Gel Mediums - High Viscosity

LIQUITEX GEL MEDIUMS - High Viscosity

General attributes

Heavy-bodied mediums, formulated to maintain three dimensional peaks and marks, build surfaces, extend paint volume, extend drying time and achieve various degrees of transparency and sheen.
Mix into Medium Viscosity Concentrated Artist Color to increase paint thickness.
Mix into High Viscosity Artist Color, to maintain or increase paint thickness.
Mix into Medium Viscosity Mediums to produce films of varying thickness, sheens and visual effects.
In the wet state, mediums appear milky, but dry transparent to translucent (unless noted). A wet medium/paint mixture will be lighter in color than the dried medium/paint mixture.
The thicker the application the more opaque the final film will be.
All High Viscosity mediums can be used as a binder for powdered pigments, additives such as sand, sawdust, etc. Overloading mediums with texturing materials can cause brittleness.
All High Viscosity Mediums are excellent glues for attaching heavy objects to a surface.
Mix any High Viscosity Medium into acrylic paint to increase working (open) time.

GLOSS GEL MEDIUM

Attributes

Dries to a gloss finish.
Viscosity and body similar to High Viscosity Artist Color.
Translucent when wet, transparent (clear) to translucent when dry. Thicker applications result in less transparent dry medium films.
Ideal medium to mix with High Viscosity
Acrylic Color to extend paint, increase the brilliance and transparency of color, without changing the thickness of the paint.
Mix with High Viscosity Artist Color to obtain paint similar in color depth to oil paint.

Application

Refer to the following Part 11 Applications & Techniques Sections: Acrylic Sheets, Collage, Glazing, Transferring Printed Images, Silk-screen, Brushwork: Blending and lmpasto As An Extender.

Mix with High Viscosity Artist Color to extend volume and increase transparency, while maintaining paint viscosity.
Mix with Medium Viscosity Concentrated Artist Color to extend volume and increase transparency, while increasing paint viscosity.

As A Ground:

Use as transparent ground instead of gesso. Allows substrate to be seen. To prevent Substrate Induced Discoloration wash cotton or linen canvas before use.
Refer to Matte Medium: Techniques Ground for SID definition.
When applying Gloss Gel Medium to canvas, use adequate pressure to force the medium into the canvas weave to insure proper bonding between the gel and canvas.

With Powdered Pigments:

Use as the binder for powdered pigments to make an inexpensive "student grade" high viscosity (thick) gloss paint.

MATTE GEL MEDIUM

Attributes

Same qualities as Gloss Gel Medium, except dries to satin, matte finish.
Viscosity and body similar to High Viscosity Artist Color.
Matte Gel Medium has greater adhesion than Gloss Gel Medium and Gloss Heavy Gel Medium.

Application

Refer to the following Part 11 Applications & Techniques Sections: Collage, Glazing, Brushwork - Color Blending

As An Extender

Mix with High Viscosity Artist Color to extend volume and increase translucency, while maintaining paint viscosity.
Mix with Medium Viscosity Concentrated Artist Color to extend volume and increase translucency, while increasing paint viscosity. As A Ground
Recommended thick medium to use as a translucent ground (size), with excellent tooth and adhesion, instead of gesso. Will allow some color and texture of the support to show through. Use as a substitute for the hide glue size traditionally used for oil paintings.
To prevent Substrate Induced Discoloration (SID), wash cotton or linen canvas before use.
Refer to Matte Medium Application: Ground for SID definition.
Exterior Murals: If the support or wall is very rough, a coat of Matte Gel Medium should be brushed or troweled onto the surface prior to gesso application.
Refer to Gloss Gel Medium: Techniques Ground for more detailed information.

For lmpasto Techniques

Mix with Liquitex High Viscosity Acrylic Color for impasto effects that dry to a matte sheen.
With Powdered Pigments
Use as the binder for powdered pigments to make an inexpensive "student grade" high viscosity (thick) matte paint.

MATTE OPAQUE EXTENDER GEL MEDIUM (GELEX)

Attributes

A translucent white gel of high density and high solids, that economically extends the volume of High Viscosity Artist Color without changing its thickness.
Economically doubles the volume of paint with little or no noticeable loss in color intensity, opacity or change in hue.
Opacity of colors mixed with Matte Opaque Extender Medium will be higher than if the color had been thinned to the same degree with any other medium except Modeling Paste.
The degree to which the color can be extended will vary among the different pigments.
When over 50% is added, Matte Opaque Extender can act as a weak tinting white, increasing the value of the original color approximately one level. Light colors will be affected less than dark colors.
Colors mixed with Matte Opaque Extender dry to a matte sheen, giving colors a gouache look.

