I am coming to realise that what appear to be identical descriptions of art materials can be anything but identical. Recently I have become interested in the possibilities of developing textured surfaces with acrylic paint. This has been an enormously enjoyable process …. until this week. The problem has been that products from two different manufacturers, given the same labels, turn out to behave very differently. Consequently it is turning out to be necessary to reinvent techniques which I thought were settled and reliable.
Some time ago I bought some stuff called “structure paste” from a well-established German company named Gerstacker. Their “coarse” paste certainly lived up to its name, and it was possible to produce some very satisfying effects with it. As is the way of the world, I used up the supply I had. Looking in the local art-materials shop, however, I discovered that they did not carry this particular range. They did offer a product described in the same way produced by Galleria. I could have turned down their offer, but assuming that identical descriptions meant material that would perform in the same way, and reluctant to put up with the delay I would have incurred by going on-line, I bought the Galleria product.
I have been astonished to discover that these two products appear and behave quite differently. The “coarse” paste sold by Galleria is nothing like as heavily textured as the Gerstacker paste, and it behaves quite differently under the palette knife. In fact, I am having to relearn the technique I believed thatI had mastered. Perhaps I should not have been quite so surprised, considering the fact with which I am familiar that not all paints described as “acrylic” perform identically.
The proprietors of art materials shops might not like the idea, but in future I’m going to insist upon opening the container before I commit myself to a purchase. When I’ve been to large art fairs in the past, such as the annual Patchings event, the purveyors of art materials normally do offer the opportunity to try out their oproiducts before you commit yourself. Now I know why!