Chroma Paint Talk

Online Painting Videos & Demos

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 20:06:10 GMT

Many artists are producing videos of their painting techniques and posting them online. Chroma has developed a variety of demonstrations and posted them on our new Media Library, so I encourage you to check them out: Chroma Video Media Library

If you've posted a video somewhere in cyberspace, why not post that link here too? We'd love this thread to be a resource for artists looking for online demos!

Plein Air Painting With Interactive

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 07:29:52 GMT

I first invented Interactive in 2003 and in 2005 Atelier Interactive was in public use, in fact it replaced our conventional fast drying Atelier Acrylic and most people in Australia and New Zealand have been using it for 3 years, while I have 5 years experience. Over this time I have done a lot of plein air painting with Interactive and it works really well - the ability to slow the drying time and rehydrate the paint makes it so much easier to use than a regular acrylic, especially in dry or windy conditions.

Here is an information sheet that covers my experience when painting with Interactive Plein Air and in other difficult conditions.

Drying Time & The Effect of Hostile Climate

There is another new very slow drying acrylic out now but since Interactive is the innovator with the track record I suggest you try it first. It is also a universal paint, for both fast and slow use, so you won’t need 2 varieties. I hope you will find Atelier Interactive not just creamy, but crème de la crème!

My job as a paint maker keeps me chained to my easel probably more than I am to my laboratory bench, and June, July, August and September are the favourite months for plein air painting in Australia. The weather is dry and not too hot in the tropical and desert areas where artists like to go to paint outdoors.
This report is from Yepoon on the Tropic of Capricorn coast. My wife and I have scheduled trips to Chillagoe, Mt Isa and Alice Springs so I have marked them all out on the weather map which also gives average humidity expectations that are crucial to plein air planning for any water based paints.
Note also where we live in the wet tropical belt. End of June is supposed to be the dry season, but humidity here this morning was 87%. We live in the hills and do not use either heating or air conditioning so our studio conditions are always “plein air” and I have to plan paint use for extreme wet to extreme dry conditions.

Notes on the Yepoon Paintings on view:

Most were painted on watercolour paper. For the oil painting gesso was used to seal the paper.

All the water based paintings used the slow moist bed laying in method.

And they took on average 2 – 2 ½ hours to paint.

Water spray was used for laying in. The spray mix one part retarder to 2 parts water. I don’t recall spraying after laying in, but it is possible I did once more – it’s hard to remember when one is busy painting.

The temperature was low 20 C or low 70’s F, with a brisk sea breeze.

Humidity would have been mid range. (We will take a hygrometer on our next trips).

On the screen images you can’t distinguish the oil from the Atelier Interactive’s or Absolute Matte’s but of course in real life you can because of the surface qualities, however varnished - oil and Atelier Interactive would be hard to pick.

The oil, done with Archival Oils, Laying-in Medium and Flow Gel was tacky but “dry” the next day. The Atelier Interactive and Absolute Matte paintings were dried out in sunlight enough to be put on the car seats to go back to base.

Josephine has provided some images (Low Tide) to give an idea of laying in with Atelier Interactive which is similar to oil laying in (using spray and Thick Slow Medium) and since the paint is wet, alterations to the drawing are done by wiping out instead of overpainting dry paint. You need to remember to bring rags.

We have got used to, and now prefer, the wet method with laying in but we think many artists will “move across” slowly, using fast technique (no water spray allowed!) to block in to a stage where blending becomes useful.

NOTE: When out sketching I tend to be fast and untidy, and I like to be able to fuss around later when I get the painting home. If it is too late to respond to water spray, the Unlocking Formula is very useful for reblending and saves a lot of time where previously one would have had to mix fresh paint and try to match.

I know Cezanne would have made a better job of it, but I think our efforts show that the paint works perfectly for plein air.

For more information see the Paint Talk article from Jennifer called Tips for plein air painting

PS: Interactive would work well for figure painting too but I need some examples because we don’t do it ourselves.

Cut through the Fast Talk on Slow Acrylics

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 02:35:12 GMT

Clearly there is something important going on about the drying time of acrylics, but the discussion in some case does not give fully accurate information, or help the user to choose between competing products in this new category.

Standing apart from this “me-too” bandwagon is Interactive and Golden “Open.” Open really is different, and is very slow drying. It should be ideal for special needs such as alla prima plein air painting but “Open” can only be used for slow techniques, and should not be confused with Atelier Interactive, which can be used for slow and normal fast acrylic techniques.

Atelier Interactive is the first real tried and tested advance on acrylic artists’ paints since they were first developed back in the 1960s. This revolutionary acrylic does not form a skin permitting the paint to be rehydrated even after it has become touch dry.

