Experiments with Golden Open

[Tiasa]

Very interesting. The strong light source really gives a wide range of values and a good feel for the blending.

http://pattystiles.com/

[Barbara WC]

Andrew-

Nice portrait, interesting contrast in the abstract background and you. What colors did you use for the skin tones? I’m always curious when I see a self portrait and have to ask, did you use a mirror or a photo?

Thanks for explaining how you use the Opens for the portrait and the Heavy Body and fluids for the background. I just got a couple of tubes of Open to play with, and already have some Heavy Body acrylics (which I haven’t used in a couple of years). It’s nice to have some ideas of how to incorporate both paints into the upcoming experiments with the Opens.

Barbara

Barbara
https://barrighiart.wordpress.com/

[awerth]

Tiasa, Thanks!

Nice portrait, interesting contrast in the abstract background and you. What colors did you use for the skin tones? I’m always curious when I see a self portrait and have to ask, did you use a mirror or a photo?

Barbara,

Thanks… I was working from a couple of photos. I wish I was good enough to do this directly by looking in a mirror! (One of my goals, though, is to be better at loosening up and some day I might try a Robert Henri style portrait; maybe for that one I could use a mirror.)

I don’t remember the exact palette I used, strangely enough (at this point my palette is a real mess!). I was reacting to a previous portrait I did where I used one based on Daniel Greene’s, where you pre-mix a huge number of tones and work from that. For this painting, I simplified the palette quite a bit initially and used one that was more alizarin crimson hued (the Greene palette seems a bit yellowish). So I mixed up a flesh tone that I think was alizarin crimson hue, a yellow (I can’t believe I can’t remember which one I used, I think it was yellow ochre), dulled with a touch of cobalt blue, and then added white in stages to create various values of the basic flesh tone (I can’t swear this is right, though).

I then also created some grayer and darker colors by combining with more cobalt blue, Van Dyke brown, and (especially in the arms and hands) a touch of phthalo green. For the highlights on the left side of the face, I added to the basic flesh tones a brighter and cooler yellow (Cad Primrose Yellow, I think) to match the color of the light; and for the warm spots on the right side of the face I used either some red oxide or nickel azo gold (I think I used both; I see traces of each on the palette). Now that I describe it it seems very ad hoc, but at the time it seemed to make sense

The face wasn’t painted all in one sitting. In fact I went back again and again over a couple of weeks to make adjustments to values and color temperatures. You can’t go back in and blend the dried paint a couple days later, so instead I did some glazing, some scumbling, and some painting over, which I think worked well, seemed natural, and makes for a nice effect at the surface of the painting (that doesn’t really come through in the photo).

Hope that’s helpful!

-Andrew

[richlll]

A couple of pieces, with one detail, both done with Open paints, the first is 9″ x 12″ the second is 6″ x 6″.
Rich

http://www.richlovato.com

[Barbara WC]

Hi Rich- I like your paintings, especially the apples.

With you’re painting style (sorry, I don’t know the terms to use, but I mean being able to see your brush strokes), what did you think of the Opens versus conventional acrylics?

Thanks.
Barbara

Barbara
https://barrighiart.wordpress.com/

[richlll]

Hi Rich- I like your paintings, especially the apples.

With you’re painting style (sorry, I don’t know the terms to use, but I mean being able to see your brush strokes), what did you think of the Opens versus conventional acrylics?

Thanks.
Barbara

Thanks Barbara. I really like these paints, as compared to conventional acrylics I am not to sure, I just remember having to always hurry. I usually work in oil, so to me these are a very interesting paint that I want to use more often. I think to the person used to working in acrylics they may be thrown off a bit by having to work in a new way but this could be the start of new techniques.
Rich

http://www.richlovato.com

[JamieWG]

Rich, I like what you’ve done here, especially the second one. I think these paints really lend themselves to your style—partially blended at the edges, but with defined strokes mixed in too. Looking forward to lots more from you!

Jamie

Hudson Valley Painter[/url]
Hudson Valley Sketches -- Reviews/Lightfastness Tests/Art Materials [/url]
One year from now, you'll wish you had started today.

[mollynix]

I just made a fabulous discovery using nothing but Golden Open. For a sky, I base coated the sky area with Titanium White ..then blended my yellow area in..then my red..then brought down my blue..it worked like magic..no harsh lines. I am absolutely thrilled…haven’t been so happy with a sky since I started painting!

Molly

[richlll]

A work-in-progress here, I have made about 4 passes so far at this 8″ x 10″ on hardboard, a couple more passes and then the finishing touches….I hope! For my first layer I used marble dust in the paint for some texture and tooth. For the last layer at this stage I used glazing medium mixed with the open medium, then mixed into the paint. One detail view included.
Rich

http://www.richlovato.com

[John5796]

As a painter who works in both oil and acrylic, I’ve been trying to decide on whether to give these a try. Thanks to all who posted here. I will be sending my order off today for some of these

"Painting should never look as if it were done with difficulty, however difficult it may actually have been."
-- Robert Henri, in his book The Art Spirit

[Shari Erickson]

I have recently started using Golden open acrylics also and I love them. It is really cool to see all the great work being done with them. Keep going everyone!
They seem to have some similarities to the other mediums I use – oil, acrylic, watercolor, gouache, so I feel my experience with those others has been of benefit with the open acrylics. Are there others who feel that way – that using other mediums helps to lessen the learning time with new ones? Anyway, here is an example. It is a very small painting, 2.5×3.5 inches. I have written a bit about the open acrylics on my blog as well.

C&C
http://www.sharierickson.blogspot.com http://www.cafepress.com/sharierickson

[Tiasa]

There is some really interesting work here since I last checked in.

RichIII, the textures on the apple are very interesing. I have heard that marble dust is good to work with. As odd as it sounds, the texture and all the colors on the apple makes me think that your technique could be used on a portrait. It reminds me of some of the highly textured and colored portraits done by Lucien Freud or David Leffel.

Shari, it is interesting to see how you have used the paint. It is a little different from some of the others. Nicely done. Somewhere I read that people who had used watercolor had an easier time adapting to the Golden Opens than others, so maybe your experience with watercolor helped.

http://pattystiles.com/

[chitowncheryl]

I Like the Golden Open! I WON some in an Art Expo drawing, and like the longer drying time. The thinner consistency hasn’t been a problem and probably makes them last longer too!

[artbabe21]

Hello everyone! Happy New Year!
I finally did try the opens and you know what I was AMAZED!!!! They are the bomb! :thumbsup:

I used regular acrylics a few times & the fast drying put me off being an oil painter. So in October I gave it a shot & this is what I came up with, it was actually quick & dirty but I sure liked how they stayed open & the paint moved.

Cathleen~

[FONT=Times New Roman]~Be COURAGEOUS, It's one of the few places left still uncrowded~

[FONT=Times New Roman]~Life is not measured by it's length BUT by it's depth~

[rudiratlos44]

I have experimented to dry the paint instantly. I put the painting in my oven for a short time (for about 15/20 minutes by 220 degrees). And it was totally dry. As a matter of course you have to stay next to the oven :lol:.
Other suggestion to take photos at home by night. I use a daylight lamp for painting in the evening and to photograph paintings. At first you have to make color balance by a gray card. So you get natural colors. Never use the flash light of your camera. Better is to use a daylight lamp.
Regards
Rudi

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