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  • #992338
    bunford
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        Hi. I paint in both oils and acrylics and am still in the beginner range in terms of painting, but have been sketching in pencil for years.

        I currently use Winsor & Newton’s Galeria paints in the main, along with some Liquitex Basics. However, even though I am on a limited budget, I am now looking to upgrade my paints as I am beginning to paint more and get better. The main factor stopping me from wholesale upgrade is pricing, so I would prefer to do it as slowly and cheaply as possible.

        I would prefer to buy locally and looking for advice. The locally available paints are:

        * Daler Rowney System3 Heavy Body
        * Daler Rowney Cryla
        * Winsor & Newton Artist Acrylics
        * Golden Fluid Acrylics

        The System3 seem like an affordable introduction into heavy body paints. If worth it, I can also buy others online, such as:

        * Golden Open Acrylics
        * Golden Heavy Body
        * Liquitex Heavy Body
        * Atelier Interactives

        However, as I said I would prefer to buy locally if possible. I paint allsorts from figurative to landscape and seascapes to experimental stuff as I am yet to find my niche.

        The one thing i do know, as I paint in oils too, is that I prefer acrylics that are open longer and are workable for a significant amount of time.

        Winsor & Newton Thames Radial Easel, Winsor & Newton Artist oils, Winsor & Newton Artist acrylics, Liquitex Heavy Body acrylics, Daler Rowney System3 Heavy Body acrylics, Liquitex Basics acrylic paints, Golden mediums, Liquitex Freestyle brushes and lots of other brushes.

        Feel free to browse my website here

        #1212841
        Dcam
        Default

            Gav: I have all the brands you listed and each has its own qualities.
            Yes, the system 3 is an excellent economical start to your arsenal.
            If you want, you might try just a few of the liquid acrylics and see what they do. Great for line work and glazes.
            Good luck.
            The “Sea Buddies” on this page were painted with Atelier interactives and Golden Fluids.

            Derek

            #1212839
            WaltWally
            Default

                I would recommend the Golden OPEN series, as being roughly midway between oils and regular acrylics in drying time.
                So far, I find them completely compatible with regular heavy body (HB)acrylics, and the OPEN mediums seem to work well as a way to extend drying time on the HB series. They also make Acrylic Glazing Liquid, which slows drying time on the HB line.

                If you can get the Golden Fluids locally, maybe they could order the Golden OPEN line for you.

                I applaud your desire to support your local art supplier(s)!

                One way you can keep costs down a bit is to use the lower series numbered paints; often there is no compromise on quality when doing so. Personally, I avoid the cadmiums and won’t use any lightfastness II paints.

                "A badly made patch is still better than a well-made hole."
                [FONT="Book Antiqua"]--Lucie Margarite

                [/B]" I am at my most serious when I'm joking."
                [FONT="Book Antiqua"]--The Angel Dudley,The Bishop's Wife
                [/CENTER][/COLOR]
                "Two things are infinite: Space and Human Stupidity—and I'm not sure about Space!"
                [FONT="Book Antiqua"]--Albert Einstein
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                #1212837
                Guide
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                    What brand you use is a personal preference. It requires a bit of experimentation with several brands to see how it works for you. That is the bottom line, how does it work for you.

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                    #1212838

                    I am an absolute Liquitex fan. Their paints are superb. System 3 is a good option. They are reasonably priced with good coverage.

                    Chammi
                    Moderator
                    My Blog/WIP's and Tips: Chammi's Art Escapades

                    #1212844
                    bunford
                    Default

                        Hmmm. Interesting options and thanks for the advice so far!

                        Wanting to buy locally, I think I am leaning towards the System3 Heavy Body paints for the interim. I would hope to upgrade to Liquitex of Golden in time probably but am already spending more than I would like on the Golden mediums!

                        Winsor & Newton Thames Radial Easel, Winsor & Newton Artist oils, Winsor & Newton Artist acrylics, Liquitex Heavy Body acrylics, Daler Rowney System3 Heavy Body acrylics, Liquitex Basics acrylic paints, Golden mediums, Liquitex Freestyle brushes and lots of other brushes.

                        Feel free to browse my website here

                        #1212847
                        Glean
                        Default

                            I use the System3 paints as my main paint. I like them a ton. The only heavy body paints I could find in “student” grade. They seem very good to me, tho I’ll admit my experience is quite limited. The only complaint I have had with them is that the raw umber, and mars black seem to be not very finely ground. They are kind of “chunky”, which doesn’t make much difference most of the time but is kind of a pain sometimes. I get around it with a little mixing with other paint, or a little medium for the most part. But once in a while in delicate areas you’ll find a chunk that hasn’t mixed properly and get a deep brown/black smear with your color that needs to be scraped off or painted over.

                            I havn’t had the problem with any of the other colors I’ve gotten tho. Not sure if it’s just my batch as they were both ordered at the same time. But this minor irritation aside I’ve been very impressed with the quality vs price. I use artist grade oils, and atleast with the colors I use in both can’t tell the difference quality wise. My standards probably aren’t the highest since I’m fairly new to painting, but for 1/4 the price of my oils, the sys3 feel like a steal.

                            C&C always welcome. Thank you for shareing your ideas!

