As I mentioned in the previous post, The Open Thinner is not a Medium, as it is meant to literally thin and dilute your Paint in application. You can’t paint with it as more than 25% mix of your paint. The Open Thinner doesn’t actually ‘dry’ per se. it simply thins the binders of your acrylics. So you can use it with both the Heavy Body and Open paints. But don’t use it as a primary mix. Use the Open Mediums for that. I have done an experiment of just leaving a drop of Open Thinner on a glass palette unused. It took a long time to ‘dry. And its ’dry state’ was more of it transitioning to what was essentially a slippery film on the palette. So needless to say, that would do very unstable things to your paint if you use too much. If you have a daub of paint on your palette and it’s starting to set up, a small single drop of the Open Thinner, mixed in, will reactivate the creamy quality of the Open Paint. And again, it can be used similarly with the Heavy Body Acrylics too, also extending its dry times a bit. Using the Open Medium with a Heavy Body paint, literally converts it into an Open Acrylic.
If you paint more in a style of ‘layering and glazing’ to build up your colors, as you normally might do in traditional oils, that’s where the Open Acrylics really excel. You can absolutely lay it on thicker for more vivid color and coverage, but it will take substantially longer on the drying times. For reference, a somewhat comparative time-frame would be, for an equal amount of paint laid down, as in a ‘thin-ish’ layer, Acrylics will dry to the touch in under 5 minutes; Open Acrylics, 20-30 minutes; Oils, 2-4 hours. This of course varies depending on the specific color you’re using, which is true for the acrylics, as with oils.
Understanding which colours are opaque and which are transparent makes a big difference with these open colours. If I want more body I mix with heavy body. The puzzling Pthalo blues lean blue of red, when mixing the red shade will mix cleaner purples with magentas. And the green one will lean to more green shades when mixed with yellow. I prefer the thinner consistency as most acrylics especially the thicker ones do not lend themselves to going where you want to put them! I like glazing with transparent colours so I liked these. I have bigger tubes than yours and the paint is not as runny, maybe the binder settles a bit. I have those water soluble oils but have not dared to try them yet! I think I do not want the oil painting door to close on me if I do not get on with them. In the meantime I like the versatility of these paints they work well on canvas, acrylic papers and are fantastic on a gelli plate. The streakiness could be because of your surface.
I’m a BIG fan of open acrylics, since I live in a dry climate these are basically usable lol ! They are more transparent compared to other acrylics, but I like that about them because they are great for glazing, and I like to take my time layering in general. I love the open medium to use with my other acrylics to help them last longer!
Golden Open paints are highly marketed for Plain air painting. I received a free sample to try and will be heading outside with them 😊 so this was interesting. Thanks
People often compare the viscosity of a good oil paint to a softened butter. I would compare Open Acrylics to more of a ‘lotion’ viscosity. But a cool thing about the Golden Paints, is that you can purchase almost all of the equivalent colors in both the Heavy Body and the Open variations. So you can easily blend the different viscosities to suit your paintings needs and feel. Which will adjust the drying times too. Plus when you add the Open Mediums and Open Thinners into the mix, it can really expand the flexibilities of the paints. Other technical points: It’s not generally considered the best route to use water to thin your acrylic paints. Think of Open Thinners like petroleum-based thinners you’d use for oils. When doing so you are thinning the binders in the paint, thus making its archival qualities more unstable. And using water to thin your Open Paints will also make them dry faster too, again, because you’re thinning the binders. Use water to clean your acrylics, brushes, etc.. It’s best to use the Open Mediums and Open Thinners for modifying your acrylic paints. Just be sure, again, as when using Thinner Mediums with Oils, that you stick to the recommended ratios, as too much will dilute the binders in a detrimental way to the longevity and archival qualities of your paints. The Golden Mediums are great. You can literally paint with the Open Medium, as it is literally the same binder that is in the Open Paints. So you can use it to thin your colors, glaze, etc. You can NOT paint with the Open Thinner, it’s not the same in that regard.
