GOLDEN OPEN ACRYLICS AND HOLBEIN WATER MIXABLE OILS

Donna,
Thanks for such a complete explanation. I'm off to the art store today to get some Holbeins.
Judy

Hi there!

I am so excited to hear that you can mix both the GO's and the Holbein DUO Aqua WSOs!

I live in Northern Nevada, near Reno, and we also have a very dry climate (like Judy!) Normal RH% is in the teens and often in single-digits. Especially in the winter time when I seem to have even more desire to paint, but the house is closed up with the heater on, keeping the indoor humidity extremely low!

I have been working with acrylics since I started painting (a year-and-a-half ago) because I like how easy they clean up and how durable the paintings I create are, but have been struggling at times with their drying speed. I am kind of impatient and so many times like that fact that they dry fast. But I never really put together the idea that some of what I was struggling with, compared to the instructional videos of people like Frank Clarke and other acrylic instructional DVDs, is that my acrylics are drying much faster than the instructors' because of WHERE I LIVE! Frank Clarke is in IRELAND, which has got to be MUCH MORE HUMID than the Nevada desert since it is SO GREEN! It didn't really occur to me until I thought about trying to get outside to paint and I realized that the sun and wind were going to make my paints dry so fast I wouldn't be able to even get them on the canvas/board!

So, I thought about WSOs. I went to Michael's and bought several tubes of WN Artisan, tried out a small painting, and took the paint back. It was so sticky and gummy, even adding a little water, that I didn't like using them. I felt like I was using old paint. Then I went to our ONE local artist store to look around and saw the Golden OPEN Acrylics and thought - oh, yeah! - that is what I need! So I bought several tubes of that and started playing with it. I don't think they stay wet/workable as long here as what they advertise, again due to our dry climate, but they are infinitely better than regular, heavy-body acrylics!

Then I was doing some Internet searches and stumbled on this thread! Now I am really excited to be able to use the Holbein DUO Aqua Oils WITH my GOs. I'd be willing to bet that the DUOs won't dry as fast as the GOs so I can really work with some areas! Now I have quite a few tubes of regular acrylics (Golden HB) that I have to use up, so I am thinking that I will still use them in the parts of the painting that I don't need blending and workability, but use the GOs for those areas. And I am excited to find out what it's really like to use the DUOs with the GOs for my venture into plein air painting!

Thank you! I'm off to my ONE art store in town to get a couple of the Holbeins!

Cindy,

One great advantage of GO's is that you can re-wet an area in the painting to reactive the acrylic to further blend it or what ever (usually within an hour or so).

Being in the dry climate like you, I use a Masterson's Sta-Wet Palette so I can seal the paints in when not in use. I painted the inside bottom with mid value gray and covered it with a piece of clear glass. This helps me to establish the values of mixed colors while on the palette, the acrylics stay workable for several days and the glass palette cleans off easily with a scrapper when I'm ready for a clean area.

I've also mixed the Holbeins and GO, also. The one thing you have to keep in mind is that mixture is leaner than the Holbeins unmixed so you have to keep the "fat-over-lean" rule when you do this.

Oh, so within an hour I can reactivate? I haven't tried that yet.

I already have a Masterson's Sta-Wet Palette because it was the only way to use the Golden Heavy Body Acrylics here. So you use the palette WITHOUT the wet sponge thingy when you are using the GOs? Just as a way to cover and save the GOs? The glass is a neat idea. I have been using the special absorbant palette paper and sponge with the HB acrylics and washing it when I am done. I have been able to have it last for several months like this.

OK, so some of the terminology in oil painting is still new to me. I am guessing that the "fat-over-lean" that I keep reading about has to do with the amount of oil (linseed or walnut) that you add to the paint? So you apply the lean layers first? And that means paint straight from the tube without added oil? Or does that mean paint from the tube and then thinned with medium of somekind?

