SEPTEMBER 1ST - PETER MILLWARD
ATELIER INTERACTIVE ACRYLICS
Our Chair opened the meeting with some announcements regarding our display at the Arts in Redditch event on Sunday, the 26th of September and went on to introduce Mr. Peter Millward to give his talk and demonstration on the properties of Atelier Interactive Acrylics.
Peter started by reviewing the properties of the original acrylic paints with their well-known disadvantages of rapid drying and difficulties in controlling and blending. Some easing of these problems is possible with retardant, which slows down the drying, but drying is still irreversible and they remain a rather limited and intractable medium. The Interactive acrylics are differently formulated and are used in conjunction with a wide range of associated mediums and additives; these are dedicated to the Interactive acrylics and do not work with the old original acrylics.
The use of these products was explained as Peter worked on his demonstration paintings, the first of which was a landscape painted in the watercolour technique.
The chosen subject was a seaside scene with village buildings leading down to the sea with a rocky coast in the distance. The paint was liberally thinned with water and applied with watercolour brushes in the usual way. The paint became touch dry quite quickly and could be either worked over with more glazes of colour or softened for wiping off or re-working, by the application of a fine spray of an unlocking solution. While working on large areas of colour like the sky, the paint was kept workable on the paper surface by a light spray of water. It was recommended that the Atelier spray bottle is used for this because it gave a fine mist-like spray, which dampens the required area without the risk of unwanted droplets of water. Peter completed his painting using conventional watercolour techniques before moving on to his next demonstration.
This painting was of a similar subject but the paint was unthinned and was applied with oil painting brushes. While working on the painting, Peter explained that impasto gel or modelling compound could be added to the paint to give texture to the painted surface. The painting progressed with the larger areas of work being refreshed with the water spray as soon as they showed the first signed of hardening. Subtle textured passages were applied with a fan brush and a dry-brush technique. The complete painting remained workable while colours and tones were adjusted and we were assured that, even after many weeks of drying time, the painting could be brought back to a workable condition with an application of the unlocking solution. The last demonstration was of the mixed-media possibilities of Interactive acrylics. He drew a quick sketch in waterproof acrylic ink, which he then worked over with dilute acrylic paint, using the flexible properties of the paint to develop the painting.
Peter kindly presented us with a set of acrylic paints for our fund raising raffle before ending his presentation to an appreciative audience.
David Price
