Atelier Interactive Painting Techniques

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

• Can I still incorporate fast drying segments into my paintings?

Yes, just add Atelier Fast Medium and you have fast drying paint. Atelier Fast Medium can also be used as an isolation varnish, especially before glazing or scratch back, if you don't want to wait for the underpainting to cure properly.

• Can I paint Wet-Over-Dry?

It has never been difficult to overpaint with acrylics. You have to learn to blend edges and you are off and away. The main reason to use Atelier Interactive Acrylic Paints is because of its ability to work wet-in-wet over an extended time. However if a painting is not finished in one session you need to know that it is easy to carry on later, so you can feel free and easy about stopping and starting. Everyone has different work patterns.

Touch-dry but uncured Interactive is very absorbent and water hungry. This makes it easy to get the necessary fusion and integration between the dry painting and the fresh wet paint, but you need to know how to handle the absorbency situation: you will need moisture. The absorbency of the paint film is similar to watercolour paper. A good method is to wet the surface with a large wet brush or water spray and then wipe off the excess with a rag. The dry paint will then become a water reservoir which accepts edge blending and softening very readily. Another approach is to apply fresh paint, which tacks up very quickly because the dry paint is so absorbent. You can then use a water spray to soften edges.

As you continue to paint, you will have a new wet-in-wet layer and your new session is done wet-in-wet. When matching wet paint to damp paint remember to allow for the tonal shift that will occur as the painting dries.

• What about overpainting and tonal change?

If you dampen the painting when it is in it's tender stage (i.e. no longer workable wet-in-wet, but too newly done to be cured - say next day) with the intention of overpainting, you will notice a phenomenon called "blanching". Blanching involves mainly light values with a lot of Titanium White. When moistened these areas will lift in tone noticeably by up to 1/2 a value (on the 10 tone scale), while the mid tones and darks will just look damp or wet. You can take advantage of this temporary situation: if you want to make corrections you can match your wet paint to the damp paint, or if you want to proceed with more tonal lift you can estimate how much extra titanium you will need so that the light areas dry back to what you really wanted.

Blanching is useful because it is easier to make overpainting merge and tie-in with what is there, but as the painting cures the blanching diminishes and then stops happening (in about 3 days), so you need to keep going day-to-day.

If you only spray lightly you will get a spatter effect where you have juxtaposed areas of wet and dry paint. It is better to wet the whole surface and swab off excess water before starting to overpaint.

• Can I use Oils with Acrylics?

With Atelier Interactive the gap is closing between acrylics and oils. You can start with acrylics and keep going as long as you want to, yet you can get it to dry quickly too when you have finished a session. If you choose, you can then switch to oils or just keep going. Using acrylics has become pleasurable, but the oils are also very enticing. In the studio you can start with acrylic, because it's easier to make changes, and then see what happens.

• How do I control the painting process in terms of my working speed?

For traditional fast techniques, do not use a water spray and use Fast Medium. This medium toughens the paint film and also hastens drying time. Also use any source of dry warmth to hasten drying. Another approach is to use fast techniques in your underpainting, and explore Interactive blending as you complete your work, where the extra time available should quickly translate into greater subtlety and complexity in your work.

For new extended wet-in-wet techniques use a fine misting water spray, or, for an even longer open time, especially when painting thinly, use Slow Medium instead of water. Slow Medium is not thick, but it is very concentrated: small amounts will produce a smooth mid-viscosity paint. Remember that this will tack up and need the water spray as the process moves on, so you need to be aware of the balance between the medium already on the painting and what you may be planning to add as you go along.

It is easy to tell when moisture is needed because the paint becomes thick, tacky and drags under the brush.