FORMULATION
Our commitment to maintaining high standards led us to make deliberate choices in formulating the "OA" collection. Unlike other acrylic paints, we chose not to incorporate flattening agents or opacifiers. These additives are commonly used to standardize the sheen and opacity of a paint line. Instead, we opted to allow each pigment to express its individual characteristic matte or gloss level, as well as its unique degree of opacity or transparency, based on its inherent properties.
These decisions have resulted in colours that maintain their clarity and purity, particularly evident in washes or glazes where their brilliance shines through. While it's possible to introduce matting agents and whitening materials to our products, once added, they cannot be removed.
Due to the absence of flattening agents and opacifiers in our OA Acrylics, the colour range can reflect variations in gloss. For instance, as pigments, Ultramarine Blue or Raw Umber may appear matte, while Dioxazine Purple and Vat Orange exhibit a pronounced glossiness.
While some artists could find this variation challenging, many more appreciate the authenticity of hue and richness it brings to the O.A line in terms of colour, sheen, and flexibility of control and pigment nuance.
You might be curious about why certain pigments are not included in our collection. Several factors contribute to this decision. The desired consistency of our paints poses a challenge for some heavier metal pigments. In a thinner consistency, these pigments may experience stability issues, causing them to settle out and densely accumulate at the bottom of the container. This settling makes it challenging to easily remix them. Maintaining viscosity stability is a common hurdle, particularly as it becomes difficult to sustain a low viscosity (thin paint) with a high pigment load over time.
Pigment Selection
Various pigments have endured for centuries or even millennia, sourced either from natural minerals like sienna, umber, and ochre, or through manufacturing processes, such as iron oxides and carbon. Inorganic pigments may also result from a combination of these methods. Notably, certain pigments like Cadmiums, Cobalts, and Titaniums are both mined and manufactured.
The Quinacridone Family:
Among acrylic paint lines, O.A Acrylics boast a high concentration of Quinacridones, a pigment family yielding seven vibrant colors from deep yellow to lively violet. These pigments, prized for their vibrant undertones and high transparency, excel as mixing colors without losing their brilliance.
A standout in O.A's Quinacridone lineup is Quinacridone Crimson, offering excellent lightfastness and resembling the traditional but fugitive Alizarin Crimson. Conservation professionals turn to O.A's Quinacridone Crimson to replace Alizarin in painting restoration due to its deep burgundy mass tone and bright rosy undertone. This pigment, like all O.A's Quinacridones, maintains exceptional transparency, making it an ideal mixing color. When combined with Phthalo Green B/S, Quinacridone Crimson produces an incredibly deep black.
O.A's unique Quinacridone/Nickel Azo Gold and Quinacridone Burnt Orange stand out for their luminosity, rivaling even the richest oil colors. While their mass tones lean dark, their vibrant undertones create a striking contrast. For example, Quinacridone/Nickel Azo Gold resembles Burnt Sienna in mass tone but carries a yellow fire absent in Sienna. Similarly, Quinacridone Burnt Orange reveals a brilliant red-orange beneath its brown-red mass tone.
Quinacridone Red becomes O.A's choice for an intense mixing magenta primary, closely resembling Kodak's colour gels for primary magenta. Quinacridone Magenta and Violet prove excellent for mixing lavender to purple shades, especially when combined with various transparent blues. These colors also yield high-intensity pinks through lavenders when mixed with white, making them suitable for artworks requiring vibrant fuchsia or fluorescent hues with enduring permanency.
The Phthalocyanine Family:
Known as the oldest organic pigments, the Phthalocyanines are represented in O.A's collection by five colors, including Phthalo Green (Yellow Shade), Phthalo Green (Blue Shade), Turquoise (Phthalo), and two Phthalo Blues (Green Shade and Red Shade). These colors encompass various forms within the Phthalocyanine group.
The Cobalt Family:
O.A's Cobalt Fluid colors, including Cerulean Blue and Blue Deep (containing both Cobalt and Chromium), along with Cobalt Blue, offer additional choices in the acrylic paint palette.
Pigment Selection
Certain pigments are not included in our collection. Several factors contribute to this decision. The desired consistency of our paints poses a challenge for some heavier metal pigments. In a thinner consistency, these pigments may experience stability issues, causing them to settle out and densely accumulate at the bottom of the container. This settling makes it challenging to easily remix them. Maintaining viscosity stability is a common hurdle, particularly as it becomes difficult to sustain a low viscosity (thin paint) with a high pigment load over time