill use it over paint any day. I did a complete cast iron clock that lost all of its gold guilding. Its not super shiney, but i didnt want that, and i can add highlights to it too.
@@kevinwallis2194 great to know. Thanks
@@Feroce agreed!
@@Feroceinteresting! I did this with a clay fired sculpture. Just following a RUclips video. Now I understand a bit more
Have you ever tried liquid leaf? Works great
no I haven’t!
have you tried Liquid Leaf? it’s an enamel paint i think is the closest! also i’ve heard about MNT Liquid Metallic Paint but i have yet to try
no I haven’t. so many to try!
Do you find the gold leaf tarnishes? I always got lost trying to work out how to seal it! The schminke one is great but it can wipe off once its dried. Loved the comparisons ❤
imitation gold leaf has lots of copper in it, so it tarnishes. it can be sealed with a metal lacquer or spray hi glass varnish. traditionally you use shellac varnish. Real gold doesn’t tarnish… Schmincke would either need sealing to stop it wiping off or protecting under glass. I don’t think it tarnishes, but now I am curious and need to research!
Hiya Liz, Thanks very much for another really interesting comparison video. The Schmincke Aqua Bronze range has a strange, slightly unpleasant smell to me and I would take care not to breathe any in accidentally as it's powder. Do you use Japanese Gold Size to apply your leaf? That stuff sticks like nothing else, especially if you don't clean the inside of the cap before replacing it 😂 Yes, and it's never come off! The Goldfinch painting is a really gorgeous work of art, beautifully done from conception to finished piece. The cat in the painting looks quite interested on something, food perhaps? I love that too.♥️
haha, you spotted my placement of the cat! points for observation 😂 I use Polyvine gold size. it’s acrylic and is ready in 15 mins. never noticed a smell to Aqua bronze, but I try not to sniff the powder. boiling water for the lid? followed by one of those kitchen gadgets for getting lids off??
@@LizChadertonArt Thanks Liz but Japanese Gold Size is made from genuine shellac which is rock hard when set. It's used by professional Luthiers but they dilute it with some sort of alchemy! x
@@davidmolloy126 but I thought shellac would soften in the heat? I have a very old jar on the shelf, I will take a look at it!!
With the schminke aqua did you have to add a binder or just water?
just water. it has binder in it
A good and more cost effective alternative to using real gold leaf.
yes!
I use Aqua Bronze gold by Schmincke!
good choice!
What color of the aqua bronze is it that you were using? They have five different colors, it wasn't copper or silver, but there's three with the name gold in it
Rich gold - it’s lovely
Nice paint review. "Cheap as chips" 🍟
so many gold paints out there!
The best gold for me is the Gold from "Kremer" Germany Best wishes from Cologne
good to know
Are all of the golds water based? Does it matter if you want to mix the gold with your watercolors?
The Goldest gold is acrylic, others were ink and others water based. You might have to consider the order of working. For example watercolour doesn’t go on top of acrylic
can i use Gold drawing ink - Winsor and Newton on CANVASE on an acrylic and oil painting? not sure if Schminke powder will do that yet?
I don’t paint in oils or acrylics, so I can’t really advise. sorry
Fabulous - thanks so much for showing us this. Very much appreciated.
My pleasure!
May I ask what brand of gold leaf you use? I'm overwhelmed by so many brands..
I like Wrights of Lymm
Hi, i was wondering what company you get your gold leaf and imitation gold leaf from. thank you.
I use all sorts but Wrights of Lynn are fab if you are in the UK
sorry, Wrights of Lymm
thank you!@@LizChadertonArt
An artist I know named Vincent Venturella has a video on youtube about his "gold recipe" acrylic paint which is absolutely fantastic. Best I've ever used. Give it a watch if you're interested!!
ooh, will go and search. Thank you
I have the komorebi metallic watercolor set, but you’ve convinced me to switch to Schmincke.