The real starting point of this trend was 2003 when I invented Atelier Interactive, which was subsequently put on the market in 2005 and Chroma holds a patent pending on its formulation.

In 2005, Atelier Interactive replaced Chroma’s ordinary artists’ acrylic called Atelier in Australia and New Zealand. It was designed as an improvement to ordinary acrylics, not a complete departure from them. Atelier Interactive is not a slow drying paint; it is a universal use paint, which the artist can easily control so that it dries either quickly or slowly.

Atelier Interactive performs well as a fast drying paint, and many people choose acrylics because they are fast drying, yet when a fast drying paint “controls you”, and won’t let you extend the open working time when you need more time to finish what you are doing, it is a great advantage to be able to use the “slow” side of Atelier Interactive’s “character”.

Because it is easy to use either fast or slow, there are fast painters who use the slow side occasionally, and there are slow painters who set themselves up for progressive slow painting sessions with extensive blending, like with oils, except that at the end of a session the painting can be dried out rapidly if necessary.

By simply adding water to your paint brush or spraying your canvas, you can extend your wet blending time indefinitely during a painting session. The next day, or even days after, if you choose to continue with your wet-in-wet blending, simply use our Unlocking Formula.

My personal experience extends over 5 years and public use covers 3 years, which means that it is very worthwhile to download the how-to-use information we have accumulated from actual use over this period.

Interactive Basic Information Sheet

Thick Slow Medium (for a more impasto style) and Slow Medium (for a more thinned syle) have been specially designed for this product line. Both dramatically extend the workability of Atelier Interactive.
Many questions have already been asked and answered about Atelier Interactive.

You can find more information by reviewing our FAQs or signing up for Chroma Link. A video demonstration is also available for viewing and does a terrific job of showing how Atelier Interactive works.

Chroma Link

Common Interactive Questions Paint Talk Topic

Interactive Demonstration Video

What's On Your Palette?

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 20:35:02 GMT

One of the perks of being a Resident Artist is that I get to use lots of paint! Like many artists, I have standard colors that I favor, but I’ve gotten questions about what color to use for portraits, landscapes, etc. So lately I’ve been exploring different color palettes when I’ve painted with Interactive and I thought I’d share some of my favorites.

Standard: What can I say – I’m old school! I tend to favor a classic warm/cool palette and generally use the following for my paintings: Titanium White, Cadmium Yellow Light, Cadmium Yellow Medium, Cadmium Red Medium, Quinacridone Magenta, French Ultramarine Blue, Pthalo Blue, Dioxazine Purple and Permanent Sap Green.

Landscapes: I’ll add Yellow Ochre, Burnt Umber, Burnt Sienna, Permanent Alizarine, Chromium Green Oxide and Paynes Grey as needed. I’ve found that Transparent Perinone Orange is a fantastic glaze color, and landscapes look very cool when underpainted with Transparent Red Oxide. That hint of red makes the greens pop!

Portraits: When I’m working figuratively, I find I incorporate Jaune Brilliant, Naples Yellow Reddish, Toning Grey Pink and Mars Violet along with my standard palette. Sometimes I do an underpainting with Terre Verte like the Old Masters did in the Renaissance.

The above palettes use a mix of opaque, semi-transparent and transparent colors. Using a combination allows me to develop my painting classically with an underpainting, opaque layers and glazes as desired. The painting will absorb the light through multiple paint layers and only bounce part of the light back. This is what makes paintings glow, and this is a characteristic of Old Masters paintings.

When I do formal workshops on Impressionism, I work with a contemporary Impressionist palette, based off Monet’s paintings. This includes:

Titanium White, Cadmium Yellow Light, Cadmium Yellow Medium, Cerulean Blue, Cobalt Blue, French Ultramarine Blue, Cobalt Green, Permanent Green Light, Permanent Alizarine, Vermillion, Yellow Ochre and Dioxazine Purple. I’ll use Cadmium Orange, Napthol Crimson and Brilliant Magenta when I want to make highlights or shadows pop even more. Most of these colors are opaque or semi-transparent, which is a hallmark of Impressionist paintings. When opaque colors are used with a high value and intensity, the overall painting will have a feeling of vibrancy and brightness. The Impressionist paintings reflect the light back from the surface because the light doesn’t get absorbed into the paint film.

If I had to give myself a label, I’d call myself a contemporary American Impressionist, since I aim to capture the light and the emotional resonance of a person, place or thing. That’s probably why I don’t usually use blacks, because I prefer to make my greys using the compliments. Everyone has a different color sensibility, and with 75 colors, everyone is bound to have their favorites. I’m curious: What colors do you use on your palette, and do you find you use different colors for different styles or subjects? Do you know why you choose the colors you do? Post you comments and artwork!

