preferred brand - Liquitex versus Golden

[Dueck]

The reason I limit it to these two is because they are the two that I consistently have access to. Other brands are highly dependent on the supplier, so I have a hard time finding any, and especially finding what I want in particular.

With the cola I'm just suggesting the possibility that it doesn't matter. I drink Coca-Cola or Pepsi at the toss of a hat, but I do prefer Coca-Cola (they do taste marginally different).

[Linee]

Liquitex, but I haven't tried Golden.

Diet Coke is a staple in my house (for my dh and I). :o

[Café LoLa]

Between the two, I've only tried Liquitex and I prefer Diet Coke.

You might have seen Stevenson - a Canadian brand that is professional quality as well.

If you're not above ordering online, there is www.opusframing.com (from BC) and www.currys.com (from Ontario). There is Tri-Arts - look out for that brand, it is quite a nice paint.

[idcrisis55]

No preferences in particular here. I use both Liquitex and Golden as well as the Stephen Quiller acrylics (Tri-Art paints supposedly.) They are all good paints. I prefer Coke too as Pepsi has an aftertaste to me. :D

[Mad Scientist]

Try Stephvenson's. http://pages.interlog.com/~colourco/ They mail order all over Canada.
Curry's carry a number of different brands too. http://www.currys.com/indexeg.asp

[cathrs]

Love Golden liquid acrylics in particular.
Cath S
And diet Pepsi for me

[Heidi7Sue]

I use Golden heavy body, Golden fluid, Liquitex BASICS matt, and I just got a couple tubes of Liquitex BASICS (not matt), and I love 'em all. Haven't tried the regular Liquitex paint.

[idylbrush]

There are some really good brands with Golden and Liquitex being just two of them. Matisse, Quiller, Graham, TriArt, Stephensons, and that is just the major names. There is Blick, Daniel Smith, and several other house brands. Then there is Rembrandt, DaVinci, Old Holland and that just barely scratches the surface. If you only have two available locally you can try the web. Can get almost anything. Just do some searching around and you will be amazed at what is available.

[objectivistartist]

Liquitex has been all I used, with few spotty exceptions of getting Golden from time to time..... and prefer DrPepper meself.........:D

[gurleygirl]

I prefer golden - I especially love the fluids.
Coke is fizzier to me and I like that.
Tracey

[dreamz]

I mainly use Grumbacher and Winsor&Newton but there may be a couple tubes of liquitex basic tucked away somewhere and I do use Goldens glazing liquids...

There's always a 12pack of cocacola in the frig

[mseymour]

Liquitex was the original acrylic paint, in a fluid state. I use Liquitex Heavy Body.

[RTT]

Between the two acrylic choices, Golden is what I use, although outside of those two choices Stevenson is what I have used the most often for years.
As for the colas - its Coke for me!

[Phantelope]

I used to use Liquitex but changed to Golden. Love the fluid acrylics especially, but also the heavy body ones. Highest pigment load possible, you can stretch them out incredibly by adding mediums etc. A bit more expensive than others, but of such high quality and the high pigment makes them last for a long time. Well worth it if you can afford them!

Liquitex somehow seems a bit more "plasticy" to me, if that makes sense. Still very good paints though. Have not tried the other brands, my local stores don't carry them. I am somewhat interested in the interactive line but am afraid that I will get addicted and have to buy all colors again ;-)

Oliver

[spearmintjoe]

I'm a creamy Cryla man with a pint of Guinness on the side.

[bfree]

I use both depending on what colors I want. Also use some Daniel Smith colors. I have used Nova colors in the past, but am slowing replacing them with the others as I can because they are more difficult to purchase. I only use the Golden mediums. No cola, only filtered water.

[objectivistartist]

Ahah - an Irish lad here....... :thumbsup:
[but - I do my painting in the morn, and the pints are for the eve......]

[Clever]

I voted for Liquitex heavy body because that is primarily what is in my toolbox and what I cut my acrylic teeth on (btw, I meant that figuratively, I don't have false teeth);), but I do love Golden as well, but I don't like metal tubes so I will only buy in the plastic jar.

