Article

By Dr Paynt | 14 September 2009

It's not often that a new paint comes along - oilpaint in the 14th Century, watercolours in the 1700's, and acrylics in the 1960's. It was with great interest therefore, that I set about testing what North American manufacturer Golden describe as "a whole new paint" - OPEN Acrylics.

Golden's aim was to develop a paint with the best characteristics of both oil and acrylic colours. This has been attempted before, notably by Winsor & Newton's Artisan water-soluble oilcolours and Atelier Interactive Acrylics, which both have definite short-comings. The water-soluble oils have issues with consistency and drying times, as well as low pigment loading; and Atelier's Interactive Acrylic colour contain excessive amounts of humecants, which make the paint layer too susceptible to moisture, so that a dried layer can re-wet when painted over.

Although strictly speaking Golden OPEN Acrylics are a modified acrylic, their research through literally thousands of possible chemical combinations has resulted in a totally new chemistry for the binder, hence their claim to "a whole new paint".

I was prepared to be under-whelmed. I'm not sure why - as usual, Golden were assisted in their new product by very reputable and hard to please artists. Perhaps the oil-painter in me was feeling threatened. After 90 minutes though, I was hooked... well, almost!

Golden OPEN does not form a skin, so I was able to mix up all my colours prior to painting and they didn't dry. In fact, dollops of paint on my palette were still usable the next day. This is a reason that Golden OPEN should only be used in layers thinner than 1.5mm - thicker may take a very long time to dry. I guess Heavy Body acrylics are still best for impasto work.

Applying the paint was a bit different from both acrylics and oils - initially it was rather slick and greasy and easy to brush out, but as I worked it gradually thickened, forming a stiffer more oil-like feel. Apparently, by adding one of their OPEN mediums, I can maintain the feel of the paint at any point along this consistency-gradient, however I was just using a little water which, by the way, does not extend the drying time like it does with normal acrylics - for this I also need to use an OPEN medium. No matter, I was enjoying the feel of the paint at the long end of the open time and had about 45 minutes of easy blending and wiping back before the colour was too stiff for me. The addition of a medium can keep the paint wet for hours though!

I buzzed a hair-drier over the underpainting and was able to go straight into the colouring up stage, a week earlier than with my oils. The colours looked good, rich and beautiful (Quinacridone Magenta with Nickel Azo Yellow - mmm!), with a different look to normal acrylic - almost a tempera appearance, certainly not so plastic.

In 90 minutes I'd gone from blank panel to finished painting, undoubtedly quicker than oils, but with plenty of time to shift the paint about, and a more subtle finish than with acrylics. It was late at night so I was happy for the quick clean-up with just soap and water. Because of the slow-drying nature of OPEN I'd been using my ox-hair and black sable brushes, which would normally be destroyed by regular acrylic. In fact, when I got in the next day, I found I'd missed a brush, still caked in paint, but it cleaned up no problem at all!

For a couple of weeks I thought I was a born-again polymaniac! Then I opened up my Mussini Resin-oilcolours and realised that my brief affair was over - there's just no way they can get that much pigment into any binder but oil. Still, Golden OPEN is a great first paint - a lot easier than oil and more forgiving than acrylic. It's also an important new paint for artists who struggle with the fast drying times of acrylics - plein-aire painters, portrait artists, painters working in large formats; also oilpainters who would rather use acrylics for safety and convenience, but find it difficult; and artists and instructors who value its versatility and low waste. I'm keeping the door open on this new paint...

Dr Paynt
Studio Art Supplies