Fluid Acrylic Colors or Heavy Body Colors
I want to thank all of you who have bought the book, tried out the techniques and are hopefully now busy making your own "altered surfaces!" These past few months have really been busy for me between life and work. As if it wasn't busy enough I decided to start writing another book and once that happened, I didn't have any time left!
When I am out teaching I get a lot of questions about the difference between the Fluid Acrylic Colors and the Heavy Body Acrylic Colors. Well, just so you know the major difference is simply the VISCOSITY of the paint. The Fluid Paints are pourable, and have a thinner viscosity than the Heavy Body Paints. You will find the Fluid Paints in pop top containers and the Heavy Body Paints in either tubes or round tubs with screw tops.
The pigments are the same for both paints. That means that there is no "watering down" of Fluids to get them thinner than the Heavy Body Paints. You get the same amount of pigment ounce for ounce with either of the paint types. If you like smooth paint surfaces, use your acrylics for "water-media" type work, or want to drip, drop or pour your paints, then you will like the Fluid Acrylic Colors. If you want oil paint like textures with impasto effects, then try the Heavy Body Colors.
Personally, I have a penchant for mixing them up on my surfaces and switch between Fluids and Heavy Body Paints all the time. I prefer the Screw Top Tubs over the tubes because I can put my palette knife into the tub and scoop out the paint I need and then easily recap the tub. Also I find they are easier to store. I'm not crazy about a jumble of paint tubes in my studio.
Remember that Golden gives you a paint swatch of the color you are selecting right on the outside of the container no matter what size. You can easily check to see if the color is transparent or opaque by how much of the black lines can be seen through the paint.
But don't be confused by a couple of the really dark pigments such as Dioxazine Purple and Anthraquinone Blue. These are Transparent pigments but are very dark in their mass tone (what it looks like before it is spread out).
I'm hoping to get more regular about this blog thing. But check back occasionally and see how I am doing. Again, thanks for all you did to support the book. The new one will be out next year.
When I am out teaching I get a lot of questions about the difference between the Fluid Acrylic Colors and the Heavy Body Acrylic Colors. Well, just so you know the major difference is simply the VISCOSITY of the paint. The Fluid Paints are pourable, and have a thinner viscosity than the Heavy Body Paints. You will find the Fluid Paints in pop top containers and the Heavy Body Paints in either tubes or round tubs with screw tops.
The pigments are the same for both paints. That means that there is no "watering down" of Fluids to get them thinner than the Heavy Body Paints. You get the same amount of pigment ounce for ounce with either of the paint types. If you like smooth paint surfaces, use your acrylics for "water-media" type work, or want to drip, drop or pour your paints, then you will like the Fluid Acrylic Colors. If you want oil paint like textures with impasto effects, then try the Heavy Body Colors.
Personally, I have a penchant for mixing them up on my surfaces and switch between Fluids and Heavy Body Paints all the time. I prefer the Screw Top Tubs over the tubes because I can put my palette knife into the tub and scoop out the paint I need and then easily recap the tub. Also I find they are easier to store. I'm not crazy about a jumble of paint tubes in my studio.
Remember that Golden gives you a paint swatch of the color you are selecting right on the outside of the container no matter what size. You can easily check to see if the color is transparent or opaque by how much of the black lines can be seen through the paint.
But don't be confused by a couple of the really dark pigments such as Dioxazine Purple and Anthraquinone Blue. These are Transparent pigments but are very dark in their mass tone (what it looks like before it is spread out).
I'm hoping to get more regular about this blog thing. But check back occasionally and see how I am doing. Again, thanks for all you did to support the book. The new one will be out next year.
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