I don't drink soda...I prefer Starbucks Double shot lite.

[Dueck]

I'm a creamy Cryla man with a pint of Guinness on the side.

Haha, no way! It's always 10 to 1:00 for me :p

edit: I'm a huge fan of Golden heavy body, but perhaps I should be trying other types? Maybe I should start a thread about different types of acrylic... i.e. fluid, HB, gel, ink...

[hermanr]

Both great brands but I prefer Liquitex. Heavy Body for brush and knife, Soft Body for all types of fluid applications from permanent water color techniques to flat opaque coverage on canvas. The great range of mediums supports every imaginable technique.

[LordScorpius]

Liquitex is the ONLY brand I've ran into which is standards based and always, always rates level 1 on lightfastness on the vast number of their paints. There are four level 2's and NO level 3's as there are a few with Goldens. Liquitex has a translucent or transparent color for nearly every opaque. Golden's claim to fame is 8 shades of grey... yippie. The big pull for Golden is the flow rate. I have discovered an excellent flowrate comparatively by the purchase of the 8oz bottle of Slo-Dri. That single bottle outlasted 12 tubes of paint and I could take the flowrate way past Golden's with it. Yet, I didn't have to sacrifice the heavy body if I wanted not to add the medium. You get both with Liquitex. People bemoan the fact that Liquitex often replaces "ancient" pigments with new synthetic ones. Yet, a lightscope has proven that Liquitex "hues" are more consistent to the deepest consistent value of the ancient pigments but with superior lightfastness and translucence. Plus, hello... Boss Ross DIED from something that caused him to have cancer of the lymphnodes. Something "cancer-causing" perhaps? Like ancient organic pigments and chemicals in some paints? No thanks... I'll take the modern approach to staying alive. Golden is an American company and I love my country. There is no doubt. However, my car, my clothes and my paint are foreign because we just don't match quality to our flagwaving anymore, sad to say... not a reason to buy Golden.

[maverick]

I use mostly Tri-Art (tubes and fluid) and Golden (jars). Look for something with a high pigment load. You will use less paint so it's cheaper in the long run.

[Dueck]

Whoa

I wasn't expecting some kind of Spanish Inquisition! :p

[Te_Wheke]

It is interesting to find this thread going on here.

I use Golden, W&N, Liquitex, liquid and heavy body paints and because I airbrush, I have used stuff like Aquaflow, Createx, and a few others. There is a bit of controversy about the longevity of these paints. I just wrote to Createx asking them for the lightfast ratings of their paints since they have been around since 1978 or so. To my shock and horror they don't even test for lightfastness.

This quote from Createx site.

Createx Airbrush Colors are ready to use professional grade airbrush colors which are manufactured with the highest quality control standards. Createx uses the finest pigments available and the colors have a brightness and richness unmatched by others. These colors can be used on a variety of surfaces (i.e. fabrics, leather, canvas, paper, wood, ceramics, and clay) with permanent results.

Since they don't even bother to test their paints, I guess someone in the company consults a crystal ball to back up these claims.

Didn't mean to hijack this thread just thought I would chime in with a view about some of the "Other" acrylic flavors in use.

Oh and Diet Coke here.

[lightfast]

i have compared liquitex soft bodies to golden fluids side by side and noticed big differences - golden seems much better for my purposes.

[LordScorpius]

No escrito en español señor! Provecho por informacion no es inquisito. Si quieres, puedo escribir en castellano pues supongo que no puedan entender todos...

[Dueck]

¡Era una broma, buen señor! Hacía una referencia al Circo del Vuelo del Monty Python. :p

[Nayana]

between the two, liquitex has a higher viscosity. But honestly I prefer Atelier, they have an interactive series out that I love! They also have an absolute matte series that I am dieing to try, some others have tried it on here and say its velvetie and deep.

[Einion]

Polls
Dueck, everyone, just a quick reminder about polls: always add a closing date when starting one. Polls with no closing date can be voted on for years afterwards and with each vote the thread pops back to the surface as though there were a new post added.

...

