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Warmer weather and Atelier Interactive Acrylics
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Message
Posted
With the warmer weather I am finding that my Acrylic paint thickens in the tubes. It also dries faster, which in itself is not a problem when painting so long as one keeps re-hydrating the work...It is when I stop painting that the problem arises. I am wondering whether it would help the situation if I were to dig out an old caravan size fridge which I have stashed away "Somewhere" (you know how it is with squirrel minds!) Would it help to stop any deterioration which warmer weather can cause? The palette could be stored in the fridge in between uses, also I would keep my tubes in there in the coldness. Does anyone have experience of doing this please? Would it cause the pigment to harden, either in the tubes or on the palette? (I use a stay-wet.) Any advice gratefully received. Thanks.
Posted
I am completely mystified by this, Ruth, frankly.
To start with, WHAT warmer weather? Where are you living, Tenerife? It's perishing cold down here.
Secondly, warm weather doesn't cause acrylic paint to harden in the tubes - it makes it dry on the palette, and when you use it on a painting, but acrylics tend to thicken in cold weather, not warm; and they shouldn't thicken in the tube anyway, whatever the weather. If Atelier Interactive acrylics do this - and I've never heard they do - it would be a very good reason to add to several I've already got for not using them.
I shall be fascinated to see if anyone else has this issue with them (I don't use them, of course). In general, paint should be stored in something akin to room temperature - there's no need to chill them, or warm them either. I'm assuming here that you're remembering to screw the caps back on tightly - because what WILL make paint thicken and congeal is letting the air at it, whatever its temperature.
Posted
Like Robert Im wondering where you have moved to Ruth. ! . Been out to Conwy this morning on the strength of a couple of days sunshine...ha ha, so pleased I had a wooly hat and mitts with me.
I shall be interested in answers to this, though admiteddly I hadnt ever thought this might be a problem apart from quick drying . Im off on my Art in the Algarve holiday in May and have almost decided to take Acrylics with me as opposed to Oil. ( it is a week painting in either of those two mediums ) I had decided on Acrylic because of the rapid drying and transportation home of my master pieces. We discussed the carrying of wet canvases on board planes etc in an earlier thread.
So any info greatfully received. Just out of curiousity Ruth why a whole fridge ? Why not in a box in a cool place? .
Posted
Ha Ha Ha! you should see my suntan! Darn it!...Just dropped the whole bottle! My very small painting room is a sort of landing room leading to the bathroom, and when I want to paint I leave the door open for warmth from the bathroom towel rail and heater, that's where the trouble starts, but recently we have had a round golden orb in the sky (some sort of ouzo induced mirage? I hear you say...) But really truly, yes, the sun has been coming in at this East South East facing window and gumming up my acrylics. I am constantly spraying under the porous film to keep them moist. And then I store the palette underneath my painting counter where it is sheltered from the worst of the warmth from the (Large) window. Oh heck, I shall tie myself in knots in a minute, if I go on.
Robert...Which acrylics do you use and/or recommend? I have a starter set of Golden Open acrylics but have not yet Opened them...no pun intended here! And are all acrylics used with just water? ( Has you can tell, I ham very higgorant hon the sub jhect! ) and might just go back to watercolour....Thanks for all your hilarious replies anyway. Knew I could rely on you.
Posted
The acrylics I use are conventional ones, not interactives - I don't like the sound of those, and never have. So I use Chromacolour; Daler Rowney Cryla; Winsor and Newton artists' acrylic, and very occasionally D-R System 3, which are however a bit too 'loose' (ie, liquid) for my liking. Liquitex and Golden have good reputations, but I've not yet used them. The open Golden acrylics can be used rather like oils - but not enough like oils to cause me to want to try them. I don't see much point in acrylic paint that doesn't behave like acrylic paint but thinks it's something else, but that's prejudice really, and I might change my mind if I actually tried them.
All acrylics can be used with water; there's also a range of mediums - generally speaking, I use water plus a bit of water-tension breaker sometimes, or glazing medium.
What you're describing is acrylic paint drying out in the heat - well if you use interactives, you should be able to wake them up again (whether with water or some sort of medium I don't know) and if they're normal ones, if you're planning on keeping them for further use once squeezed onto the palette, you could use a stay-wet palette (although even there, they won't last forever: and the stay-wet does attract black mould if left for too long. So my suggestion would be the reverse of what the watercolourists will tell you - don't squeeze out more paint than you think you'll need to finish a wash or paint layer; if you use it all up, you won't have to worry about storing it under film).
Now off you go with your shopping trolley to pick up your week's supplies, as I'm just about to do - and you tell me how warm you feel, because it's looking pretty grim and grey out there, and I'm contemplating the longjohns.
Posted
As with oil, some colours need more medium to make them workable - in oil, Alizarin Crimson was always notorious for the amount of oil that could seep out of the tube before any paint appeared.
I'm interested in your experience with the Golden Acrylics, the open ones and the normal range, because it's a range I've always meant to try - so do come back and tell us about it.
I too had a bad road accident as I'm sure I've mentioned more than once! It was many years ago, but the consequences have unfortunately never left me: you probably don't need advice at this stage, but just in case anyone else does - take all the physio on offer, ask for more, and get all the mobility exercise you can..... if I hadn't made an effort I'm sure I'd be in a wheelchair by now: but then, I suspect Ruth always makes an effort. Never was "use it or lose it" more apt.
Posted
Well I am still a beginner (recently retired early) and am almost finished using some quite old acrylics in tubes that my wife bought. They have been stored at about 16-22 degrees for years and seem as viscuous as new stuff. Warmth seems to make them dry quickly and adding a little water drop to them when on the palette, as well as washing the brush out frequently does help (otherwise it seems to dry inside and hinder flow) but the best thing I find is flow extender. I now have some in little bottles and they are great.
Proper painters should know more than me but those are my findings so far. My shed is in a sort of sun-trap and sheltered from the wind so it can often soar from a few degrees C plus to 20 or so if the sun comes out.
Posted
Somehow I missed this post first time round. I have come to a compromise about which medium I use according to the weather. In winter, I tend to use watercolour, as it does not dry too quickly for wet into wet and I can use it indoors. Autumn and spring , I will be painting in the conservatory - probably in acrylic, as not too hot and so the paint and palette do not dry out too quickly. Summer I will be painting in oils, using the heat to dry the painting out quicker than the rest of the year. But if I do not want to be bothered with drying times and achieve a quicker result, then its pastels. I don't believe in fighting with nature as it will alway win.
You are not alone with your RTA, but life goes on and if you concentrate on what you can do then all will be well and the consequences will reduce in your perception. Best of luck. Linda
Edited
by Splosh