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Glazing with Acrylics, Oils and Watercolors

23 thoughts on “Glazing with Acrylics, Oils and Watercolors”

    • Hi Catherine,
      Thank you for letting us know. We have amended the links and they now all work. Appreciate you catching that!
      Best Regards,
      Greg Watson

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  1. I use mostly Golden Fluid Acrylics and collage in my work. I am thankful for your info on glazing for acrylics as I need to do this to one of my paintings and now I am more confident after having read your instructions. Thanks. I love Golden.

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  2. Thanks for pointing out that glazing with watercolors consists of layering multiple washes. I am trying to get better at watercolor painting so I’m trying to learn glazing techniques to help my painting look better. I think that it might be smart to watch some videos or demonstrations on watercolor glazing so that I can get a better understanding of how it’s done and how I can get better at it.

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    • We are glad you found the article helpful. Developing skill with washes followed by glazing can be seen as foundational tools for watercolor painters. Seeing step by step examples in books (check your public library), watching videos, or having someone demonstrate for you can all be useful. You are also welcome to call is if you have questions (607-847-6154 or 800-959-6543)!
      Happy painting,
      Cathy

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  3. Fascinating the differences between the 3 differing mediums. I used acrylics in the 80s but switched to oil around 2000 cause of wanting more texture and blending. Now I’m cycling back around to acrylics & finding I like doing work in both mediums (never used watercolors yet). My main preference for most these years has been using paint straight from the tube, but I’m warming to glazes more and more. I do have a question re washes with acrylics. If I use a lot of water, but add something like marble dust, but no medium, would that work? Thanks so much for the info! Am going to follow some of the links below – thanks! 😊

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    • If you are thinning with a lot of water, it reduces the amount o acrylic binder in your paint film. The binder is what holds on to the pigment, so if you add more dry material like marble dust it could become water sensitive meaning if you went on top of that layer with another coat of a water based paint, medium or varnish the color could lift. Also if adding a lot of solids it could dry it out and cause the paint to crack. If you are only adding a little water and a little marble dust, it could work, but we would encourage testing your mixture before adding to your final piece.

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    • If you want to use a medium with the best clarity, stick with Gloss Mediums. Anything Semi-Gloss, Satin or Matte, will be a hazy film, so not clear, and not reflective. Which Gloss Medium you choose really just depends upon the feel of each medium and the type of mark you want to make. In GOLDEN’s terms, any product called “medium” is fluid and brushable and any product called “gel” is going to be a thicker product. For more information, please feel free to contact us at help@goldenpaints.com.

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  4. My objective is to use acrylics and mediums to create the greatest luminosity possible. Please suggest the optimum technique with regards to priming a canvas (I assume white gloss), and what mediums
    /gels/pastes etc. to consider to maximize the luminosity. I assume the mediums would have to dry transparent. Your sage advice is requested.

    Reply
    • If you would like a white glossy surface, you could prime the canvas with Titanium White acrylic. Acrylic Gesso is matte and toothy and Titanium White acrylic is glossy by nature. The Fluid Acrylics would apply smoother. If you wanted to get rid of the canvas texture, you could use Molding Paste and could tint it white with Titanium White acrylic as well. the process of smoothing out canvas texture with Molding Paste can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NP3br4sx7Uo&t=26s

      In order to maximize the clarity of the glaze, you should use a Gloss Medium. Anything Semi-Gloss, Satin or Matte, will be a hazy film, so not clear, and not reflective. Which Gloss Medium you choose really just depends upon the feel of each medium and the type of mark you want to make. In GOLDEN’s terms, any product called “medium” is fluid and brushable and any product called “gel” is going to be a thicker product. For more information, please feel free to contact us at help@goldenpaints.com.

      Reply
  5. Thank you for your reply. Please confirm my understanding: white gloss priming would produce the most reflectiveness. Would layering of glazes made with a gloss medium or gloss gel maximize the reflective luminosity?

    Reply
    • Hi Jerry,

      Priming with a gloss product will reduce the absorbency so the glazes sit on top instead of sinking into the surface. If what you mean by “reflective luminosity’ is clarity, gloss products would be the most transparent. You could also choose to use transparent pigments as well for tinting to maintain the most clarity. We hope this is helpful and if you have further questions, please feel free to contact us at help@goldenpaints.com.

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