Golden Open Paints on Colorfix primer

I found some old illustration board that I had purchased for a gouache class. I never followed through with the gouache, so I put some Colorfix primer on the illustration board, and painted on it with the Golden Opens.

What great vibrant color! I think this is going to be my favorite ground for the Golden Opens. The Golden Opens dried a lot faster on the sanded ground, but strangely enough, seemed to be quite workable for a while. I did use a lot of glazing medium.

I also tried WS oils on the Colorfix ground. I didn't like that as well, but I think it was because it was older Artisan paint, and it was too thick and not very creamy.

Has anyone else used this ground for either WS oils or Golden Opens?

I've never tried that ground but thank you for the tip. It sounds like a good option.

I've not tested the Colourfix ground for oils, but from what I've read it's similar to Golden's Absorbent Ground and made to be extra porous. As such, when using it for oils be sure and adequately size the surface, especially for paper. I would use at least 3 or 4 coats or 2 coats of GAC100 and 2 of primer.

Artisans have a problem sometimes with being inconsistently stiff. This has nothing to do with the ground.

Hi David,

Wouldn't gesso work the same way? Also, the Colorfix ground is very much like gesso with grit in it. I haven't been gessoing since this is just for practice, so I'm interested in why GAC 100 is better than gesso.

When I googled GAC 100 for information, I saw that it could be used to improve flow, but it didn't say anything about being a gesso substitute. Is it because illustration board is not archival, and needs to be sealed off?

I believe one of the main purposes of using GAC100 is to seal the surface and block any problems from the ground showing up in your painting. I recently bought a bottle to use as the first layer or 2 before a layer or 2 of gesso. So far, I have only tried it on watercolor paper before using the Golden Opens, and it seemed to help keep it from buckling.

MistyIslanddd wrote:

Wouldn't gesso work the same way? Also, the Colorfix ground is very much like gesso with grit in it. I haven't been gessoing since this is just for practice, so I'm interested in why GAC 100 is better than gesso. When I googled GAC 100 for information, I saw that it could be used to improve flow, but it didn't say anything about being a gesso substitute. Is it because illustration board is not archival, and needs to be sealed off?

Illustration board can be "archival" if it's made of all rag paper. Some are only acid-free which is a decent alternative.

Edit: I just realized we're talking here about Open not oils, so fewer coats is fine. You need at least 4 coats of primer for oil when painting on paper, but for acrylics it's not important. More layers of an absorbent ground adds absorbency. Gac100 is specifically made to be used as sizing for either paper or canvas.