It was just such a realization to me yesterday when I found out that to try out the DUOs didn't mean I had to keep it totally separate from the GOs that I just bought. I am wondering if I will like the DUOs so much that I start to use them alone as well, especially if I am painting en plein air. Maybe I will just enjoy doing both acrylic and WSOs, depending on the subject I am painting! What flexibility that offers!

Oh, and where can I get someone to cut a piece of glass to my specifications to fit in the palette? Michael's and Aaron Brothers? Will they round the edges a little to keep it safer? (I anticipate still needing to use the palette for my HB acrylics with the wet sponge so will need to take the glass out when I am using it that way.)

Thank you,

Another question - what kind of palette do you use for your DUO Aquas?

A hardware store is probably the best place to get the glass cut. They do it all the time for windows. I use the glass for my oils and GO, but I do use the sta-wet paper when I use other acrylics.

Here are few links within this forum that may help understanding fat-over-lean.

https://watersolubleoils.forumotion.com/t6-how-does-the-fat-over-lean-rule-apply?highlight=fat+over+lean

https://watersolubleoils.forumotion.com/t574-fast-drying-medium-and-fat-over-lean?highlight=fat+over+lean

https://watersolubleoils.forumotion.com/t654-paint-thinner-and-glazing-techniques

Hi Cindy;

For WSOs I use the Masterson red-covered stay wet palettes.   When I bought them I could get glass inserts (with a white coating on the back side).   I don't remember whether these came with them or were ordered separately.   I can't find them on Dick Blick, so I don't know if they still are available.   I think these were advertised as being a little less fragile than regular glass, but don't really remember.   I do use the sponge with them.   You just have to be careful not to put too much water on the sponge as it can cause the paints to run a bit.   And I also follow Janet's advice and put a penny on the sponge.   It may help lessen mold spots appearing on the sponge and paper covering (that happens with too much water even here in dry Wyoming).   I'm hoping it also brings luck to the artist (like a penny in penny-loafer shoes ).

Thanks, everyone!

@Judy - I will check out those posts. Thank you!

I have the Sta Wet Pro Palette with a white lid that is designed to be flipped over and used for watercolors. When I first bought the palette, I wasn't sure if I would go the watercolor route or not, so I wanted a dual-purpose palette.

I have overdone the water in the sponge with my regular acrylics a couple of times and seen them run if I don't get back to it the very next day. Sometimes I overdo it because I know it will be a week before I get to paint again, and then I get runny paints instead. I had not heard of the penny idea - I'll give that a try, though I have not yet seen any mold spots even when left for a couple of weeks.

@Jim - Do you use the glass AND the sponge for WSOs? If so, does the sponge go underneath the glass just to provide extra moisture in the palette when it is closed up, rather than the regular way the sponge is used for regular acrylics?

Thank you,

Yes, the sponge on the inside-bottom of the plastic box, then the white paper "thingy" and the glass on top of that.

When mold has appeared in the top of the sponge and bottom of the paper liner, I remove same and spray lightly with Windex (the old version with ammonia) and let these dry.   Then I wash out the sponge with water to get rid of any remaining Windex before putting it back in the box.   I'm not getting this now -not sure if it's the penny, the weather, or not putting too much water on the sponge.   I'll take it, regardless of the cause!

DesertRambler wrote:

Thank you! I'm off to my ONE art store in town to get a couple of the Holbeins!

Actually, I have to order online since the Holbeins are not available at any place locally. I usually like to support the local businesses, but I can't this time.

I wonder how long it will take to get the new paints...

That's one thing I find limiting about painting, that is, importing supplies.

I get 'dinged' big time for supplies I bring into Canada. Very costly shipping, brokers fees, and duty. Can you believe I paid $48 in shipping to bring in a bunch of paint brushes from Blick??
Pure silliness.

I also learned a lesson: Don't put your home address as a shipping address. One shipper attempted 3 days in a row to deliver to my home in the middle of the afternoon. (I work)
I had to track down the unlisted depot phone number, and drive out to the industrial park to pick up the parcel after hours. Then pay the duty and so on. grrrr.

So, now I am much less innovative. I pretty much stick to what I can get 'north of 49'.

And thanks for listening