Dueck, if I had to pick between just these two I'd go with Golden for heavy-body tube paints; for why you can search for past threads for my opinions on Liquitex.

But given availability I wouldn't go with either brand preferentially for a couple of reasons: inconsistent body, varied finish when dry. I consider both of those important characteristics in acrylic or vinyl paint (finish doesn't have to be 100% consistent, but a lot less variable than either of these provide). Over there, if I had to pick one brand to use for painting I'd probably go with Tri-Art currently, maybe Cryla over here.

Einion

[Einion]

I used to use Liquitex but changed to Golden.
Generally I would agree with what you said in your post Oliver, which is curious given the current lead for Liquitex in the poll :)


I'm a huge fan of Golden heavy body, but perhaps I should be trying other types?
Depends on how you paint and on how you want to paint. If you need body primarily then no real reason to try anything else. But if you're interested in layering/glazing then by all means try something more fluid.

Maybe I should start a thread about different types of acrylic... i.e. fluid, HB, gel, ink...
Search for the prior threads on the same subject first, see if you can find what you need ;)


Liquitex is the ONLY brand I've ran into which is standards based and always, always rates level 1 on lightfastness on the vast number of their paints.
Always always... on the majority? :D

Almost all artists'-grade acrylics are primarily ASTM I. And virtually any paint marketed today in the west can be guaranteed to be 'standards based' because of the regulations that govern artists' materials.

People bemoan the fact that Liquitex often replaces "ancient" pigments with new synthetic ones.
Liquitex are hardly unique in this regard in acrylics (much less other mediums) and the pigments they use are common to many modern paintmakers. Liquitex used to have a couple of pigments unique to them but as far as I know that's not true any longer.

Yet, a lightscope has proven that Liquitex "hues" are more consistent to the deepest consistent value of the ancient pigments but with superior lightfastness and translucence.
???

Si quieres, puedo escribir en castellano pues supongo que no puedan entender todos...
No, please don't.

Einion

[~JON]

¡Era una broma, buen señor! Hacía una referencia al Circo del Vuelo del Monty Python. :pYes, and a pretty good one. :)

I use Liquitex primarily. I agree with Einion:
Depends on how you paint and on how you want to paint. If you need body primarily then no real reason to try anything else. But if you're interested in layering/glazing then by all means try something more fluid.

[studemobile]

I'm not a fan of the tiny screw cap so I use Liquitex

[debee]

Liquitex. Period. (Oh, and some H2O)

[bistus]

I prefer Utrecht - except for Cerulean Blue. That is Liquitex.

[LordScorpius]

VICTORY!!! BAH HA HA HA !! Yes! Yes! Liquitex is BEST! Look at those Poll numbers! Nannie, Nannie Boo Boo! Hang your head in shame all yea others! What's the point in continuing on with your WRONG paint? Surrender to the all mighty Liquitex and support DEMOCRACY! BAH HAHAHAHA!!!
Funny! But seriously... I was an ass about the Liquitex thing. I should never advise anothers thoughts or preferences based solely on what I approve. That's craziness! Even the Bible has a little known verse in it which goes something like this: "Blessed is the one who is not condemned by what he approves". and "at whatever point you judge, you are condemning yourself". Isn't that true about most everything? And now that we know what brand JESUS prefers... okay, okay, I'll stop! I'm kidding!!! I want to apologize and to show just how easy it is to split hairs over something like this and risk upsetting folks. We must remain unitied as Acrylic Artists because, as we all KNOW it's those OIL PAINTERS who are wrong and using Crap!! YEAH!! Let's get 'em!!! {And the mystery of why Americans should not be in control of foreign policy is solved}

[Tazart]

Whoa

I wasn't expecting some kind of Spanish Inquisition! :p

LOL :lol: !!! I saw your question the other day & thought I must respond, then forgot & now I see what you mean !!!!!!!!

My humble story is I bought a few Golden paints in London, because I read they were the best ......... then I moved to the US & my local Michaels only has a huge selection of Liquitiex so I ended up owning a lot of them, because I can't be bothered to wait for online orders. Final result I prefer Liquitex because they are thinner & the plastic tubes are better to deal with. Shallow, newbie thoughts .... probably :D !!!

