Twenty years ago bad reactions to oils forced me to switch to a new medium. After much research I selected Golden acrylic paints because of their archival properties, excellent pigment loads and buttery texture. Their one major drawback has been a severe lack of open time on the canvas for blending and mixing. With a 7-11% humidity here in Arizona, open time on the canvas could be measured in seconds.
Then the Chroma Interactive acrylics came along and promised increased open times. They were a disappointment as open time was only increased to a minute or two on the canvas.
I thus greeted Golden's open acrylics promise of vastly increased open time with a great deal of skepticism. However, I am very happy to report that the open acrylics definitely do live up to their advertising. Straight out of the tube the open time on the canvas is approximately 45 minutes here in Arizona. That open time can be extended to hours by a judicious application of open thinner, either mixed into the paint or spritzed on the canvas. Mixing and blending on the canvas are now a blessed reality for acrylic painters. Beautiful glazes can be achieved by mixing the open acrylic paints with open medium. Paints on a glass palette kept in a plastic container with a damp sponge (to provide a little humidity) have stayed workable for several days.
More information on these incredible new paints can be found at:
http://www.goldenpaints.com/technicaldata/open.php