Paint Talk

Hot Topics
Categories
Contributors
Using Paint Talk
RSS Feeds
What is RSS

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is the easiest way to keep up to date with your favourite content, find out more: RSS Definition on Wikipedia.
There are lots of excellent feed readers around (sometimes called "news aggregators") and many of them are free. Here is a comprehensive list of feed readers.

Tags
Add to Technorati Favorites
Suggest a topic or ask a question
Notice

Please Note: This form does not post a comment to Paint Talk. If you would like to post a comment to this entry please login and use the comment form. The Suggestion/Question form will send your message directly to Chroma.

Anti-spam Question

Please answer the anti-spam question, a correct answer is required to confirm that you are human, this is done to protect our forms from unwanted spam attacks commonly generated by scripts.

Mike Barr Interactive Discussion

by Jim Cobb Apr 18, 2008 Last comment posted on Apr 20, 2008

Mike Barr is an award winning artist from South Australia who has recently started using Atelier Interactive. I was interested to see what such an accomplished acrylic artist thought of the new slow blending techniques available with Interactive.

I have decided to use Paint Talk to share our discussion with a wider audience and allow other artists to join in.

Email To Mike

Mike,

When I saw your paintings knowing that you had moved from the “old” Atelier with its quick drying habits to the “new” Atelier Interactive with unlimited blending time, I wanted to ask you a few questions:-

Your “old” paintings have such a degree of finish that it would be easy to mistake them for oils. The only way I know of to do this is by using multiple thin layers, always set tonally lighter to try to anticipate the tone drop when they dry, and if they do happen to dry too light, they can be set back in tone by a thin wash.

It takes a high level of skill to develop the control necessary to do this, and you could be forgiven for not trying the new extended blending possibilities. Never having had your skill or patience my “old” acrylics need to be finished in oils, and I can now finish in Atelier Interactive.

I wonder if you are finding Atelier Interactive easy to adapt to and are preferring the new blending techniques?

There are several other highly skilled artists I want to put this same question to. It is difficult to pick up nuances on low resolution images (please everyone send as close up image too!)

I feel that in my own paintings I have more control of tone. I get a softer more painterly effect and I think this would be most noticeable with figure painting which, in “old” technique, usually has a stilted photorealist look compared to an oil painting of the same subject

I would like to ask all of you who do figure painting to comment.

Rain on Currie StreetRain on Currie Street Lolloping at LargsLolloping at Largs Shadows on Goolwa BeachShadows on Goolwa Beach
There are (1) Comments so far, why not join the discussion?
  1. comment_1_5561 Mikeb Adelaide, sa, Australia. 20 Apr 2008

    Hi Jim
    I have found that with acrylics, speed and a big brush go a long way in overcoming some of the perceived drawbacks with this medium, wether we are using the new interactive capabilities or not. No washes or thin layers were used on the small "Rain on Currie St" painting. It was completed in less than an hour and has all the hallmarks of a plein air work. Thats not to say however that certain parts of it didnt need going over. The highlight in the pavement for instance took a few layers of thick, almost white paint to get it right - but thats one of the beauties of acrylic - there are no problems in going back almost straight away and adding more paint in incriments to get things right.
    "Shadows on Goolwa Beach" is a large paintiing 150x100cm and I did use washes of white and blue to set back the distant sandhills - it worked a treat. Try adding a glaze to an oil painting an hour or so after laying down the same sandhills!
    I have used the interactive paints without using their capablities for quite some time but have found recently that I can keep my palette moist all day with the occasional mist of water and have kept a palette moist for over a week by covering it. I use disposable plates and if i need to keep the palette overnight of for a few days I put another plate on top of the 'palette' as if protecting food. A light spray of water before the plates come together will keep the humidity right for quite some time.
    As far as blending on the canvas is concerned the Interactive comes into its own when paint has to be added again. For instance if there is a spot of blue that needs redoing in a seascape, the new blue can be blended into the old blue with out the harsh lines of a new colour - particularly handy when cutting in around and object of figure that has been added on top of a larger background.
    Im of the opinion that the interactive is much better on figurative work, were blending is paramount. Again quickness and confidence is still a key but things are helped along by the paints ability to blend even when touch dry. I have attached a painting completed recently that I was quite happy with. The painting is called "Calling in sick".

    Calling in sick        
Join the discussion

You need to be logged in to add comments on Paint Talk.
New users may register here. Please read the comment rules before adding a comment.