Chroma Link Feedback

Wed, 21 May 2008 05:05:27 GMT

We have just sent out our first email Newsletter – Chroma Link. We are trying to deliver useful information to you so that you can better use our products and stay up to date with what’s new at Chroma. We would really like to know what you think of Chroma link and about how we can make it better.

To sign up to receive your Chroma Link email please click here

Registered chromaonline users should have already been sent the email, if you have not seen yours then check your email junk/spam box.

Mike Barr Interactive Discussion

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 06:23:19 GMT

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.

Tips For Plein Air Painting

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 17:38:41 GMT

Plein Air Painting Tips

Plein air painting first became popular in the 1880s with the Impressionists. The fact that paint was now available in tubes allowed these artists to work "in the open air" instead of their studios. This freedom helped the Impressionists capture the ever-changing light and shadows of their landscape and world. Today, modern plein air painters continue this passion for painting outdoors.

Plein air painting can be a wonderful experience, especially if you prepare properly. If possible, scout out your location beforehand to find what inspires you. Remember, you are the artist, so you don't need to include every detail in a particular scene - you are allowed to edit and enhance. Along with your Interactive paints, mediums and water sprayer, consider taking a few different surfaces or canvases. That way, when the light and shadows change, you'll be able to paint the new scene before your eyes. Always remember to take your "dirty water" with you for proper disposal, and bring a trash bag for dirty paper towels and other waste. Other handy non-paint items are a portable easel and stool, a snack, plenty of water to drink and sunscreen and/or a hat!

Because you have the ability to control Interactive's drying process with the water sprayer, you can work wet-in-wet if desired, even outdoors. The Liquid Slow Medium and the Thick Slow Medium will extend Interactive's open time, which can be helpful in this type of situation. Since the environment affects Interactive's drying and curing time, you might find that you need to use the Unlocking Formula instead of water to reopen paint layers. This is especially true if you are painting in a warm and sunny place! You can also use the Unlocking Formula the next day to reopen paint layers if you choose to "finish" your painting in the studio at a later time.

The Future of Decorative Art

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 03:06:03 GMT

I sent the following email to the Chroma teacher and working artists and I received a number of interesting responses so I have decided to put then on Paint Talk for you all to see.

I have known for quite some time that all of you have been having a tough time of it trying to adjust to a changing market where Folk Art is losing popular appeal. It’s always easy to deal with an expanding market, which is enthusiastic and leads itself forward, but it is much more difficult to deal with a contracting market, where enthusiasm is no longer automatic. Folk Art is not dead, it is still being done, but is no longer dominant and leaves highly trained motivated teachers looking around to create a mix of painting options which appeal to a wider audience, while maintaining Folk Art for those who are interested.

After discussing the current situation with a number of Folk Artists it seems clear to me that there is a growing trend away from Decorative Art on 3 dimensional objects towards what is considered Fine Art painted on a flat surface like canvas.

In decorative art today the subject matter and style can be taken from any source which appeals to the student wanting to learn how to paint. They usually start by tracing their designs from the source material and then progress to designing and drawing as they paint. This progression seems very logical to me, allowing students to move along a learning path and choose their own subjects.

This process of the student choosing the subject and the teacher teaching the skills should be a recipe for ongoing success that transcends the fickle nature of changing fashions and trends.
It can be a challenge to find new and interesting subject matter so to help you with this we created the Inspirations for Art topic.

I think that for teachers who are adaptable there is a lot of discipline and technical skill which can be transferred from Folk and Decorative Art to Fine Art, and you will be able to help your students more effectively than some Fine Art teachers can.

An example of skill is side loading which you all know about, but no landscape painter member of your nearest Art Society even knows what it is. However, I have seen a video of Arthur Boyd at work where he deftly paints some tree trunks, working from bottom upwards and sideloading all the way to show the direction the light is coming from. He does it so fast it looks magical.

Decorative Artists have a lot of valuable colour mixing experience, unlike some Folk Artists who always use premixed colours straight from the tube.

More exciting information with lots of new ideas on how to extend your techniques using all our other brands will shortly be coming your way so stay tuned!

See below some of the responses.

Paint Talk Gallery

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 05:40:32 GMT

Like most artists in this computer age, I get lots of emails every day. In addition to questions about paint and requests for events, I receive emails from artists that include images of recent works created with our products. Those are my favorite emails, as I always am so impressed with the talent and creativity of people who use our paints. I forward them to my Chroma counterparts in Australia, and now I will share selected ones with you.