Diet Coke vs Diet Pepsi - I couldn't tell the difference if my life depended on it :eek: :lol: !!!!

[rassilier]

They're both very good, but I like to support Golden for all its efforts in R&D and conservation. Also because it's a small company with far fewer dollars to spend than Col Art.

[LordScorpius]

What is the the final product of each type of paint? I think that's really where I want to know more. Are Golden, Liquitex, Newton and Blick paints all of the same "quality"? Yes... I would even bet that NO ONE can tell the difference when using them in a double blind survey. And, they are PolyVynlAcetate Polymer... equally. The pigment load on Artist quality is "saturated", which means the paint won't hold any more pigment. The pigments are all the same organics or chemicals and their prices are within pennies of each other! Hello!! So, the question should be "what's the difference?" I think I've found one...
Liquitex was kind enough to send me their $4.99 Artist manual for free once I told them I was kissing their ass all over the Internet. Then I felt embarassed when I found out, Liquitex sends their manual to everyone for free as a publicity stunt... anyway, in the manual it says "dries to a SATIN finish" for the Artist quality stuff. Wait a minute... Satin? What? I hate to be naive but, I started as one of those Acyrlic Artists who believed that all Acyrlics dry Gloss finish. Honestly, I ain't that crazy about Satin finish and I hate Matt. Not you Matt, I mean Matt finish.
So, educate this ignorant hick please. Does anyone know if Golden dries Gloss finish or Satin finish? What about Newton and Blick's stuff? I believe this is the real difference right here. I may have to trade in my robe as a temple prostitute for Liquitex if Golden dries Gloss. I've been buying Gloss medium to get gloss! Errrrrr !!! To me, this is THE most important aspect of the paint! Thank GOD I didn't go out and buy... .... nevermind....

[maverick]

I never thought much about the paint finish, but you'll get mixed results depending on how much water or extra medium you use. I control the finish with my final varnish. The whole thing looks glossy with glossy varnish no matter what the paint underneath looks like. If for some special reason I want matt, I use matt varnish.

I can tell you that Golden's Carbon black dries satin. I just checked a painting that had black without medium (sides of the canvas) plus an area where I used Golden Satin Glazing Liquid and they both look the same. Hope that helps.

[Einion]

Are Golden, Liquitex, Newton and Blick paints all of the same "quality"? Yes... I would even bet that NO ONE can tell the difference when using them in a double blind survey.
Actually there can be some very easy ways of telling them apart if you're very familiar with the specific colours - the wide variance in surface gloss, versus a consistent satin finish, would be a dead giveaway in certain cases. Also, Raw Sienna is fairly opaque from some brands and semitransparent in others (the way it really should be) and this could be evident in simple swatch comparisons.

In addition to this there is a noticeable difference in physical properties between certain brands. Take a smooth surface like a glazed ceramic tile or a piece of glass and apply small swatches of various brands with the tip of a knife and let them cure thoroughly - give is a day or two. Then try scraping the paint off with your fingernail; with most brands of artists' acrylics the paint will come off quite easily. With one or two it will be much harder than that, the paint bonding very strongly.

If you've got an eye for colour you may also be able to tell based purely on the masstone colour in a few cases - I could tell the Finity example of Chromium Oxide Green quite easily from the Liquitex version which is the one I actually prefer. With other pigments, like Dioxazine Purple, Phthalo Blue GS or Phthalo Green BS it would be impossible I'm sure (even if you were given the chance to use them it might not be possible as high-quality examples of these are extremely similar).

And, they are PolyVynlAcetate Polymer... equally.
There are actually quite a number of different acrylic and vinyl polymers, and co-polymers; Liquitex make a point in their literature of talking about the premier quality of the binder they use.

