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1. Jennifer Lititz, PA, United States of America. 29 Sept 2008

   Hi
   I’m Jennifer, the US Resident Artist for Chroma. I’m sorry to hear you’ve been frustrated with Interactive. If possible, please post a photo or two of your problems, so I can see what is happening. But in the meantime, I have a few suggestions that might help.
   
   1. Work on a well-sealed surface, especially if you work on paper. Using a few coats of gesso or Binder Medium will help prevent the loss of moisture through your substrate.
   
   2. I’m not sure why you are getting a milky wash through your spray. Please check your sprayer and make sure that it is clean and you are using just plain water. If you have a water softening system or well water, or feel the water source is impure, try using distilled water.
   
   3. When you use your water spray, spray enough so your surface feels slick again. If you only use one or two shots of the sprayer, it may not be enough. Also, I stand about 8-12 inches away from my painting when I spray, so big water droplets aren’t a problem. You may find that using a wet brush to add moisture to a given area works better for your style of painting. The droplets, when absorbed and Interactive is dry, will vanish.
   
   4. Try incorporating a Slow Medium, such as the Liquid or Thick Slow Medium, to give yourself even more open time.
   
   5. In very dry, low humidity situations, adding one part Retarder to two parts water in your sprayer will be helpful. Retarder is a water retention aid, not a replacement for water, so do not mix it directly with the paint.
   
   I hope these tips are useful, and if you continue to have problems, please let us know!

2. Jennifer Lititz, PA, United States of America. 29 Sept 2008

   Jennifer
   
   I have read all the info you sent and everything else I can lay my hands on through other artist forums etc, and still feel somewhat stuck with some of the issues I referred to.
   
   However, I am going to try spraying the back of the canvas during painting, as well as using the SLOW MEDIUM. Are there any strict proportions to adhere to when using this stuff.
   
   Is it best to just dip my brush in some each time I paint or is it better to mix an amount into the colour before hand?
   
   Also, what is the “retarder” Jen is referring to for the water sprayer, and where can I get it. Is it an Atelier product?
   
   I will get some pics to Jennifer ASAP re the milky look to the spray water when it goes on, and dries.
   
   cheers
   S
   
3. Jennifer Lititz, PA, United States of America. 29 Sept 2008

   Hi
   
   Nice paintings of waves!
   
   Regarding the Slow Mediums, there are no hard and fast rules for these mediums, and artists use them in various ways. They are very versatile, and I suggest starting out with some medium off to the side and just dip your brush as needed. For example, Jim Cobb likes to pick up paint on the brush and dip it into whichever medium he wants - Liquid Slow or Thick Slow. He also uses a wet brush - just water, no paint - to soften edges.
   
   Based on the images you sent, it looks like your paintings are very smooth. You may find mixing Liquid Slow Medium with Interactive suits your style better. I recommend mixing no more than 30% medium to paint to get a nice, fluid paint.
   Some artists apply a layer directly to their surface so they are already working in a “wet” environment. And some artists will dip their brush into the medium and work it into their surface paint to facilitate soft blends and transitions.
   
   As you can tell, there are many ways to use these mediums!
   
   Regarding Retarder, yes, it is an Atelier product, and is meant to be added directly to your water spray, not the paint.
   
   Hope these tips help and Happy Painting!
   
   Jennifer

4. Jennifer Lititz, PA, United States of America. 29 Sept 2008

   Jennifer
   
   I forgot to ask yesterday........
   I have just purchased a new set of Archival Oils, and wondered if there was a Chroma product similar to Windsor & Newton’s “LIQUIN”
   
   I really like what it does, but wanted something with the same faster drying properties as the Archival Oils.
   
   Can you let me know.
   
   cheers
   S

5. Jennifer Lititz, PA, United States of America. 29 Sept 2008

   Liquin is an alkyd, quick drying oil medium, mostly used to make glazes. I’d suggest the Lean Medium
   
   Jennifer

6. Mikel Wintermantel Allegany, New York, United States of America. 01 Oct 2008

   S, I use Interactive acrylics and often finish in alkyd paints. The acrylics dry to a nice flat finish so painting over them is ideal. Your style (which is quite nice) looks like you have very smooth gradients. I achieve similar results by painting in layers, each new layer I paint over the previous dry layer makes the gradations smoother and smoother. Many times I know I will finish in Alkyds or oils so I don't worry about getting the gradations perfect in acrylics.
   
   It is a different method of painting for some people, especially alla prima painters.
   
   It all depends on how thickly you paint too. I tend to use very thin layers of paint.
   
   My other suggestion is to use the slow thick medium and not as much water. Watch your environment too and make sure it isn't too dry or windy across the painting.
   
   Every new medium takes some getting used to but I think you will find you can control these paints with ease after experimenting a little with different methods.
   
   Mikel Wintermantel, C.M.

7. Frances Poole , , . 17 Oct 2008

   I've been working with Interactive for the past year. I had never used Acrylics before, but was familiar with what they do. Especially the difficulty in blending. I was pleased to find that with Interactive, I have been able to get nice transitions in my work. It took me awhile to learn to use the paints and especially the Mediums since I was used to working with oils all my life, but after awhile, I was not able to tell the difference from my Acrylic and Oil paintings.
   
   

   White Poppies

8. Jennifer Lititz, PA, United States of America. 13 Nov 2008

   This comment came in via email from Anna
   
   I am really excited about these new acrylics! I have been a watercolor painter most of my adult life, and have tried both oil and traditional acrylics. I did not like either one, but would like to work on canvas. These interactive are great, but there definitely is a learning curve. I love the demos by Keith Norris and would like to know who makes that 1 1/2" brush that he uses. He is painting the way I like to paint in the mixed media demo. Also I would like to know if you can use the gloss or matte medium instead of the slow and fast drying medium for mixing.
   
   Thanks for any imput........Anna

9. Shane Martin , , . 26 Nov 2008

   Hi Jennifer,
   Just wanted to let you know how I am going with the Interactive, since my last visit. I started using both the Slow medium, and the Clear Painting medium, and have found a dramatic improvement in the working times of the paint. For big blended skies, I lay down the Clear Painting Medium directly onto the canvas, which acts as a great color blender tool.
   And since I have been using the Slow medium added to each color mix, I have found it more enjoyable to paint, rather than panicking about them drying to fast. I do use the water spray as well, but still find I am getting water droplets on other parts of the painting, which then dry lighter by a shade or two, thus requiring you to blend these out. ( Sometimes a pain).
   Anyway here are a couple of examples of my latest works.

   Palm Island

   Big Blue Sky

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