I plan to update this gallery every few months and if you’ve created artwork with Interactive, Archival, Jo Sonja's or any of our Chroma products, I’d love to see them, please add your images to the gallery.

The paintings below (comments 1, 2 and 3) were created with Interactive Acrylics. Recently, Jim Cobb, the founder of Chroma, wrote that after viewing these works, he finds these Interactive paintings

have a sort of softness that I associate with oil rather than acrylic, which in the past have tended to be rather sharp and slightly mechanical looking… after having invented the paint, (it’s good) to see people using it so nicely...

Inspirations For Art

Wed, 06 Feb 2008 04:23:37 GMT

It can be a challenge to find new and interesting subject matter so to help you with this we have created this new topic.

You can use this topic in to post your favourite images and more importantly to see what others have posted. You can also post links to websites or perhaps recommend a good reference book.

We have added a few images to get things started and if everyone participates this may become a useful pool of images for everyone to use.
You will find instructions on how to use Paint Talk here.

Copyright and Images

If you find an image you like on a website and are unsure if it is protected by copyrighted or not please just link to it in your comment.

Eg. Here is a cute picture of a puppy I found online
http://www.caninecompanions.org/national/puppy_raising.html

If you own the copyright to one of the images on Paint Talk and want it removed please contact support@chromaonline.com and we will take it down.

Surface Preparation Tips.

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 05:49:36 GMT

I was recently asked an interesting question by a an artist who is serious about the use of materials. He likes to paint on wallboards which he prepares himself. His picture framer questioned the use of MDF board because of the possibility that tannin stains from the board might, over time, strike through and spoil the painting., Qualified picture framers are well trained on the choice and use of materials, and the question is a valid one.
The answer given here is good for any painting surface you may think is capable of causing stains:

All water based acrylics are micro porous and will not protect against staining of this type:

a complete seal is needed.

You can use a coat of gloss or satin alkyd (solvent based) house paint to seal the board.
You can also use Chroma Gloss Solvent Acrylic Varnish as a seal coat.
Next you need one coat of Atelier Binder Medium to ensure good bonding to the seal coat.
Follow with one or two coasts of Gesso.
It is possible to buy wallboards which are already primed with white solvent based paint and can be gessoed.

NOTE: I do not know whether MDF board contains enough tannin to worry about, so my suggestions above are about preventing possible trouble on any doubtful wallboard.

Restorer’s Nightmares

Of famous Australian artists, Ian Fairweather is notorious for having painted on cardboard without any preparation. The paintings are embedded in the surface of the cardboard which is rotting away.

Membranes

Two to three coats of Binder create a membrane layer, and if Fairweather had done this, restorers would be able to remove the rotted cardboard at the back and replace it with something reliable.

Low Cost Lazy Choices can be Hard to Resist

Cheap canvases on stretchers, which are now commonly available, can also be a sensible choice.

THE FACT THAT THE STAPLES ARE AT THE BACK, LEAVING THE SIDES CLEAN, CAN BE A HUGE ECONOMIC ADVANTAGE TO ANY ARTIST WANTING TO EXHIBIT, BECAUSE THE COST OF FRAMING CAN BE AVOIDED.

Quality

There are many brands so you need to choose carefully. Having been lazy, and having avoided stretching your own canvas, you should take a little trouble preparing the surface, which will improve enormously if you gesso it yourself, and it only takes a few minutes.

Prepare Yourself Choices

The Atelier range of gessoes includes:

Gesso Primer – For thick textural effects.

Liquid Gesso Primer – A smooth thin consistency that spreads easily and allows the texture of the canvas to show through.

We are also currently developing a new absorbent gesso.

The Ultimate Painting Surface

We believe that non-rotting, non-warping polyester canvas is the best choice for professionals, especially for large paintings.

There is another strong advantage for artists who live in the country, or whose work has to travel to be sold: polyester canvas can be stapled to a plywood backing (which acts as an easel), and after gessoing it can be painted on. Paintings chosen for exhibition can be put on stretchers later, when needed. Paintings, including oils done with flexible Archival Oils, can be rolled up for transportation and stretched on arrival.

Visit John Walker on the gallery site, whose large Archival Oils are handled in this way.

Reports From the road – Interactive Health & Safety

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 04:05:58 GMT

It’s been a busy, busy summer and fall for Chroma USA! Since my last Report from the Road, I’ve been all around the USA visiting art societies, colleges and retail stores, talking about Interactive. Our team of Regional Teaching Artists has been just as busy, giving workshops and teaching in their areas of the country. I’ve found that some artists attended my workshops were familiar with Interactive wanted to get some painting tips; others were brand new to the Interactive painting experience. Either way, I’m always so impressed by their creativity. I intend to take my digital camera with me on future workshops so I can upload some pictures, too. All of the artists I’ve met at my workshops have been friendly and curious about the paint – so thank you for being a great part of our Chroma Community!