Even sprinkled, which you have me intrigued to try, it has to be far less messy than gold leaf, right?
gold leaf is messy, but nothing beats it IMO
I had heard that the Schminke gold powder does not store well premixed with water. What was your experience? TFS
To be honest, I usually only mix what I need, but I haven’t noticed any issues with reactivation. I’ll have to look into that.
It does not. I was in contact with Schminke because I wanted to know which products I could use together with the powder and they were very clear with saying that it oxidises quickly with water, meaning storing it in water will make it lose its sheen, but also painting too thick a layer will do the same since it then dries more slowly (I sometimes use an acrylic medium to paint it out with). Hope that helps! ☺️
Can you tell me the imitation gold leaf you used? Thank you
I got it from Wrights of Lymm
Can u purchase decoColor premium prime- premio the same as the pen but in a tin instead ?
I’m afraid I don’t know the answer to that. I would simply check their website.
Hi ma'am can you please share a tutorial for making a Variegated gold leaf at home.
It's too costly to buy online.
How to make variegated gold leaf at at home 🙏🙏
I’m afraid I don’t know how to make it at home. I know it is manufactured with heat and chemicals which react with the copper in the imitation lead
f, but whether that is possible at home, I do not know. Sorry.
Thank you so much for your reply
Hi, have you ever used Liquid Leaf?
no I haven’t
@ ah ok. I had hoped you’d have a review on it as I was looking to try it. Thanks for your answer.
Is any of these adequate for acrylic pouring please?
sorry, I don’t do acrylic pouring so I can’t advise
The first two put together Cyrila first?
sorry I don’t understand your question?
Do you ever seal your gold leaf?
Real gold doesn’t need sealing but imitation does die to its high copper content.
There is something with Aqua Bronze by Schmincke that I find defiant, probably it's me doing something not exactly correct. When I have to cover a large surface, I never get a uniform coverage on the area, because every time I pick up new pigment it gets diluted in a different way, sometimes it's more liquid, and sometimes it's more concentrated, no matter how attentive I am. I have to spread various coats of pigment to have something vaguely uniform. Any suggestion? Thanks in advance.
how large an area are you trying to cover? I’ve never used it on areas bigger than a few square cms. I tend to use it sprinkled in a wash or for line work.
@@LizChadertonArt I tried to use it as the golden background in a watercolour Bizantine icon. I can't afford true gold foil and I'm terrible at gilding, so no initiation gold foil for me.
Is it schminke rich gold or rich pale gold?
From memory, it was rich gold
what is the brand of the imit gold leaf?
I usually get my gold leaf from Wrights of Lymm
Is the Rowney Cryla "Pale Gold" or "Rich Gold"
Please I need an answer quickly because I am trying to finish this painting where I ran out of gold paint and ordered more of it and the 2nd time I got the paint shipped from China(go figure) to me the colour is different than the one before that's already on the canvas! >_
Pale gold - you can see if you pause the film!
Have you tried Green Stuff World's gold pigments?
no never! Do you like them?
@@LizChadertonArt I've not had the chance yet. However in the miniature circles people seem to love them. Some medium and a mix of pigments and you can get a very convincing gold. Vince Venturella has a good review of them where he compares them to his wedding ring. Very convincing gold, also using the pigments you should also be able to shift the color of existing gold paint. Just like mixing it with inks and what not.
@@jaanikaapa6925 sounds interesting. Will keep my eyes peeled
24k gold leaf is 78 euro for 5 sheets where I live - definitely not 7.85 pounds for 5 sheets
Real gold fluctuates with the gold price. It is eye watering, but very beautiful.
What about liquid gold leaf?
I wanted to test Goldest Gold (it’s a big claim!) against all the other golds I could find in my studio. I don’t have liquid gold leaf so it wasn’t included. is it something you use?
❤
glad you enjoyed this
Hi
Which brand won?
if you watch the film I say nothing comes close to gold leaf and that Goldest Gold doesn’t live up to the hype
Hot foil gold is another option.
yes, you are right. I just wanted to put their claim of being the Goldest Gold to the test…