Application

Refer to Part 11 Applications & Techniques: Collage

Running out of color during painting:

Use when running out of a mixed High Viscosity Artist Color while painting. When you have reached the half way point of painting the specific area, determine if you have enough paint to finish. If not, add an equal amount of Matte Opaque Gel Extender Medium to the color. The color and opacity will be unchanged, but the volume will be doubled enabling you to finish painting without remixing.

Underpainting:

Mix into High Viscosity Artist Color during initial underpainting, to double amount of color.

TEXTURE GEL MEDIUMS

General Attributes

Contain specific aggregates, which produce a variety of unique textural, dimensional and reflective effects, when mixed with acrylic paint.
All eight Texture Gels may be intermixed to increase the variety of possible textures.
Formulated for maximum flexibility and adhesion. Will not chip or crack on canvas.
Can be applied to any material or surface that will accept traditional acrylic media, such as canvas, paper, wood, etc.
Texture Gels are lightweight, non-toxic and dry to a water resistant, non-yellowing surface.

Black Lava

A black speckled gel that contains small, flat, hexagonal shaped dark aggregates.
When wet, look gray but when dry, give the effect of ground, dry, black lava.
Mixed with transparent and translucent colors, black speckled quality is most apparent.
Mix with Liquitex Interference Paint for dramatic color effects.

Blended Fibers

A thick, stringy, fibrous gel that when dry give the effect of flexible fibers.
Add Liquitex Gloss Gel Medium or Gloss Heavy Gel Medium for easier application and to increase adhesion while wet.
Works best when applied with palette knife or trowel.

Ceramic Stucco

A thick, low luster, fine texture gel, that dries to a light gray matte stucco finish.
Excellent for producing thick 3-D effects, as well as thinly coating surface.
Excellent ground for acrylic and oil paint, oil pastel, oil bars, pastels and graphite.
Somewhat susceptible to abrasion. Coat with Liquitex Varnish for added protection. Apply varnish carefully to avoid foaming and clouding.
Works well with brush application.

Glass Beads

A medium body gel that contains translucent plastic aggregates that dry to a semi-gloss, reflective ("bubbly") surface.
For most dramatic reflective effects, mix with transparent or translucent colors or apply straight from container over dried paint.
For reflective textural glazes, mix with Liquitex Gloss Medium & Varnish and small amounts of Liquitex Medium Viscosity Concentrated Artist Color.
Suitable as a ground for acrylic and oil paint. Works well with brush application.

Light Modeling Paste

A lightweight, airy, flexible, thick, sculptural gel specifically formulated to be used in applications where weight is a factor.
Will not exhibit "mud cracking".
Used alone, will dry to a matte opaque white that readily accepts staining if desired.

Natural Sand

A finely textured gel that dries to a surface similar to glossy "beach sand".
Mix with Liquitex Acrylic Colors to improve blending and impart the "feel" of oil paint.
Very effective ground for acrylic and oil paints, oil pastel, pastel and graphite when delicate marks and blending are necessary. Works well with brush application

Resin Sand

A thick, coarse, texture gel that contains aggregates of various sizes.
Dries to a "rough cement" look and will retain its unique texture well when mixed with paint.
Excellent substrate for acrylic and oil paint, when dramatic effects are desired.

White Opaque Flakes

A Heavy body, coarse gel, that contains irregular sized and shaped opaque flakes.
White flake texture is most apparent when mixed with transparent or translucent colors or small amounts of opaque color.
If pure white is desired, add a small amount of Liquitex Titanium White.

Application

Apply with palette knife, trowel, paint brush, etc. Different tools produce different effects.
Mix acrylic paint into Texture Gel or let gel dry and paint on top.
Mix with Gloss Medium & Varnish to produce textured glazes.
Very small amounts of paint are needed since most Liquitex Texture Gels are translucent.
Add Liquitex Gel Medium or Heavy Gel Medium when using additional aggregates (such as sand) to avoid brittleness.
Texture Gels can be thinned with small amounts of water if necessary.
Gesso coat textured surface prior to oil based material applications. This step is not necessary for Ceramic Stucco and Light Modeling Paste.
Varnish with care to avoid foaming or clouding. Spray apply if possible.

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