The pigment load on Artist quality is "saturated", which means the paint won't hold any more pigment.
Nope, that is not fixed. It varies from binder to binder (vinyls can hold more than acrylic seemingly) and there going to be a certain amount of PR-speak in the assurances we get from the better makers that the very maximum amount of pigment is present - otherwise how would they improve pigmentation every now and then with a range upgrade! Also we should remember that this pigment load is the maximum that will allow stable long-term storage in the tube, as well as fulfilling some of the other requirements like freeze-thaw stability that some of the standards call for.

The pigments are all the same organics or chemicals and their prices are within pennies of each other!
Absolutely not - something sourced from a Chinese pigment manufacturer, used in some budget brand, and the 'same' pigment from BASF, used by W&N, will not be the same price.

Does anyone know if Golden dries Gloss finish or Satin finish?
This has been mentioned in a number of previous brand-comparison threads and I touch on it briefly above in post #29: the Golden HB colours span the entire gamut from very glossy to quite matt, with a fair few stops in between.

What about Newton and Blick's stuff?
Much more consistent - satin.

If you want gloss straight from the tube then Tri-Art or the Quiller acrylics from Richeson (same paint) are the glossiest brands I'm aware of; that's one of the reasons I think that Tri-Art is such a good choice.

Einion

[LordScorpius]

I'm not worthy!! I'm not worthy!!
Great information! Seriously. So, it really is NOT a matter of "better" but rather a matter of choice in differences when considering Liquitex and Golden. Right?

[2bears]

They're both very good, but I like to support Golden for all its efforts in R&D and conservation. Also because it's a small company with far fewer dollars to spend than Col Art.

I'm with you and Golden very carefully makes their products to be of high quality. In addition, when I wrote to Golden Paints with an inquiry Mark Golden himself wrote a warm reply to me. That kind of caring goes a long way with me when it comes to where I spend my dollars.

[cuttlefish]

Golden paints dry at a variety of gloss levels due to a peculiar element of their commitment to quality. With the exception of the lines labelled as having a particular finish, the gloss or matte properties are dependent on the properties of the various pigments, without any matting agents added to regulate the gloss.

Other manufacturers (and W&N makes a selling-point of it in their Finity line) add matting agents to give a consistent finish across their full range of colors. The presence of these matting agents can diminish the pigment load capacity of the resin for some colors, which is why Golden doesn't do that (again, except for when specificalled labelled as such). They consider it an adulterant.

This alone doesn't determine the quality of one brand against another, but it can be a factor when deciding personal preferrences.

[Einion]

So, it really is NOT a matter of "better" but rather a matter of choice in differences when considering Liquitex and Golden. Right?
Well there is definitely a huge amount of personal preference when it comes to paint choice; the palettes of members in any of the forums here, and in the work of many professional artists, shows this since many will be using a brand that other people consider to be downright inferior. A good example of this can be seen in oil painting forums, here and elsewhere - you can get some pros and forum gurus who'll tell you outright how crappy W&N's oil paints are; the fact that they're used by a great many successful artists does point to how subjective that determination must be.

In the case of Liquitex v. Golden specifically if you took as your standard a certain property - pigment load for example (one of the key characteristics of any paint) - then you could find out by direct comparison which paints were better in that respect. But there are many other considerations, including simple colour preference.

Einion

[Bill_E]

I prefer TriArt by far. It has a great consistency, blends well (seems to dry a little slower that others I've tried) and rich pigment. :thumbsup: Unfortunately I have to mail order it because no one seems to carry where I live. :(

Next in line is Golden. Stevenson and Liquitex about the same ranking, but for different reasons.

MY BIGGEST complaint with both TriArt and Golden is that they use the same style of 'break easy' caps! :mad: Are you listening?

[staggerlee]

golden is just plain better. no explanation can justify this, one must just try them side to side, then....

[2bears]

MY BIGGEST complaint with both TriArt and Golden is that they use the same style of 'break easy' caps! :mad: Are you listening?

