I paint with acrylics. One of my problems was that I would want to paint a big block of color, and I would mix up the paint, and then I would run out of paint before I had finished what I had wanted to paint. Then if I tried to mix some more paint to be that same color, it would often not come out exactly right.
Then I discovered paint extender. If I mix it in with whatever amount of paint I had mixed up, then it lets me have a lot more of that color, and without changing the consistency or color. According to the bottle, it “Increases & extends paint volume economically.” Here is a link where it can be bought, but it doesn’t really tell you any more about it.
So, my question is how does it work? How is the pigment in the paint that I already mixed up able to have the extender mixed in and stay the same color? I haven’t experimented to see what ratio would work (like if one drop of paint would make a whole bottle of extender that color), but so far it’s worked pretty impressively.
If anyone knows the answer, I’d really appreciate it. I absolutely love using paint extender, and it’s been bugging me how it actually works.
I’m sure that it just dilutes the pigments without changing the viscosity/drying characteristics. In fact, I would guess that it is just base without pigment. Chances are, the paint as it is mixed straight has more pigments than are needed for your painting style.
Extender is indeed the acrylic polymer base with no pigment added. The more general term is “medium.” There is a huge variety of consistancies available, from gel medium to molding paste to stringy tar gel, and some really nifty textured stuff with everything from glass beads and stiff fibers added in. The Galleria extender from Winsor & Newton shown in the link is on the lower end of decent.
What brand of paint are you using, Sam? Galleria and other student-grade paints already have a low pigment-to-binder ratio. For high-quality paint and mediums, I use and recommend Golden Artists Colors. It’s very reasonably priced and they use the highest pigment load possible, so you can extend it and extend it with an inexpensive medium and get a consistancy you like at the same time.
Thanks for the answers, that makes sense that it’s just base without pigment. I knew it was probably something simple that I just hadn’t thought about.
I use whatever student grade paints are on sale at Hobby Lobby when I’m shopping there. It’s mainly Galleria, Van Gogh, Liquitex, and Grumbacher. I realize that higher quality paints would look better, but I’m very much an amateur painter, and I feel like using professional paints on my amateur paintings would be a waste. You can see some of my paintings here. If I ever get more serious about painting (and better at it), then I might upgrade. But thank you for the advice on the Golden Artist Colors paints. I bookmarked the website.