A few people have asked me what I think about the new Golden Open Acrylics. In a nutshell I can say they’re not oils but I’m pretty sure they’re the closest thing acrylics will ever get to oils. The newest line of Golden acrylics have extended the working time significantly allowing you to do lifting and blending techniques usually reserved only for oils, but the consistency of the medium itself is still thin. For someone looking for that silky consistency of oils, this isn’t the product for you.
What Golden has done, however, is added so many more possibilities to the acrylic arsenal. For the medium magicians out there, there will be a universe of options to work the product and manipulate it for effects never before seen from acrylics. They’ve effectively taken away the urgency of working with this medium, and replaced it with the opportunity to manipulate it at your leisure.
For en plein air painters, this product is nothing short of a miracle. I know of many acrylic painters who quite often worked with oils in the field because it was just easier to use as acrylics dry way too fast in the open air. But now, with Golden Open Acrylics, you can head out into the wilderness, do less harm to the environment, and still produce stunning results at a much slower pace. The down side to this however is that you now have to be concerned transporting your paintings out of the field where before, with acrylics, it was dry immediately. Depending on how you apply your paint, it could take 1-2 days to fully dry and therefore can be damaged in transit.
In general, I really like this product. I don’t think I will be using it exclusively but to achieve certain results, or for painting in the field, it will definitely be in my bag.