Golden will send you new caps, here is Mark Golden's blog responding to a previous WC thread on the caps. Here's the link:
http://www.goldenpaints.com/blog/index.php?id=50

[jocelynsart]

I like both.
Many pro artists I know prefer Golden.
I grew up on Liquitex, not sure if Golden was around when I first used acrylic, but now I'll use either.
I don't care for pop at all, never have, I'm a milk girl, so can't relate to the analogy lol!
Jocelyn

[Bill_E]

Golden will send you new caps, here is Mark Golden's blog responding to a previous WC thread on the caps. Here's the link:
http://www.goldenpaints.com/blog/index.php?id=50

Thanks for this information. :)

I guess the last tubes I bought were older stock since I had one cap break the first time I used it. It is very encouraging to see Mark Golden's eagerness to address the problem. :thumbsup: It's a good product. It deserves a good little piece of plastic to keep it in the tube.

I noted that he also addressed the issue of metal vs. plastic tubes. I agree with him that metal tubes are superior. I have some tubes of a couple of other brands that have plastic tubes and yes, a lot of air gets sucked back in. The paint just doesn't last as long.

[LordScorpius]

So, tell me if I understand this correctly Einion. You prefer the Glossier stuff too, right? May I also ask, what to do about Transpanent paint? I bought the Cadmium Yellow Light to get a warm yellow. The label says "Transparent" and I've never run into that before. My thinking was, Translucent good, Transparent better! Much to my surprise, it really is a true color but you can see straight through it! It's the Liquitex Heavy Body Cad Yell Lt. I believe I mis-spoke about the ratings as to why I have a preference for Liquitex. I meant to say that they boast the best Lightfastness and I've proven that to be true against Golden which has 50% more Lightfast II and two Lightfast III, whereas Liquitex has only 4 Lightfast II and NO Lightfast III colors. I believe I made a blanket statement about "standards" and I was wrong. I like the Liquitex because they have more translucent colors and to me, that's a sign of a superior paint.
The one thing I don't like about Liquitex and perhaps it is common to all Acrylics... Certain paints dry MUCH faster, are more difficult to blend and break easier than others while some paints take much longer to dry, blend very well but won't break when you want them to. Also, When I use the mentioned paint above and mix it with Dioxazine Purple, the resulting brown dries much faster than either of the paints alone and has all the difficult properties mentioned. The two paints seperately act like angels. Is this typical to all artist acrylic paints?

[Heidi7Sue]

Certain paints dry MUCH faster, are more difficult to blend and break easier than others while some paints take much longer to dry, blend very well but won't break when you want them to.

What do you mean by "break"? Are you making paint films and breaking them? :confused:

[cuttlefish]

The one thing I don't like about Liquitex and perhaps it is common to all Acrylics... Certain paints dry MUCH faster, are more difficult to blend and break easier than others while some paints take much longer to dry, blend very well but won't break when you want them to. Also, When I use the mentioned paint above and mix it with Dioxazine Purple, the resulting brown dries much faster than either of the paints alone and has all the difficult properties mentioned. The two paints seperately act like angels. Is this typical to all artist acrylic paints?

The various pigments affect the handling properties of all paints. This is more widely understood with oils, but it is equally true of acrylics, watercolors, and other paint vehicles. Some colors will be more glossy or matte, buttery, gummy, runny, staining, floating, and many other variables, all when mixed in the same base. And yes, some colors dry faster than others, some are easier to blend, some are better at glazing, and some are more opaque. And these properties may change when certain colors are mixed in unexpected ways.

Also, the same pigments that behave a certain way in one medium can act very differently in another.

[Einion]

So, tell me if I understand this correctly Einion. You prefer the Glossier stuff too, right?
For what could loosely be termed fine-art painting, yes.

I don't mind satin or even matt paint though, just as long as it's consistently satin or matt; nothing worse IMO than trying to paint with a high-gloss darks and very matt lights.

May I also ask, what to do about Transpanent paint? I bought the Cadmium Yellow Light to get a warm yellow. The label says "Transparent" and I've never run into that before. My thinking was, Translucent good, Transparent better! Much to my surprise, it really is a true color but you can see straight through it! It's the Liquitex Heavy Body Cad Yell Lt.
I'm not sure what you're asking here but cadmiums provide the best opacity available to the acrylic painter in yellow, orange and red, however the yellows are noticeably less opaque than the reds (generally weaker and weaker as the hue moves away from orange) and acrylics are inherently not a very opaque medium (lowish pigment load) so we have to bear this in mind and not expect a yellow to cover something dark in a thin coat, a single brushstroke, anything like that.

