First off, here is the finished ACEO of Brigid that I had started in the previous post. In case you're not familiar with the Celtic goddess Brigid, she is the goddess of hearth and flame, and brings the promise of Spring as the days grow longer. She also brings the lambing and calving season, which was of utmost importance in agrarian societies during this time of year when food was scarce and creamy milk and cheese could mean the difference between life or death. So here she is with a lamb and the sun in all it's glory. In the background I painted smoke rising from the cottage chimney, because her power was believed to be present in the hearth fire.
She's so pretty, I haven't decided yet if I can part with her, but I did a limited edition print run of 16, listed in
etsy and
artfire.
Now, for the review of Goldens new Open line of acrylics... I'm in
love!!! Brigid was painted on illustration board, a thirsty surface to be sure, and they still performed very much like oils! Depending on how thick the paint was, it was wet for hours! It blends effortlessly, feels so silky and I can't wait to try them on gessoboard and canvas. My only complaint is that they are more transparent compared to Goldens Heavy Body paints, even the titanium white. But if that's an issue you can mix the Open with the Heavy Body. Yes, they are compatible but mixing will speed up the drying time depending on the ratio. Since I have lots of Golden Heavy Body paints, I'm glad they play well together. :-)
I don't even need to use my Stay-Wet pallet with these, just an air-tight one. The thin layers on the pallet do start to dry out, but the thicker gobs are fine so far! I'm really excited about the possibilities with this line of paint! To my artist friends, if you've been thinking about trying them, go for it! The introductory set is about 15 bucks at
DickBlick and includes 6 tubes. You can also read more about them on Goldens site
here. 
I had to share this sunset from yesterday, they've been pretty spectacular the last few weeks. This is the view from my studio window. I love being able to sit here and watch the show. :-)
We had our first snow of the year this morning, and there's a chance of snow this afternoon as well. Last year our first snow was November 30th! I do like snow, but Fall is my favorite time of year and I don't want to skip it, lol. As you can see, there is still plenty of green leaves on the trees:
It's a shame to say goodbye to my roses this early, but I'm afraid they're toast. We're supposed to have near record lows tonight in the 20's.
Everyone says it's going to be a hard winter this year in the Midwest. And I thought last year was bad! I guess we'll find out.
