Article Written by Guest blogger: J. Richard Secor
- The open time of Interactive Acrylics is longer in the studio than when painting Plein air. While in the studio, I find that I can reactive the paint to a wet status with a slight spray of water as soon as my brush or palette knife starts to drag. (Remember the cry for interaction!)
- When I paint Plein air, I put the Unlocking Formula Medium in a Chroma spray bottle and use it to re-open my paint with just a light spray. Regardless of whether you are using water or the unlocking medium, you only need to lightly spray the area on which you are working.
- Reopening the acrylic allows you to blend in other colors or soften edges with the same affect as the blending processes of an oil painter, or just as though you were continuing where you left off.
- The Thick Slow Medium Gel is best applied by dipping your brush when needed.
- The Unlocking Formula Medium can be used to erase sections of “dry to the touch” paint. You simply dampen a cloth with the unlocking medium and use it to erase that area. No longer do you have to over- paint an entire section!
People ask me, “How do you paint Plein air in a dry climate like New Mexico – don’t the paints dry as soon as you put them on the canvas?” I used to answer, “I paint very quickly!!” Now my answer is, “I use a revolutionary acrylic paint that has a unique and innovative wet – blending open time that allows me to stay out there as long as I want!”
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Acrylic Paint Review Disclaimer: Although J. Richard Secor is not an employee of Chroma Paint Company, recently gave a demonstration of Chroma products at an art store in Santa Fe, and was paid for his time. He was hired as an independent contractor for this event.
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Written by Guest Blogger: J. Richard Secor
A landscape and plein air painter, J. Richard Secor is well known for his use of bold, striking colors applied with both brush and palette knife in a free and loose manner. Mr. Secor began painting at age 54, after retiring early from a 32 year career in banking on the East Coast. He is represented by several galleries in the Southwestern USA as well as in Mexico. Visit his website: J.Richard Secor.
Artist’s Statement:
I enjoy painting Plein air in the mountains near my home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and also paint in my home studio. My style, which is primarily Impressionistic, continuously evolves through curiosity, intense observation, sudden inspiration and experimentation. Ultimately the style of any given painting will be the result of how I feel about that particular scene at the time I’m painting it, and is often influenced by the music to which I am listening. I like to paint “outside the lines” and “outside the box” as well as “outside the rules.”
In painting realistic portraits where there is a need for extremely detailed work with 0 brush and smaller, I have found the erasability factor (E. above) of Chroma Interactive extremely handy where one tiny brushstroke can make all the difference. I’ve also used Interactive paints for my abstract paintings and love how it retains its intensity of color even when diluted to change the viscosity. I hope others read your tips and try the Interactive paints. If they do, however, they should try using it indepent of other acrylics as non-Interactive paint will impact the efficacy of your tips.