I painted with Liquitex basic until I wanted glazing, older technology and longer opening time. After an oil on acrylic phase, I went with oil, especially after I started using real oil ground. Whenever I miss acrylics, I use some alkyd fast drying medium.
hi this is the first time viewing and very happy to have this info. I'm from Australia East Coast so don't know if this is live or not. but enjoying the experience and have subscribed to your channel so interested to see what else I can discover. Thankyou for your generosity in sharing. ....... Annie
@@artprof lol true but that’s kinda why I like it. I can lighten a skin tone without adding too much yellow or white because it’s already been done for me.
Those are just their mixing colors they also have landscape colors and other colors those are cheaper because they come in a set and can be mixed with regular acrylic colors to make them more opaque
Watching this a month later...I don't use acrylics that much but working on learning oils...the sketching lightly w/the paint is something I'm def gonna try. Thanks!
Someone explained to me the other day that apparently "soft body" is what Liquitex uses for what are the equivalent of Golden's "fluid acrylics." So confusing! -Prof Lieu
See more acrylic tutorials in this playlist: ruclips.net/video/WP6vtTS9kT4/видео.html
I live in a desert, acrylics dry super fast, so I’m glad you’re doing a review on it.
Glad it was helpful! -Prof Lieu
As I mentioned in the previous post, The Open Thinner is not a Medium, as it is meant to literally thin and dilute your Paint in application. You can’t paint with it as more than 25% mix of your paint. The Open Thinner doesn’t actually ‘dry’ per se. it simply thins the binders of your acrylics. So you can use it with both the Heavy Body and Open paints. But don’t use it as a primary mix. Use the Open Mediums for that. I have done an experiment of just leaving a drop of Open Thinner on a glass palette unused. It took a long time to ‘dry. And its ’dry state’ was more of it transitioning to what was essentially a slippery film on the palette. So needless to say, that would do very unstable things to your paint if you use too much. If you have a daub of paint on your palette and it’s starting to set up, a small single drop of the Open Thinner, mixed in, will reactivate the creamy quality of the Open Paint. And again, it can be used similarly with the Heavy Body Acrylics too, also extending its dry times a bit. Using the Open Medium with a Heavy Body paint, literally converts it into an Open Acrylic.
If you paint more in a style of ‘layering and glazing’ to build up your colors, as you normally might do in traditional oils, that’s where the Open Acrylics really excel. You can absolutely lay it on thicker for more vivid color and coverage, but it will take substantially longer on the drying times.
For reference, a somewhat comparative time-frame would be, for an equal amount of paint laid down, as in a ‘thin-ish’ layer, Acrylics will dry to the touch in under 5 minutes; Open Acrylics, 20-30 minutes; Oils, 2-4 hours. This of course varies depending on the specific color you’re using, which is true for the acrylics, as with oils.
Understanding which colours are opaque and which are transparent makes a big difference with these open colours. If I want more body I mix with heavy body. The puzzling Pthalo blues lean blue of red, when mixing the red shade will mix cleaner purples with magentas. And the green one will lean to more green shades when mixed with yellow. I prefer the thinner consistency as most acrylics especially the thicker ones do not lend themselves to going where you want to put them! I like glazing with transparent colours so I liked these. I have bigger tubes than yours and the paint is not as runny, maybe the binder settles a bit. I have those water soluble oils but have not dared to try them yet! I think I do not want the oil painting door to close on me if I do not get on with them. In the meantime I like the versatility of these paints they work well on canvas, acrylic papers and are fantastic on a gelli plate. The streakiness could be because of your surface.
I’m a BIG fan of open acrylics, since I live in a dry climate these are basically usable lol ! They are more transparent compared to other acrylics, but I like that about them because they are great for glazing, and I like to take my time layering in general. I love the open medium to use with my other acrylics to help them last longer!
Love ❤️ this painting and your style!
Wow - Thanks so much for this!!!! I feel like I can achieve the perfect look between watercolor and acrylic with these paints. Gotta get them!!
They are super cool, have fun!! -Prof Lieu
It looks great! It's supposed to mimic oil...hence the drying time, and you can blend and soften edges.
This got me to read some info on Open products. Then i tried them while watching. Yes, definitely good for thin layers and soft edges.
I forgot where I read about it but Golden Open is highly recommended for use with gel plates and I’m sure you can imagine why. Thanks for the review.
