Recently at a celebration party at the Dick Blick Art Store in Iowa City, Iowa, I won a tube of Atelier Interactive Acrylic Paint. I had never heard of it; but after listening to the clerk, an artist herself, I was excited to try it out. She just discovered these acrylics herself, after seeing a live demo at the store on its superior characteristics.
It seems that this Atelier Interactive Acrylic Paint has certain properties that can aid the artist’s quest in creating artwork. This acrylic paint, as soon as it feels tacky or even dry, can be rehydrated by a fine mist of water. The paint then becomes reworkable on the both the palette and canvas. This keeps the colors nice and soft for blending into soft edges. The reason is this: no skin forms on these paints as it does on traditional acrylics. The clerk also said that one can push the paint around the painting like with oils. These paints dry like traditional acrylics.
I wondered if all the excellent watercolor traits she mentioned could be possible in an acrylic. It is true I have missed the qualities of watercolor as I paint in acrylics. Blending into soft edges is difficult to do in acrylics. Before Atelier Interactive Acrylic Paints, in an attempt to achieve blended look I resorted to spray the edges with acrylics via an atomizer. The sharp edges, although more muted, are still visible. This photo was taken in macro mode. Blending that resembles watercolor blending is one good reason to try Atelier Interactive Acrylic Paint.