Glyn Macey has great fun and gets some fantastic results using Winsor & Newton Artists' Acrylic Mediums - glazing mediums, Gloss Gel, modeling paste, Flow Improver and more.

Every now and again as if by magic a new product appears which totally transforms the way you work.

I must admit that when I was asked to test the new Winsor & Newton Artists’ Acrylic Mediums I was sceptical – I’m happy as I am thanks, I thought. But then I tried them and, indeed, my work was transformed.

Top features:

  • Clear products which don't interfere with colour mixing
  • Extend colours
  • Improve the flow of paint
  • Create brilliant glazes
  • Change surfaces from matt to high gloss
  • Add texture
  • Increase drying times
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Where to buy

Winsor & newton Acrylic Mediums can be purchased from Jackson's Art Supplies by clicking here and from art shops and other online retailers.

The benefits of W&N Acrylic Mediums

Firstly this range of mediums is developed to maintain all of the benefits of the Winsor & Newton Artists’ Acrylic colour range. It’s a bold claim, but an accurate one.

The Winsor & Newton Artists’ Acrylic colours are the only acrylics to truly have no colour shift (that annoying shift in tone from wet to dry), and the mediums maintain that balance.

The usual problem with acrylic mediums is the fact that they are milky when wet, which in turn appears to water down your colour mixes, making it difficult to judge colours accurately.

This is no longer a problem as the Artists’ Acrylic Mediums are clear or translucent, which means you can maintain complete control of your colour mixing.

Why use mediums?

Atlantic Shore by Glyn Macey
Atlantic Shore, Winsor & Newton Artists’ Acrylic and Artists’ Acrylic Mediums, (25x30cm)

Why bother using mediums at all? Because they raise your game to a whole new level, and by working with mediums and exploring the possibilities, you regain that kind of mad childlike enthusiasm you had at school in your art lesson.

I found myself almost starting from scratch to see just what I could do with the paint, and as an artist that was exciting.

I found that I could extend the colour, vastly improve the flow (which is something that I had struggled to achieve previously), create brilliant glazes and alter the sheen of the finished work from dead matt to staggeringly intense gloss.

Will I continue to use Winsor & Newton’s Artists’ Acrylic Mediums? As long as I can have this much fun, you bet!

Demonstration using W&N Mediums: Atlantic Shore

Stage one
Gesso on MDF as a primer
 
I started with a white gesso primer, which was perfect for adding extra ‘tooth’ to the MDF board. The primer also dried really quickly, which was ideal.
 
Stage two
Using glazine medium
 
Straight away I applied some glazing medium over the sky area.
 
This is perfect for layering colours to create luminous, translucent effects. Again, the glazing medium is completely clear, so no worries about colour change.
 
I should say at this point that I had a choice of working matt or gloss, or in fact both if I was feeling a little crazy, but chose to go glossy for the painting.
 
Stage three
Gloss gel with acrylic paints
 
Adding a little Gloss Gel to the Artists’ Acrylic helped me to control the shine of the paint – I was able to keep that shine without changing the buttery texture of the paint itself. This was used in the distant foreshore.
 
Stage four
How to use artists' modelling paste
 
Then it was on to my favourite, the modelling paste, which looks so good, you could almost eat the stuff. I added the modelling paste to the near foreshore, using a bit of old card before adding some sand, stones and other items that I tend to collect from the beach.
 
Stage five
Scumbling
 
When dry, I scumbled neat colour over the paste to create some fantastic textures.
 
Stage six
Using artist flow improver
 
For the sea area I tried out some Flow Improver. This slows down the drying time a little and greatly adds to the ability to paint an acrylic wash in one go, which is no easy task, usually.
 
When dry, I simply spread, washed, flicked, dribbled and spattered additional tints mixed with the Flow Improver.
 
Finished artwork
Atlantic Shore by Glyn Macey
Atlantic Shore, Winsor & Newton Artists’ Acrylic and Artists’ Acrylic Mediums, (25x30cm)
 
When almost finished, I decided that the painting could do with a varnish to pull the whole thing together. Again I had a choice of Matt, Satin or Gloss, so I chose the gloss to create the most jewel-like colour.
 

See the effect of matt and gloss mediums

Video taken from the Winsor & Newton Youtube channel

About Glyn Macey

Glyn studied graphic design and marketing at Falmouth School of Art. He is the author of Glyn Macey’s Cornwall, Glyn Macey’s American Sketchbook, Acrylics Unleashed and Glyn Macey’s World of Acrylics, and has made several films.

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE ACRYLICS UNLEASHED FROM OUR ONLINE BOOKSHOP

Glyn has completed commissions for many clients, including high street retailers, Greenpeace, the RNLI and UNICEF; he is currently working on a series of documentaries entitled Vanishing Britain.

His paintings can be seen in a number of galleries around the UK. Glyn’s acrylics workshop is a package of home tutorials – for full details of this, his other products and more examples of his work, view: www.glynmacey.co.uk

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This product review originally featured in The Artist

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