Jackson’s Studio Acrylic paints are a range of highly pigmented, heavy body, lightfast acrylics that are perfect for artists who get through a lot of paint and who demand high pigment levels. In this article, I experiment with eight colours from the range, look at their colour mixes, how well they work with different mediums, and give my overall impressions of them.
Jackson’s Studio Acrylic Paint
Properties of Jackson’s Studio Acrylic Paint
I’ve been using Jackson’s Studio Acrylics for many years now and they’ve never let me down. As someone who likes to make large abstract works with a lot of paint, they are a really affordable option, without compromising on the pigments. Each of the 29 colours can be bought in either 250 ml or 500 ml bottles, and Titanium White is also available in 1000 ml and 2000 ml bottles. They all have a small nozzle for precise application, but the lid can also be twisted off like a plastic water bottle.
To open the small nozzle I used a utility knife and cut the tip off, as it’s quite a soft plastic it cuts right through. I also tried to cut the nozzle cap off with regular cutters but it slightly warped the plastic around it, so I’d always recommend you use a knife. Attached to the paint bottle is a cap which ensures that you never lose it. It also has small indents on it, which makes it easier to pull off if you’ve got some dried paint around it – an issue I’m sure we’ve all experienced before!
I also find the squeezable bottle a lot easier to manage than a paint tube. Again, this comes down to individual artistic practice, but for me, it helps keep my movements more fluid when I’m painting as it’s quicker to squeeze out the paint than to try to keep track of my paint tube caps. For this reason, even though they may be a little heavy depending on how far afield you’re going, they are also well suited for plein air painting. A slight concern is getting all the paint out of the bottle as there is no tube squeezer, however, because it is made of quite soft plastic, you can easily squeeze it out, or you can cut straight into the bottle if you need to.
Colour Mixing
Out of the 29 colours on offer within the Jackson’s Studio Acrylic range, I experimented with eight: Cadmium Yellow Hue, Cadmium Orange Hue, Cadmium Red Hue, Crimson, Phthalo Blue, Phthalo Green, Mars Black, and Titanium White. Each colour was rich and highly pigmented as well as fast drying, even when making impasto marks. The opacity of the paint varies between the different colours, however, overall, each one I tried was still opaque even when it is more watered down. This is visible in my experiments mixing the Cadmium Orange Hue and Phthalo Green to make some deep autumnal colours. In one of my experiments, I added a lot of water to the paint, which almost gave the impression of a watercolour paint.
My favourite colour out of the selection I tested was the Phthalo Blue, because like any cool Phthalo Blue, it mixes beautifully with every colour. I also enjoyed testing this colour against the two different reds I was using, Crimson and Cadmium Red Hue. As the Phthalo Blue is a heavier colour I began with the reds, then added small amounts of blue, making two different types of purples. The Crimson and Phthalo Blue created cooler purples, as Crimson itself is a cooler colour, compared to the warmer purples made with the Cadmium Red Hue.
Testing with Jackson’s Studio Acrylics with Mediums
After getting more familiar with the colours, I began to experiment with some mediums. I tried out a few different ones, from thicker and coarse mediums to loose and flowing mediums.
Golden Glass Bead Gel
I tested the Golden Glass Bead Gel with a mix of Phthalo Blue and Phthalo Green, which created a deep turquoise. This test really shows the high pigment content of the colours, as the colour was not dulled at all by the medium added to it. I then moved it around on the paper with a palette knife, mixing as I went, and it made a lovely bubbly texture that was really fun to work with and shape on the paper. This medium did increase the paint’s drying time slightly however, how long it takes really depends on how much medium you use and how impasto your mark makings are.
Golden Gold Mica Flake (Large) and Golden Extra Coarse Pumice Gel
The Golden Extra Coarse Pumice Gel was a really surprising and interesting experiment. I used a dark colour as I was intrigued to see how it stained the pumice within the medium. To make this dark-blue tinted purple I used Crimson, Phthalo Blue, and Titanium White. I also mixed the medium with the colour straight onto the paper and tried to lay it flat to see how it dried with the texture. It doesn’t take long at all for this mixture to dry, by which point you can start painting over it whilst still keeping the texture intact.
It doesn’t take long at all for this mixture to dry, by which point you can start painting over it whilst still keeping the texture intact. The Golden Gold Mica Flake (Large) was also interesting in this way, as when I first used it I used far too much paint, and instead thought it might be nicer to paint over it rather than mixing it like I have with the other ones. I used a very light wash to paint through the wet medium and was very surprised to see how to wash covered the golden colour. If you can get past the sound of the coarse pumice or mica against a metal palette knife, these are really fun experiments that I would recommend everyone try!
Jackson’s Pouring Medium
As Jackson’s Studio Acrylics are quite a heavy body acrylic I decided to use 1 part paint and roughly 1.5 part Jackson’s Pouring Medium. I wouldn’t usually use a heavy body acrylic for this and was surprised to see they worked wonderfully. I did notice that they needed a little more stirring than you would usually do if you were using a fluid acrylic or ink. The Pouring Medium does make the drying time quite a bit longer than if you’re using the Jackson’s Studio Acrylics alone, but that is to be expected when it’s dripped all over the place.
I thoroughly enjoy using Jackson’s Studio Acrylics and I would recommend them to any painter as they are so multifaceted. My experiments with colour mixing and mediums are not only a testament to the high pigment concentration of Jackson’s Studio Acrylics, but also show their smooth and opaque satin finish.
Further Reading
Colour Mixing: The Versatility of a Six Colour Primary Palette
Pigment Stories: Viridian Green
Jackson’s Kite Brushes: How Synthetic Kolinsky Fibre Compares with Natural Sable Hair
Acrylic Painting, Microplastics, and the Environment
Shop Jackson’s Studio Acrylic Paint on jacksonsart.com