In addition to traveling and teaching, I also answer questions about Interactive via email (jvonstein@chromaonline.com), the phone and here on Paint Talk. I recently had an artist write to me about health concerns, mediums and Interactive. She has a health condition called MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivities and needs to be very careful about what she uses.

So here’s some good info on Interactive with regards to health safety issues.

All artists’ paints carry regulatory statements set up by ACMI to provide guidelines for occupational use (i.e. day to day) by persons who do not have health problems. Anyone with MCS or similar conditions would have to be guided by medical advice aided by whatever they notice personally and can ask their doctor about.

Sensible use takes care of problems related to using pigments contained in paints, because they are not volatile. Sensitivity is always about volatile chemicals. Commonly, it is solvents used with oil paints. Acrylics, being water based, are more likely to be usable by sensitized people, but the subject of ventilation is often overlooked. A gentle cross current of fresh air is easily set up in mild climates, like most of Australia and some parts of the US, but many people often have a closed system supplying cool or warm air. While an OSHA mask capable of filtering whatever the problem chemical is might be helpful they are often uncomfortable or intolerable to wear. A filter added to the air conditioning unit could really help.

Do the mediums contain an odor? The odor in the other acrylics I used indicated some sort of a solvent or mineral spirit to which I am sensitive.

The Slow and Fast Mediums do not have an odor. The Binder Medium has a bit of an odor when I sniff the bottle, but it is not a solvent nor does it contain mineral spirits; I think it's just the emulsion. The Unlocking Formula is isopropyl alcohol based, so if the smell of rubbing alcohol bothers you, than I'd avoid this one.

Are the mediums that are used with INTERACTIVE Acrylics for impasto, speeding drying, or slowing it down, the same ingredients as those used by the acrylic paints of other companies, or your other acrylic paints? I find they have a definite odor distinct from the acrylic paints themselves, which are practically odorless.

Not knowing what in other acrylics causes your allergies, I cannot say for certain. I spoke with our chemist who assures me that we use professional pigments and emulsions to create our paint and mediums. Atelier Interactive MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheets) can be found here. Sometimes the air that's trapped in a tube or jar of paint can cause an odor when released, but that should dissipate quickly.

Are any of the ingredients toxic?

In the paint themselves, cadmium pigments and cobalt pigments should not be inhaled, so wear a mask or respirator if you are sanding your work. In the Unlocking Formula, there is isopropyl alcohol, which is flammable.

Do you have further questions regarding health and safety, if so please add a comment below.

Common Interactive Questions

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 03:48:05 GMT

Here are some answers to common questions about Interactive, if you have any other questions please add a comment below.

Are they flexible, permanent and waterproof just as any other acrylic paints?

Yes, Interactive is a professional artists' acrylic. They are lightfast and archival and can be combined with other acrylics. However, the more that you actually mix Interactive with other brands on your palette or canvas, the more they will act like conventional acrylics. Since the paint is designed to open up with water and has a longer curing time, I would not use them for an outdoor mural.

Can I use them as an underpainting or background under an oil painting?

Yes, you can.

I would really like to try the new paints, but can you tell me if I MUST use the slow-dryer medium to extend the work time, or is just using a water mist enough to slow it down?

When you work with Interactive, you'll find that it goes from being wet and slick, to tacky/sticky, to touch dry. It's at this tacky stage you'll feel your brush start to drag. That's the paint signaling you to add more moisture from the water sprayer or a wet brush, if you want to continue working wet-in-wet. I've found that in my studio in PA I can use water to keep my paint workable and reopen layers for about 3 -4 hours. How long water will reopen paint layers will depend on your environmental conditions, your surface, how thickly you paint and what mediums you've added. Adding Slow Medium to Interactive will make the paint accept moisture longer, thus providing artists with the ability to rehydrate using just water longer. After the first few hours, you'll need the Unlocking Formula if you want to reopen the layers.

And do I really need to use a medium to make it dry fast? Doesn't acrylic paint dry fast by itself, without the additional speed-drying medium?

All acrylics dry fast but Interactive dries differently. Since it doesn't form that immediate skin when it dries and takes 5-7 days to cure, you can reopen paint layers with water or even wet paint for the first few hours. So if you definitely do NOT want your paint to intermix, than adding the Fast Medium will make Interactive act more like a conventional acrylic and you will not be able to reopen the layer with water when its dry. It's good to add when you want to work quickly. I think that Interactive stays workable a bit longer than regular acrylics and has a longer open time. Sometimes I'll use a hair dryer to set my paint faster if I want to overpaint.