                            http://bmc1010.imgur.com/
                            #1212849

                            I would suggest winsor and newton artist acrylics, since there going to be the most logical step up. System3 is HORRID! It has a very low pigment load and most of the paints are pretty transparent upon application. They’re also NOT heavy body paints at all. They’re more similar to the Galleria line from W&N. Trust me I used System3 when I first started and I can’t believe I ever created anything with them (they’re really that bad).

                            Golden and Liquitex HB paints are my go to personally. The consistency is perfect and you can really push them a long way if you’re smart about it. They are top of the line professional grade paints though, and if you’re still a beginner they’re not really necessary (unless of course you have the money to burn).

                            [FONT=Franklin Gothic Medium]Paintings, Drawings, and Resources for Artists on my site" http://www.cinderblockstudios.com

                            Painting Tutorials, and other creative content to inspire you, every week on my Youtube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/c/Cinderblockstudios

                            #1212848
                            Glean
                            Default

                                Are you sure your talking about the system3 paints and not another D&R line? My paints are so thick they are hard to even squeeze out of the tubes. Definitely a hvy body paint.

                                The golden and liquitex (hvy body)are the better paint as they are artist grade vs student grade, but cost 2x to 3x as much.

                                C&C always welcome. Thank you for shareing your ideas!

                                http://bmc1010.imgur.com/
                                #1212840
                                WaltWally
                                Default

                                    I would hope to upgrade to Liquitex of Golden in time probably but am already spending more than I would like on the Golden mediums!

                                    I’d like to hear more on which mediums you are using, and your opinion of how well they work with other brands of paint.

                                    "A badly made patch is still better than a well-made hole."
                                    [FONT="Book Antiqua"]--Lucie Margarite

                                    [/B]" I am at my most serious when I'm joking."
                                    [FONT="Book Antiqua"]--The Angel Dudley,The Bishop's Wife
                                    [/CENTER][/COLOR]
                                    "Two things are infinite: Space and Human Stupidity—and I'm not sure about Space!"
                                    [FONT="Book Antiqua"]--Albert Einstein
                                    [/center][/COLOR][/B]
                                    #1212842
                                    Rhodabird
                                    Default

                                        Hi. When I first started out painting, I got some good advice from knowledgeable people. They told me”use the best paints, canvases and supplies that you can afford.

                                        I settled on liquitex and Chroma products. I have been extremely satisfied. Hope this helps. Rhoda

                                        #1212845
                                        bunford
                                        Default

                                            I would suggest winsor and newton artist acrylics, since there going to be the most logical step up. System3 is HORRID! It has a very low pigment load and most of the paints are pretty transparent upon application. They’re also NOT heavy body paints at all. They’re more similar to the Galleria line from W&N. Trust me I used System3 when I first started and I can’t believe I ever created anything with them (they’re really that bad).

                                            Golden and Liquitex HB paints are my go to personally. The consistency is perfect and you can really push them a long way if you’re smart about it. They are top of the line professional grade paints though, and if you’re still a beginner they’re not really necessary (unless of course you have the money to burn).

                                            Sounds to me like you used the original System3 and not they Heavy Body variant?

                                            Winsor & Newton Thames Radial Easel, Winsor & Newton Artist oils, Winsor & Newton Artist acrylics, Liquitex Heavy Body acrylics, Daler Rowney System3 Heavy Body acrylics, Liquitex Basics acrylic paints, Golden mediums, Liquitex Freestyle brushes and lots of other brushes.

                                            Feel free to browse my website here

                                            #1212846
                                            bunford
                                            Default

                                                I’d like to hear more on which mediums you are using, and your opinion of how well they work with other brands of paint.

                                                I use Golden Soft Gel (Gloss) and the Self Levelling Gel mainly. I use them with my W&N Galeria and seem to work as I would expect with Golden paints. I have also used their Light Moulding Paste too, but that was without mixing colour in to knife on a texture pre-painting over it, that worked fine and again with W&N Galeria paints.

                                                Winsor & Newton Thames Radial Easel, Winsor & Newton Artist oils, Winsor & Newton Artist acrylics, Liquitex Heavy Body acrylics, Daler Rowney System3 Heavy Body acrylics, Liquitex Basics acrylic paints, Golden mediums, Liquitex Freestyle brushes and lots of other brushes.

                                                Feel free to browse my website here

                                                #1212850

                                                Sounds to me like you used the original System3 and not they Heavy Body variant?

                                                I’m not even sure I want to know how much they screwed up Heavy Body paint.

                                                [FONT=Franklin Gothic Medium]Paintings, Drawings, and Resources for Artists on my site" http://www.cinderblockstudios.com

                                                Painting Tutorials, and other creative content to inspire you, every week on my Youtube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/c/Cinderblockstudios

                                                #1212843
                                                janinco
                                                Default

                                                    I really enjoy working with System 3. I have several tubes of Cryla and there is really not a whole lot of difference except the Cryla is made of more expensive pigments and a little more concentrated (but not as much as the usual difference between student and artist).

                                                    I use Golden Open Gloss Medium with my System 3 paints and it works great…gives me a little more drying time and I like the slight sealing effect of the medium. If I put down a stroke I don’t like and there’s some gloss medium in the layer under it, I can just use a wet Q-tip to pick up the paint.

                                                    Jan

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