You learn to paint appropriately - either leave the areas that are going to be yellow blank (paint around them, leaving bare primer) or ignore them, then first paint what will be yellow using white, then go in with the yellow paint.

I have a few truly transparent colours and a number of others with varying degrees of transparency, although the bulk of my preferred palette consists of opaque pigments because of how I usually paint. But transparent/semitransparent paints have their definite uses if one wants to be able to utilise a full range of painting techniques.

With regard to lightfastness, I wouldn't touch an ASTM III paint with a barge pole myself but if the standard of pigments used by the paintmaker is high it really doesn't matter much if you use a few ASTM II pigments, judging from my own lightfastness tests and some other independent testing (principally those on Handprint). If one wants to use only ASTM I that's fine though, no reason not to err on the side of caution.

Unfortunately though, lightfastness for the same pigments can he highly variable so there's no absolute guarantee of light stability when we buy by ASTM rating.

I like the Liquitex because they have more translucent colors and to me, that's a sign of a superior paint.
Each pigment exhibits varying natural opacities, incrementally different, when made into paint; the resulting opacity range within a brand is merely a reflection of the pigments used.

If there is a preponderance of transparent/semitransparent paints in a line that basically indicates that it favours synthetic-organic pigments; if the weight of colours are opaque/semiopaque it indicates that it favours inorganic pigments (natural or synthetic). Neither is inherently better, it's just a matter of taste which one each person prefers.

The one thing I don't like about Liquitex and perhaps it is common to all Acrylics... Certain paints dry MUCH faster...
I've never noticed any significant differences in drying time from one colour to another in a single brand of acrylics for paints that are consistent in body. If one tube happens to be pretty thick and another is a bit sloppy then there's a very good chance the sloppy one has more water and will inherently dry more slowly. And of course body/viscosity is pretty much directly related to how paints handle under the brush.

Einion

[Einion]

...Golden in pole position after a promising start from Liquitex. And Coca-Cola edges ahead of Pepsi with an 8-5 lead....

Einion

[LordScorpius]

Oh My God! I'll admit openly, up until today, I've been ragging on Golden without ever having tried it. A local store is having a 50% off Golden Artist quality Acrylic paint sale. I asked why and they said because they can't sell it. Hmm... so, always prefering the underdog, I bought some. What absolute crap!!! Now, I can understand why someone would like to have the option to thin down the paint for glazing but, to ONLY have that option? This stuff is total garbage! I've read where supposedly the "quality" and "color" and all that are better than Liquitex... well, it's obvious now that I wasn't the ONLY one writing from a lack of trying the products. First of all, I had a really hard time finding a Yellow which was Lightfast 1... in fact, I didn't. They were ALL Lightfast 2...just like the craft crap in Michaels. I bought some Quinacridone Crimson and that stuff looks like Crayola crayon Red right out of the box when dry. It's patchy, it's thin, the color is weak and is the typical expectation of Made in the U.S.A. which is sad. The money isn't wasted however because this stuff makes great underpainting. It's strong enough for that. Too bad too because I was really hoping to find something new and exciting being that Liquitex is everywhere. Oh well, here's to the next contender cause Golden is anything but Golden.

[Einion]

Oh My God! I'll admit openly, up until today, I've been ragging on Golden without ever having tried it.
Oh well that's good to know!

What absolute crap!!!
I'm not a huge fan of Golden either in fact, but what you've said is similar to my view on Liquitex's 'heavy-body' paints, which I really really wanted to like.

I've read where supposedly the "quality" and "color" and all that are better than Liquitex... well, it's obvious now that I wasn't the ONLY one writing from a lack of trying the products.
Did you do like-for-like comparisons? In case it's not obvious you can't judge one brand against another by comparing pigments of very different types.