I'm taking my lessons from a DVD and need to know if the color names would be the same as those used by other traditional acrylics?

I'm not familiar with this DVD so I don't know how the DVD refers to colors or paints. Paint names may be the same (like Cobalt Blue, Cadmium Red Medium) or they may be different (Permanent Rose, Naples Yellow). What gives paint its color is the pigment. For example, a Cad Red Medium will be using PR 108. You should compare pigments in the paints, which should be listed on the tubes as well as in a color chart.

Do they dry with a matte finish or a sheen?

Straight form the tube Interactive dries with more of a satin finish, not bright and shiny like old-style acrylics. When you add more water or medium, that will affect the sheen. Sheens are best controlled when you varnish your paintings at the end. Varnishing a finished painting will help you address the sheen for aesthetic purposes as well as protect the painting. We make water based varnishes that don't contain solvents which may not affect your allergies.

Are they a fine artist grade product, with all the pigment properties to make them archival? I don't want to use any student-grade products at this point in my life. I don't have time to re-learn anything.

These are archival, light fast and professional. You'll find that they have nice buttery consistency with fantastic pigment load.

Additional FAQ's can be found on the Atelier Interactive FAQ page.

Archival Oils Student Survey

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 23:58:17 GMT

Art students from selected schools are checking out Archival Oils and Mediums. See what they have to say about the paint and join in the discussion if you like.

Student Survey Instructions 89,13 kB

Atelier Interactive Student Survey

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 23:54:24 GMT

Art students from selected schools are checking out Atelier Interactive Artists' Acrylic and Mediums. See what they have to say about the paint and join in the discussion if you like.

Student Survey Instructions 89,13 kB

Interactive Colour Range Suggestions

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 04:39:11 GMT

The email below came into our US marketing team recently.

"Say, I have a comment and a suggestion about the Interactive line. I guess that I don't understand having all of those different blacks, when it seems that one could add a little color to Carbon or Mars Black. I'd rather see a few gaps of color filled in. Two of my favorite greens, Viridian and Hooker's green are missing. The yellows could be filled out a bit more with Iron Oxide yellow or similar. Colors from the Hansa or Diarylide families would be welcome, also. Indanthrene blue or a similar non-pthalo blue would be nice.

I've got all three of your toning colors, gray, pink and yellow. The only one that I'll continue to use is the yellow, which is very unique. The pink does little for me and can probably be easily mixed. The gray is too cool and, once again, seems to be an item one could quickly mix. A slate gray, somewhat like W+N's Davey's Gray, would be great.

I realize that it doesn't make sense to ever expand a line of colors, but (o.k., this is my opinion!) with four blacks and two toning colors that are expendable, there's a great opportunity to fill out the line. Please understand that I have and will continue to absolutely LOVE these paints. My loyalty is unquestioned. Just thought I'd throw my 2 cents in.

Best regards,
Steve"

We are always interested to know what colours people like to use, are there any colours missing from our range that you would like to see included?

Can you overpaint oils with acrylics?

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 00:41:41 GMT

A question from one of our teachers prompts me to ask for feedback re overpainting oils with acrylics. Margaret, from Queensland, tells me she was always taught that you can't successfully paint acrylics over oils but she doesn't know the science behind it. She was challenged by someone who maintained it was possible at one of her demonstrations recently and was at a loss to explain her belief.

"I've looked on the web and can't find the answer ... just that it's not a good idea and that the acrylic will peel off. It appears to be an adhesion problem ... but then why can oils be painted successfully over acrylics?"

So over to fellow painters:

What's the reason behind this rule and what is your painting experience?

Have you broken the rule successfully?

Reports from the Road

Thu, 26 Jul 2007 00:21:20 GMT

My name is Jennifer, and I’m a Resident Artist for Chroma USA. I have a fun job – I travel around the country, talk to other artists and work with our paint. The travel can be a bit nutty (sometimes I don’t remember where I live!) but I truly love meeting all of the artists who attend my workshops or demos at the universities, art societies and retail venues.

My focus since November 2006 has been on Interactive. I thought it would be a good idea to post some feedback I’ve gotten from other artists I met, and begin a thread where you can post your own feedback or ask some questions. I’ll be posting new “Reports from the Road” frequently, so check back to see what the topic will be.

So far, I’ve visited, painted and talked with artists from the East Coast, West Coast, Midwest, Northwest, Southeast, Northeast - just about everywhere in the USA. During my travels, I've heard lots of positive comments about Interactive.

