Another question regarding high quality acrylic paint

[B u r l]

Soon, I will be doing my final major project for college. It is going to be very large scale (8 foot by 6 foot), and i'm aiming towards a Rembrandtish realistic style, with thick layers of paint, which will include 2 characters. To achieve the thick quality I want I was thinking of buying an impasto gell, but for acrylic paints i'm not sure what to get; For the past 3 years I have been using standard acrylics but now I want to try a higher quality brand, to go along with my recently purchased good quality brushes, to see how it effects the process and outcomev (essentially see if it's worth the money)

Because it's going to be such a large painting I don't think I can go for the very highest brand, but I still want something of good quality and texture.

My top choise would be Lascaux (http://www.greatart.co.uk/LASCAUXSTUDIOARTISTSACRYLICS-acrylic-paints.htm) Although the price is quite high, I think I can manage it if I know it will be worth the money.

I'm also thinking of Rubens: http://www.greatart.co.uk/RUBENSPREMIAACRYLICS-acrylic-paints.htm or Or Winsor and Newton:
http://www.greatart.co.uk/WINSOR&NEWTONGALERIAACRYLICPAINT-acrylic-paints.htm.


The 2nd two arn't too much more costly than the standard ones I buy which I usually get for £2.50 per 200ml bottle. So with that in mind, would the quality be noticeble enough for that extra money?

If you have any reccomendtions, please let me know.

Thankyou.

[Elwell]

I haven't personally used Lascaux, but they have a very good reputation. Are Liquitex or Golden available in the UK?

[Chris Bennett]

The quality of the acrylic paint will not affect the result for the way to achieve the effect you are after that I am going to suggest:
The 'Rembrandtish realistic style' depends on transparency and in terms of oil paint that involves medium rich pigment. Now, oil paint 'dries' (strictly speaking cures) by oxydation and therefore retains its body and painterly volume. Acrylics set when the water in them has evaporated, leaving them with less body than when wet and therefore sorta 'compacted'
The only way of simulating the 'oil look' is to use A LOT of high gloss impasto gell with the mixtures - I'm talking about ratios of 1:1 and regularly 2 or 3:1 involving gell to paint. Sometimes you will have the impression you are painting with jam! However, this is the best way I have figured out how to simulate the effect I would normally get with oils.
Here are some paintings of mine done with precisely this technique - loads of gloss impasto gell except the last portrait which I did with straight acrylic. I also did them on gessoed board rather than canvas whose weave tends to mitigate the painty look a little. The large addition of gell will certainly help but you must also understand the process by which brushmarks build form, as I hope the last portrait demonstrates - achieving the old master look is ultimately much more about a state of mind when working than anything else.

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[B u r l]

Elwell: Yeah, that site sells Liquitex. Why do you ask?
Chris Bennett: Thanks for that information... very useful. That first painting is just what i'm after, although i'd probably try for even thicker impasto.
Here's a Rembrandt study that I did a couple of days ago using just acrylics. I failed to get any sort of luminocity (durr me), but I will tackle that process after texture.

http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/2931/1largeci1ag9.jpg

I always get a little dissapointed when the brushmarks vanish as the acrylics dry out, so I'm really looking forward to trying out a high gloss impasto gel to really retain the original texture.

Taking into account what you said about the paint quality not being too important for the effect I want, I was thinking of building up my painting by starting in monochrome (well brown and yellow earth tones), to depict the lights, darks and general form of the picture, using lots of impasto with it to lay down the texture. Once dry, I was thinking that maybe I could use various transprent oil colours, and gradually build up the rest of the image in thin glazes. What yellow[s] would be needed to achieve something similar to the "golden glow"? From my own reasearch i've found Naples Yellow Light, Yellow Ochre Light, Cadmium Yellow Deep and Cadmium Yellow Light. Or can any thinned down transparent yellow give you essentially the same effect?

[Elwell]

Liquitex is good paint, and they've recently reformulated their line with a new, clearer binder that's supposed to have less wet/dry color shift. I haven't tried them out yet, but I'm intrigued. Although it would take a lot to shake my loyalty to Golden.

[Chris Bennett]

Taking into account what you said about the paint quality not being too important for the effect I want, I was thinking of building up my painting by starting in monochrome (well brown and yellow earth tones), to depict the lights, darks and general form of the picture, using lots of impasto with it to lay down the texture. Once dry, I was thinking that maybe I could use various transprent oil colours, and gradually build up the rest of the image in thin glazes. What yellow[s] would be needed to achieve something similar to the "golden glow"? From my own reasearch i've found Naples Yellow Light, Yellow Ochre Light, Cadmium Yellow Deep and Cadmium Yellow Light. Or can any thinned down transparent yellow give you essentially the same effect?

The 'golden glow' you speak of with old masters is really a product of transparency again rather than pigment - a medium rich raw sienna glazed over a lightish tone will give you a very intense warm rich glow with no problem at all. However, the old masters were fond of 'optical greys', which is the cool tones achieved by glazing light coloured pigment over darker, much in the way that smoke seen against dark trees looks bluish. The way in which these two processes are combined will give you all the glow you want by virtue of contrast between the two.
Regarding your idea of laying down textures and glazing over them; this is not how the old masters worked. Theirs was a constant interchange of impasto and glazes and it seems silly not to try and use the processes they used in order to learn from them rather than invent a trick to ape their superficial appearence.
I like your study of the Rembrandt by the way!

[Chris Bennett]

Liquitex is good paint, and they've recently reformulated their line with a new, clearer binder that's supposed to have less wet/dry color shift. I haven't tried them out yet, but I'm intrigued. Although it would take a lot to shake my loyalty to Golden.

That's interesting Tristan. I use Liquitex pretty exclusively because it is good quality and remains wet much longer than most other brands. Is this new reformulation described as such or do you get it by default when you buy their standard artist's quality product?

[Dave Kendall]

Just googled Golden and they sound mighty fine, if more costly than Liquitex. I'm sorely tempted to invest in a few tubes.

[B u r l]

Ok thanks alot.
I've ordered my self a tub of gloss gell impasto and i'm awating its arrival.
I went over the above painting quickly in a yellow oil paint, thinned right down by linseed oil. I was suprised with how it turned out, I like it more. Because of the richer colour, though, he's turned from a lonely old man to a richer less-lonely man. I didn't expect that although it's pretty obvious thinking about it. The scan drained the yellow some.

Also, I think i'm able to get some funding so I can splash out on lots of paints and stuff soon. :D

http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/3006/62991128dg7.jpg