Atelier Interactive Acrylics Painters' Challenge Winners!

Chroma Inc. was proud to sponsor an Atelier Interactive Acrylics Painters’ Challenge in conjunction with Jerry’s Artarama for North American artists this year. Artists from across the USA and Canada entered, and we were thrilled with the quality of the artwork and the amazing talent these painters showed. Artists were awarded Interactive paints and mediums as well as gift cards to Jerry’s Artarama.

Revitalized Paper Craft with Lee Clements

Individually made cards bring lasting pleasure to the recipients who often treasure the article of friends or family creativity as an extension of that person. Similarly albums which celebrate memories of special times and family growth can be made so much more special by personal touches of creativity. Finding fresh ideas for scrap booking involves thinking about the occasion, content of the photos or characteristics and desires of the people involved. Once the general idea has been established the variety of scrap booking techniques are endless.

Varnishing 101

Atelier Interactive dries without a “plastic” look, with very low sheen yet high color saturation. But it is important to protect any painting with a finishing varnish and furthermore, you can choose to alter the final sheen of your Interactive painting. Chroma offers two types of varnishes – water-based and solvent based. The advantage of using water-based varnish is that it is water-based, but it is non-removable. The advantage of using a solvent-based varnish is that it is removable with mineral spirits, but there are fumes involved, which some artists chose to avoid.

Absolute Matte Converter Trial

Absolute Matte is a super matte acrylic gouache which has achieved a dedicated, though limited, following in Australia because of its uniquely vivid matte colours. The paint has higher saturation levels than traditional gum based gouache or other brands of “acrylic gouache” and matte acrylic paints. It is used by artists who appreciate its ultra matte finish and who are particularly aware of surface qualities. Ideal for large paintings on canvas or board and outdoor sketching on water colour paper.

Loosen Up!

One of the most attractive things about a painting, and one of the most challenging to master, is the art of making it look “painterly.” It’s more than just using different brushes or tools for marks or unexpected color; it’s combining these elements in a way that enhances the overall design. New Jersey artist Anne Kullaf understands this, and when she uses Atelier Interactive for her acrylic paintings, she is able to produce beautiful, expressive works that are based in realism, but with an attractive loose feel.

Archival Oils' Lean and Fat Mediums

When you first start painting with oils, one of the “rules” you hear about is to follow “fat over lean.” What does fat over lean mean anyway?

Paint Talk Gallery 2010

As we continue to receive news of activities that our artists engage in and a number of images ,we have decided to open another Paint Talk Gallery for the current year. We would like to thank everyone to has contributed over the past year and has shared their work with us.

The old gallery topic is closed for comments, please add your new images and comments to the 2010 Paint Talk Gallery but you can still go to the 2009 Paint Talk Gallery to view it.

Basics of Blending

When it comes to smooth transitions in paintings, the most natural and intuitive way to suggest this is by blending. It’s easy to do with oil paint, but because of the fast-drying nature of acrylics, blending has been incredibly challenging with acrylics. Happily, blending is easy with Atelier Interactive, because it is the only acrylic that can be controlled to delay drying so you can blend, simply by using a water sprayer or by using the Unlocking Formula.

Basics of Interactive

Interactive is the world's most advanced acrylic paint, because it makes acrylic painting easier - and who doesn't want that! Because I've been painting with Interactive for over 3 years, I sometimes forget how revolutionary Interactive really is. After all, Interactive becomes touch-dry fairly quickly, so I easily use my standard acrylic painting techniques like layering, glazing and scumbling.