From an artist in Colorado:

I love this paint…the colors are so vibrant…mixes beautifully.

From Vermont:

Interactive accepts the brush readily.

From North Carolina:

Patrons have been commissioning more acrylic portraits since I started using your product. I feel like the paint allows me to achieve a new glow... a richer range of color.

From Alabama:

Interactive is fascinating like oils and easily manipulated.

From Texas:

The blending is marvelous.

From Georgia:

These are NOT your father's acrylics!

Regardless of where I go, I always get asked the same 2 questions - “How long does Interactive stay workable?” and “How long does it take Interactive to dry?” Since artists paint in all sorts of locations and in all sorts of different ways, here are some points to consider, gathered from other artists and from personal painting experience…

1 Climate!

We all know how important our climate is, but your actual painting climate can have a huge effect on how Interactive behaves and how quickly it gets to that tacky/sticky stage when you need to rehydrate to continue painting wet-in-wet. It may seem obvious, but a warm, dry environment with air circulating around you will make Interactive dry faster than if you were painting in a humid environment. In warm climates, adding Slow Medium to your paint and using the water sprayer and/or Unlocking Formula frequently will be key if you want to work wet-in-wet. For example, I spoke with an artist who was painting plein air in the deserts of the Southwest. He found that just rehydrating his painting with water wasn’t bringing the paint back to the point where he could blend like he wanted. When I asked if he used Slow Medium or tried the Unlocking Formula, he told me he hadn’t.

The next day, when he used these suggestions, he had greater success painting. Another Southeast artist told me that he had difficulty reopening the paint with just water in an indoor environment. He was painting live in a restaurant, with hot spotlights on his work. Sure enough, when he adjusted the spotlights so his painting wasn’t getting so hot, he was able to use the water sprayer. Recently I was painting in my un-air conditioned studio during a 92? F day. I had multiple fans running, but with the lights and the hot air circulating I found I needed Slow Medium and Unlocking Formula to be able to blend on my large painting. Now, if you paint in a humid environment (such as at the seashore or in a semi-tropical locale) you’ll find that Interactive stays “blendable” just by rehydrating with your water sprayer. Of course, how thickly you paint and what mediums you add will also make a difference in the drying time.

2 Surface Prep!

In an earlier post, Jim wrote about the importance of choosing a stable canvas. In addition to choosing a good surface, it is so important to properly prepare it. If you find that Interactive is drying faster on your surface than you expected, consider using the Binder Medium. I’ve found that many adhesion issues artists have had with Interactive has been because a surface hasn’t been primed thoroughly. Even though a canvas or board may say “pre-primed” who knows how well “pre-primed” is? If you plan to show or sell a piece or just make quality artwork, take the time to give your surface one or two coats of Binder Medium or gesso. Not only will this promote better paint adhesion for your Interactive work, but also when applied to canvas or paper, the Binder Medium will slow down the loss of moisture through the substrate. (Unless, of course, you are looking to stain your canvas or paper – but I’ll save that for another report!)

Artists, what are your thoughts on dry time and surface prep? What is your experience with Interactive? Regardless of where you live (US, AU, UK, North Pole, South Pole, etc.), I’d like to know what you’re doing with Interactive.

Artists’ Seminars at Yeppoon QLD

Sun, 08 Jul 2007 23:18:49 GMT

Lessons learned on communication.

Yeppoon is situated on the Tropic of Capricorn coast, east of Rockhampton, Queensland.

We had 36 dedicated artists who come here for 10 days every year to hone their painting skills. This year we had 2 tutors. Bela Ivanyi (Sydney) has been the regular tutor here for many years. He uses mainly Absolute Matte himself and some Atelier Interactive. Our guest tutor this year was Daniel Pata who teaches oils and acrylics at the National Art School, Sydney. There were more women than men, more older than younger age group, making it a typical art group but all very focused.

Who was there

Most were acrylic painters and most used Atelier. Six were interested in oils, seeing it as an easier way to finish an acrylic painting. They brought their own paints as usual but Chroma supplied extra for trial. Most members had a mixture of ‘old’ Atelier and Atelier Interactive and we needed to have Interactive used alone and with its mediums because the new long blending sessions don’t work when a mixture of paints is used. Naturally, as a very experienced group, every member was familiar with ‘old’ techniques and wanted to explore the new possibilities.

The acrylic painters did landscapes, portraits of each other and still life paintings and thoroughly explored the blending possibilities.

The oil painters did the same with Archival Oils and their mediums.

No Absolute Matte was used but Bela demonstrated it, emphasising its usefulness for plein-air landscape paintings.

