…I think it is very wise of you to be testing the products out on a thumbnail…when I have used Liquitex water-based [COLOR=red]varnish[/COLOR], if I use a matte, it does not get milky, but it does reduce the depth of color, as matte is supposed to. And then I can restore the depth of color by making the next layer a satin (which I customize by mixing matte and gloss).

Thanks for these insights, Merideth. And yeah, I’m very glad I chose to experiment preliminarily.

What you describe is similar to my Matte Medium + Binder Medium results. Your example involving varnish takes place after the painting is complete, and luckily, you know how to counteract the reduced color effect of the matte by topping it with your blended satin. As you see, the problem for me is that the matte medium is applied throughout the painting process, skewing colors and subsequent color mixing throughout the process. Ugh.

…Binder Medium…left little gummy things all over my painting. Jennifer (from Chroma, who reads this forum) was kind enough to send me another sample from a new batch, and it did the same thing. Needless to say, I have not tried the Binder Medium on my paintings since, so I am curious as to your experience with it.

I have not seen any gummythings in the Binder Medium, but I do see little “Bits & Chunks” in the Matte Medium. If you revisit my examples page[/URL] and inspect the upper left corner of Image 1 you’ll notice a particularly large Matte Medium “chunk”. There are others, but that one is particularly noticeable. Of course, the painting itself is tiny (3×3″) so the bits are not as large as they might seem. But like you, I don’t want any at all in my medium.

I really like the Interactives, too. After stopping using them because of technical problems with them when painting on Aquabord, I am back to using them and choosing other surfaces to paint on when I use the Interactives, such as [COLOR=red]Gessobord[/COLOR].

I’m experimenting on gessoed paper, but I’ve built my first panel: cradled 1/8″ hardboard, sealed all surfaces, primed front. I looked up Gessobord per your comments. Found a 12×24″ for $12.50 on Amazon. That seems like a reasonable price.

You can contact Chroma for info, too, and maybe Jennifer will answer here in your thread.

I’ll email Jennifer and ask her to clarify. I gleaned the Paint+Binder+Matte technique from a Chroma video wherein Mikel Wintermantel demonstrates his use of it. His landscapes involve rich colors, so maybe I’m missing something. That test thumbnail is the first time I’ve painted in a loooong time and I’m new to Chroma Atelier Interactives, so I’m sure there’s much for me to learn.

PS. I visited your blog[/URL] and really, really like the rose at the top of your “Three Confessions” post of June 2. My first attempt is kinda tentative and picky, but those rose petals of yours are bold and decisive. I also particularly like your treatment of the glass vase. Your strokes and colors are unapologetic and honest. How refreshing, for you and for us.

I read your 3 points and the overarching motto of your site, and I’m pretty sure your positive feelings about that painting are based on the CONFIDENCE and COURAGE it embodies. UGO! :thumbsup:

BRAVA![/B][/COLOR]

I had an excellent phone conversation with Jennifer Vonstein, Chroma’s US Resident Artist – a woman clearly dedicated to serving Chroma Atelier Interactive customer needs.

Chroma is an Australian firm, and I’ve always been a fan of ‘Down Unda’ so I’m pleased (excited, really) to finally be using these fine paints. I’m sure she’ll clarify the matter in question to everyone’s satisfaction, and I won’t be surprised if it turns out to be a technical misunderstanding by me, due to my newness to these unique paints and mediums.

Just to put Chroma’s business practices in context:
I wanted to purchase some Liquitex painting knives, but could find NO INFORMATION regarding sizes of the individual tools. Not even on the Liquitex website! I tried calling Liquitex, but their VoiceMail ‘Firewall’ never allowed me to speak with a human being. Yuk. As a result, I won’t consider Liquitex acrylic paints, and I’m all the more thankful for Chroma’s consideration for its customers. The ChromaOnline Website[/URL] bends over backwards to provide every bit of information imaginable, AND…I can actually pick up the phone and ask Chroma’s US Resident Artist a technical question. Yikes!

And…she’s actually enthusiatic about researching the issue!!!

It doesn’t get any better than that, and regardless of the outcome of this ‘Matte Medium Mystery’, Chroma paints and mediums will be the hub of my painting endeavors. For the record, I have no affiliation with Chroma other than through the bristles of my brushes (haha) :D.

Thanks for these techical insights, Beverly. Very helpful.

I much prefer the look of the paints thinned only with a little water but no mediums…If I tried to knock that [binder medium] shine back by covering it with matte medium I got hazy colors and details.

There are just too many good reasons to paint with Chroma Interactives, so I’m sticking with them. For now I’m not worrying about variations in sheen. Paints themselves have varying sheen levels, so I figure rather than drive myself kerAzee trying to keep everything balanced throughout the painting process, I’ll just look past the sheen differences, and then balance the entire painting’s surface sheen in the end by applying a solvent-based varnish. I think my first attempt will be Chroma Atelier Satin – the middle ground between Gloss and Matte.

…any matte medium or matte varnish […] has very finely ground [COLOR=red]marble dust[/COLOR] in it to break up the reflected light, thus making the surface look matte (and dull)…[COLOR=red]these very fine marble particles are opaque so it makes the medium or varnish just a bit hazy when dry[/COLOR]. Covering that layer with either the binder or a shiny medium or varnish [COLOR=red]restores it [U]somewhat[/U], but[/COLOR] [COLOR=red]not all the way because some of that lower layer will remain slightly obscured by the thin haze of marble dust.[/COLOR]

That’s very good to know; it provides a reasonable explanation for what I’ve encountering. Thank you. If the cloudiness is unavoidable when using Matte Medium as a layer, then I guess I’ll have to forego using it that way. Maybe I’ll find it useful to mix into the paint, but I don’t really care about sheen during the painting process… I’m interested to know what Jennifer VonStein will report.

The other cause may be due to not enough drying time between applications.

Good point, but I gleened this technique from a Chroma video wherein Mikel Wintermantel outlined the practice: Paint, then Binder Medium, then Matte Medium. He blows each layer dry in two minutes and applies the next layer, so ensuring a particular stage of dryness doesn’t seem to be necessary…maybe.