Now then, fellow Acrylicists.......

I've used, in my time, acrylics in this order: Cryla, by Daler-Rowney; Finity, by Winsor and Newton; Galeria, by Winsor and Newton; the new Artists' range, from Winsor and Newton; System 3 by Daler Rowney.  All of these are fine acrylic paints - the Cryla range is a robust, powerful range which can be sculpted into strong strokes with knife or brush; W & N artists' quality, whether Finity or the range they sell today, offers a huge range of beautiful, subtle colours; System 3 offers strong, lush colours in a more liquid form, as does Galeria.    We are verily spoiled for choice - these are fine paints, all of them. Then, a few years ago, I discovered Chromacolour: I absolutely do not mean to say that they are "better": they are not conventional paint-makers - their business derived from painting on cells, for animation purposes.  The resin with which their paints are mixed is not quite the same as that used in other acrylic paints - the problem is, I don't know HOW it's different; they are a secretive company - I have tried to persuade them to at least share the pigment number of their paints, without avail so far. So: I proffer this recommendation guardedly.  I have used them since they first appeared, some 25 years ago, if not earlier.  I gave many of my earlier paintings to my mother; I painted innumerable birthday cards for her (innumerable: well, my mum lived to be 94): this is no time at all in the lifetime of paint - judging its permanence before 70 to 100 years are out doesn't tell you much.  But - acrylics in general have been with us for no more than 90 years, and have stood the test of THAT time, at least.  I think Chromacolour will last at least as long, if not longer: and their colours are beautiful (though I supplement them with others). I should be very interested to see others' verdict on these colours - if you use them?  Or try them, if you usually don't? Particularly, I'd like you to try the whites: because acrylic white, however well made, can be stark, hard to limit, intrusive: it can so often wreck whatever you're trying to do because, once applied, it just sits there and shouts at you.  Chromacolour has two whites: a well behaved Titanium, which doesn't plop down on the board and sneer at you, and a Chroma White, which is thicker, denser, obliterative .... and excellent when that's what you need. I'd love to know what acrylic painters who have used Chromacolour think of it - I suspect there aren't so many of you: some think of Chromacolour as a Sunday Painter's Medium; and maybe to some extent, the company targets its customers in that way (though I wish they wouldn't).  I've been painting in acrylic since they first hit the UK market over  50 years ago, and I think these are some of the finest acrylics I've ever used in half a century. But - I really would love to know what others think. 

There's also Golden acrylics, Liquitex, A V Vallejo, Interactive Acrylics - of which I've seen very little mention in recent years: must investigate the reasons for that; and more, of which, if I was aware of them, I've forgotten.  The downside of Chromacolour is that if left sitting in the tube, they can harden and become useless.  The pots, however, don't have that problem. Agree about the cost: you've really nothing to lose by buying half a dozen colours.  Sandra, art shops rarely sell them - they sell online, presumably to all parts of the world.  This is no problem for me, because my last local artshop closed a few years ago - greatly missed, but they couldn't keep up with the huge variety of products now available, nor compete with online suppliers.  A sign of the times - I fear that small artshops are all likely to disappear, and only the huge arts supermarkets will survive.   Fifty years ago, you could find a little artshop in most towns and many villages, staffed by people knowledgeable about their product (for the most part - some knew nothing, but pretended they knew something!).  You'd find Winsor and Newton watercolours, usually in pans, a limited range of their oil paints, a few bottles of Indian ink, and if you were lucky, an all-purpose varnish, and a bottle of Turps, and Linseed Oil.  Add a few pencils, the Rotring cabinet of high-grade pens - if you were really lucky - a card of dip pens, putty rubber, dipper, a limited selection of watercolour papers, Daler boards.  I know that because I worked in one - there wasn't much else.  And that of course doesn't begin to scratch the surface of available materials these days: small shops don't stand a chance in terms of variety or freedom to offer discounts. When companies like Rowney, as was, and Winsor & Newton brought in acrylics, in an ever expanding range of colours, many shops saw the writing on the wall - they couldn't hold that level of stock.  So online we mostly went, in came the art supermarkets.... it is sad; but also inevitable.

I forget the brand - it's not Atelier: popular in Australia, I've only rarely seen it here.  I'll have a look and see what I can find: I know that Golden make them. I was wondering - never having used them - if they really hold any advantage over regular acrylics used in a stay-wet palette: specifically, if they can blend, like oils.  Another question for other painters in acrylic!