The Weather

The weather was important, starting with five dry sunny days, followed by five wet rainy days. This had dramatic effect on they speed with which the paint dried. A fine mist water sprayer can be used to re-hydrate Atelier Interactive and keep a paint layer open for extended wet-in-wet blending. After it rained and was humid, the sprays were hardly needed at all.

It was interesting to note the climate effect, as we had 36 people all living in a tropical state. Only one person uses air conditioning when she paints and although Australia is a very dry continent, most coastal areas have variable humid to dry weather and most of the population lives near the coast. It is necessary to consider the weather when painting as more spray is needed in dry conditions, while in humid weather it may be wise not to use Slow Medium.

New Thick Slow Medium

As part of the whole process we trialed our new Thick Slow Medium which was very popular because of its spreading action and also because it can hold more water spray without running than the more fluid Slow Medium.

Overworked Paint

On our five wet days at this seminar, an oil painter’s problem came up with the acrylic artists – overworking a wet painting can produce muddy colours and one has to know what to do. This is a real problem for acrylic painters but everyone had the right answer. They said that if they were at home they would put the wet painting aside and work on another one.

Drying Out

On the question of drying out, small paintings can be dried (and cured) with a hairdryer while larger ones need dry warmth from a radiator.

It would have been useful to have some Binder to use for fast drying underpainting but unfortunately we didn’t have any.

Some Feedback

At the end of the seminar we held a discussion group rather than using a questionnaire and we found it worked much better.

Lack of information

The most important question raised was about how to communicate new information. Of the 36 people present, not one single person was aware of what Atelier Interactive was designed to do, although some had been using it for 18 months (for ‘old’ techniques only).

We discussed the ‘Combine old and new techniques information sheet’, which does contain useful facts. How do you get people to read it?

We had some thoughts on the reasons why people don’t read more. They might think they already know what to do (in this case ‘old’ acrylic techniques). They might also think that websites and printed matter are just ‘promotional advertising’ and not worth their attention.

A distinction should be made between general advertising bumf on the one hand and more helpful how-to-use information, like the ‘Combine old and new techniques information sheet’.

Great care has gone into the preparation and presentation of this product information, to make sure it is straight forward, practical and factual.

Are the new techniques useful?

Most of the people present were used to the ‘old Atelier’ and had experienced no problems with ‘old’ techniques when using the new paint. After 10 days of exploring ‘new’ techniques, how did they feel?

Unanimously, all 36 thought the ability to blend and extend working time was a big advantage and that they would continue to benefit as they gained more experience.

Reactions to Archival Oils

The members of the group who used Archival Oils wondered why they didn’t know about it.

They all liked the quality and handling of the paint but were surprised by the following:

Working in a group and surrounded by acrylic painters, they did not generate any unpleasant smells because they were using Archival Oils Odourless Medium.

They were all surprised and pleased that their paintings dried and could be worked on again the following day.

They all loved Flow/Gel which was being sampled and seems certain to become Archival Oils’ favourite medium.

There was a consensus, limited to the smallish number of people using oils, that they wanted paintings to dry quickly so they could overpaint the next day.

The paint on the palette remains workable next day. The paint on the painting dries fast when mixed with Flow/Gel.

Fast or Slow Drying Time?

There seems to be an anomaly here: The acrylic painters enjoyed more time to paint wet-in-wet, while the oil painters wanted less time to paint wet-in-wet. This is not a contradiction as both groups want to be able to work wet-in-wet during a painting session (automatic for oils anyway) and both want to be able to overpaint the next day.

It is important to note that Archival Oils are the only oils which can safely be overpainted without having to worry about the paint curing in the under layers first. Archival Oils flexibility also gives immunity to the fat-over-lean rules when overpainting.

Reactions To Atelier Interactive

Tue, 12 Jun 2007 09:12:28 GMT

I have been teaching at major art seminars for many years and Atelier Interactive is the first genuinely new and exciting acrylic paint I have seen since I started out.

“New” could mean confronting and frightening, demanding difficult new skills. With the new Interactive paint the only new skill required is to operate a water atomiser.

I am finding that my novice and less experienced students make faster progress with the new paint. They get better results more easily and feel encouraged to continue.

It is interesting to see the reaction of experienced painters who have got used to being fenced in by fast drying paint. They find it difficult to believe that a water spray could give them control over their painting process; it seems just too easy and we have all heard the word “new” so often that we don’t really expect to have a genuine, and useful, new experience.

Most of them have become bored about rehashing “old” techniques so this is exciting for them, but they still like to know that they can use “old” fast techniques when they feel like it.

Let me know what you have been able to achieve when painting with Interactive.