I use open, but I’ve never bought any sets. I’ll buy the colors that I want some open stock and some of the ones that are labeled. Heavy acrylic.
I agree about the packaging! What a hassle! In my experience phthalo blue (green) has a much greener tone. That’s kinda strange.
High flow is fun to work with… I think you’d love them if you like layering
Golden Open paints are highly marketed for Plain air painting. I received a free sample to try and will be heading outside with them 😊 so this was interesting. Thanks
People often compare the viscosity of a good oil paint to a softened butter. I would compare Open Acrylics to more of a ‘lotion’ viscosity. But a cool thing about the Golden Paints, is that you can purchase almost all of the equivalent colors in both the Heavy Body and the Open variations. So you can easily blend the different viscosities to suit your paintings needs and feel. Which will adjust the drying times too. Plus when you add the Open Mediums and Open Thinners into the mix, it can really expand the flexibilities of the paints.
Other technical points: It’s not generally considered the best route to use water to thin your acrylic paints. Think of Open Thinners like petroleum-based thinners you’d use for oils. When doing so you are thinning the binders in the paint, thus making its archival qualities more unstable. And using water to thin your Open Paints will also make them dry faster too, again, because you’re thinning the binders. Use water to clean your acrylics, brushes, etc.. It’s best to use the Open Mediums and Open Thinners for modifying your acrylic paints. Just be sure, again, as when using Thinner Mediums with Oils, that you stick to the recommended ratios, as too much will dilute the binders in a detrimental way to the longevity and archival qualities of your paints.
The Golden Mediums are great. You can literally paint with the Open Medium, as it is literally the same binder that is in the Open Paints. So you can use it to thin your colors, glaze, etc. You can NOT paint with the Open Thinner, it’s not the same in that regard.
This is all great to know! Thanks for watching :) - Mia, Art Prof Staff
I painted with Liquitex basic until I wanted glazing, older technology and longer opening time. After an oil on acrylic phase, I went with oil, especially after I started using real oil ground. Whenever I miss acrylics, I use some alkyd fast drying medium.
hi this is the first time viewing and very happy to have this info. I'm from Australia East Coast so don't know if this is live or not. but enjoying the experience and have subscribed to your channel so interested to see what else I can discover. Thankyou for your generosity in sharing. ....... Annie
Thanks Annie! Welcome to the Art Prof family :) - Mia, Art Prof Staff
The 'red shade' has a warm bias the blue shade' has a cool bias more to green.
The differences in the tone are very subtle as would only be revealed in tints and mixtures.
Incognito Open paint! I would definitely swatch each on paper and glue a tube-width swatch at the tube ends. Likely also a wide dab on the cap.
I love Golden fluid acrylics. They dry pretty but are highly pigmented
Concerning the choice of colors, I think the idea is that you have a warm and cold temperature for each color.
I use titanium buff mostly for skin tones
to me it's wannabe Naples Yellow!😂 -Prof Lieu
@@artprof lol true but that’s kinda why I like it. I can lighten a skin tone without adding too much yellow or white because it’s already been done for me.
The gel matte is good for thickly applying paint
Thanks!
Tysm for your support!! -Prof Lieu
Those are just their mixing colors they also have landscape colors and other colors those are cheaper because they come in a set and can be mixed with regular acrylic colors to make them more opaque
I didnt like open acrylics because they are too transparent for my art. However their open time is excellent. I like their heavy body
Watching this a month later...I don't use acrylics that much but working on learning oils...the sketching lightly w/the paint is something I'm def gonna try. Thanks!
If you learn how to use heavy body acrylics it will help you progress from oil paints though.
How do these compare to soft body acrylics?
Someone explained to me the other day that apparently "soft body" is what Liquitex uses for what are the equivalent of Golden's "fluid acrylics." So confusing! -Prof Lieu
@@artprof Wow. Interesting.
Omg I don't wanna be on Prof Lieu's sh-t list 😱😭
Don't worry you won't get on that list because I've worked with you as a professor! Students are immune from the list 😂-Prof Lieu
Any acrylic is better than old fashioned dingy oil .