First of all, I had a really hard time finding a Yellow which was Lightfast 1... in fact, I didn't. They were ALL Lightfast 2...just like the craft crap in Michaels.
Golden have plenty (eight to be precise). If they didn't have any of them in your local Michaels - Michael's? Michaels'? :D - then one can't really blame Golden for that.

I bought some Quinacridone Crimson and that stuff looks like Crayola crayon Red right out of the box when dry.
Might be the same pigment.

FWIW I have a hand-painted colour chart from Golden, the colour of Quin Crimson seems fine to me if you're looking for something in that area. I prefer something a little more toward magenta myself but this is a decent crimson, and a reliable pigment.

It's patchy, it's thin, the color is weak and is the typical expectation of Made in the U.S.A. which is sad.
Even given that I don't think Golden is all it's cracked up to be that seems a little odd (especially in light of what I know of the quality of Liquitex's tube colours) so which colours did you buy? Some pigments aren't that strong, that's the way they're are; especially if one is expecting coverage some transparent paints could be quite a surprise.

Isn't Liquitex an American brand too? Or are they made in China now?

Einion

[maverick]

What absolute crap!!!

There's no middle of the road with you is there? :D

Don't expect yellow to cover very well. It's semi-opaque to transparent usually. I have Golden Primary Yellow and it's very patchy unless you're mixing it with something else. Even when glazing I have the biggest challenge with yellow of any brand.

When I first switched to "artist quality" (which didn't take long), I went with Golden. I then switched to Tri-Art because my un-trained eye really couldn't tell the difference in quality and Tri-Art was less expensive. I still use Golden when I can't find the Tri-Art color I want. I'm not a shill for either company, but we harped on Tri-Art so much here that Dick Blick started to carry it. You should do a comparison before deciding like Einion suggested.

I wonder if the paint from Michael's wasn't selling because it was past its shelf life. I've seen acrlyic paint separate and curdle over time if not used up, but I think that takes months to years.

[staggerlee]

The two Michaels in my area (one south chicago, one in joliet) had huge golden sales b/c no one was buying it, and they stopped carrying it. One store had extremely old paint, some dry in the tube (with loose caps, mind you). The selection was quite lacking. I do prefer golden over liquitex (the fluids are unsurpassed by any other company), but in a pinch will use what is available.

Unless one does the side by side, fair comparisons, one cannot really judge. Doing those comparisons requires the desire to do so,the right colours to test and the funds to buy the stuff to test it, which I don't have, so I rely on trusted opinions.

Regardless, just go with what ya like....but try the fluids, they're greeeeat!

[LordScorpius]

Staggerlee, you bring up the best point of all about Golden that I've heard. The Fluids are the absolute best you say. I would have to agree solely based on the work I've seen manifest from Barbara Buer and many, many others. Golden is for Glazing. They are the glazing experts. And, trying to be more fair (Maverick, good observation) yes, doesn't it suck, if you are a glazing painter to have to thin down with medium every time you wish to glaze? You would with Liquitex, definitely! In that regard, straight out of the tube, Goldens must be the best for glazing on the planet. What I didn't express well is my observations (yes, Einion, I ruined a painting by combining them on the same canvas and the difference is striking!) is that while I can glaze with the big L, I can't do Oil-like painting with Golden because its to "glazy". (???)
Einion, when will I learn to just listen to you. I'm trying your brand but you COULD have pick a more affordable one you know! That stuff is expensive! (big smile)

[Elaine B]

I don't like Liquitex particularly - will use it in my underpainting. It's too watery for me. I prefer Golden or Winsor-Newton Acrylics - they have more body.

[bionicanaconda]

I've never used Golden or Liquitex. Golden not available in Oz.
I use Derivan Matisse (Structure). They are made in Australia and are very smooth and buttery. I use some Liquitex mediums but mainly Derivan Matisse.

[pinups]

I use golden paints for a hairy stick and a combination of golden airbrush fluid acrylics and the tri art acrylics for airbrushing. As for drinks...who ever heard of a rum and pepsi ...thats just wrong on so many levels!

[Dueck]

who ever heard of a rum and pepsi ...thats just wrong on so many levels!

Good point.