Neutral Grays

Heavy Body Acrylics

NEUTRAL GRAYS

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

GOLDEN Neutral Grays are balanced "steps" in value.

GOLDEN Neutral Grays allow the artist to adjust the value¹ and chroma² of any color without altering its hue³. GOLDEN Neutral Grays range from N2 (darkest) to N8 (lightest), with GOLDEN Bone Black as N1 and Titanium White as N10 (see figure 1). Together they produce balanced value "steps" for mixing with other colors. GOLDEN Neutral Grays can be blended with all GOLDEN Acrylics to achieve differences in color values.

NEUTRAL GRAYS ARE PART OF THE MUNSELL SYSTEM.

Munsell System

GOLDEN Neutral Grays are Heavy Body Acrylic Paints designed according to the Munsell Color System. The Munsell System divides the color wheel into a three-dimensional color-space, shaped like a distorted "egg", in which all colors are separated by their Chroma, Value, and Hue. The GOLDEN Neutral Grays are made following this system, using a spectrophotometer to ensure they have graduated steps within a very tight tolerance range. They are Achromatic, meaning that they have no distinguishable hue or chroma, only value. On the Munsell "egg", a Neutral Gray falls directly in the center, with whites on top and blacks toward the bottom.

White and black represent the two value extremes. Mixing them together will produce a gray; whether or not it is a Neutral Gray depends on the pigments used. In most cases, a true neutral will not be produced; it will likely shift towards one direction of hue and/or chroma (i.e.: warmer or cooler). GOLDEN Neutral Grays have been adjusted to stay absolutely neutral. Painting with the Neutral Grays, Bone Black and Titanium white, you create a study without chroma or hue. Use with any one color to produce a monochromatic study. Several colors mixed with the same Neutral Gray and in the same ratio will produce colors with similar value (depending on the colors' own current values).

RECOMMENDATIONS

Studies and Exercises with the Neutral Grays:

Create a gray scale for determining values of acrylics, oils and other art media.
Tone other colors down
Use Neutral Grays to establish depth in a painting
Develop a monochromatic painting
Create value studies
Produce neutral underpaintings for color glazes

The Munsell Notations Are Based on Opaque Readings.

Neutral Grays are formulated using opaque pigments. Generally, when mixing colors of different transparencies, the opaque colors tend to have a greater impact on the mixture than do the transparent colors. Thus, if one mixes a Neutral Gray with a transparent color with the goal of creating a certain value, the amount of Neutral Gray added must be significantly less than if working with a more opaque color. For example, Hansa Yellow Medium is dramatically more transparent than Cadmium Yellow Medium, even though both read in value around N8. It may take only a 4:1 ratio of Yellow to N4 to darken the value of Hansa Yellow Medium to N6, while Cadmium Yellow Medium will need a 2:1 ratio of Yellow to N4 to get to the value of N6.

Some experimental mixing should be done to ensure that the amount of a Neutral Gray added does not diminish all of the chroma and hue characteristics of the color blended with the Neutral Gray.

NEUTRAL GRAY VALUES OF GOLDEN HEAVY BODY ACRYLICS

This list was compiled using a spectrophotometer and independent visual assessments. The readings were based on 10mil (wet film thickness) drawdowns. Transparent colors' readings will vary with different film thicknesses. Visual assessments were viewed under GE Chroma 50 light bulbs. Other lighting environments will vary reading results. Viewing angle will also vary reading results. These readings are to the nearest Neutral Gray and are within a .50 value tolerance.

N1	N2	N3	N4	N5	N6	N7	N8	N9	N10
Anthraquinone Blue	Jenkins Green	Burnt Sienna	Cerulean Blue	Cadmium Red Lt	Cadmium Orange	Diarylide Yellow	Cadmium Yellow Dk	Cadmium Yellow Lt	Titanium White
Bone Black	Naphthamide Maroon	Burnt Umber Lt	Chromium Oxide Green	Nickel Azo Yellow	Cobalt Teal		Cadmium Yellow Md	Cadmium Yellow Primrose	Zinc White
Carbon Black	Paynes Gray	Cerulean Blue Deep	Cadmium Red Dk	Orange Oxide	Cobalt Titanate Green		Hansa Yellow Lt	Titanate Yellow
Dioxazine Purple	Permanent Violet Dk	Cobalt Blue	Cadmium Red Md	Pyrrole Orange	Yellow Oxide		Hansa Yellow Md
Mars Black	Phthalo Green YS	Cobalt Green	Cobalt Turquois	Vat Orange			Hansa Yellow Opaque
Phthalo Blue GS	Quinacridone Burnt Orange	Graphite Gray	Green Gold	Yellow Ochre			Titan-Buff
Phthalo Blue RS	Quinacridone Crimson	Quinacridone Gold	Mars Yellow				Primary Yellow
Phthalo Green BS	Quinacridone Magenta	Quinacridone Red	Naphthol Red Lt
Turquois (Phth.)	Quinacridone Violet	Red Oxide	Naphthol Red Md
	Raw Umber	Violet Oxide	Permanent Green Lt
	Trans.Red Iron Oxide	Viridian Green	Pyrrole Red
	Ultramarine Blue	Primary Cyan	Pyrrole Red Lt
	Ultramarine Violet		Quinacridone Red Lt
			Raw Sienna
			Trans.Yellow Iron Oxide
			Primary Magenta

PRODUCT PROPERTIES

The Neutral Grays are Heavy Body Golden Acrylics.

Neutral Gray Reflectance Curves

The Neutral Grays are part of Golden"s Line of Heavy Body Acrylics. The Heavy Body line is produced with 100% Acrylic Polymer Emulsion, producing a flexible paint film with excellent chemical, water and ultraviolet resistance. All pigments used in GOLDEN Acrylics are chosen for their exceptional clarity and permanency within each chemical class. GOLDEN Acrylics dry quickly and may be painted over immediately, yet complete drying will take longer.

To thin, use water or GOLDEN Mediums. For slower drying, use GOLDEN Retarder. Avoid freezing. Minimum film formation temperature is 48^oF/9^oC. Do not mix with oils. Paint on any non-oily surface. Non-absorbent surfaces should be abraded for increased adhesion. Clean tools with soap and water. Keep tools wet during use.

TECHNICAL INFORMATION

Resin: methylmethacrylate/butylacrylate copolymer dispersion polymer
Vehicle: water
Pigment Identification: PW6, PBk9, PBr7
Lightfastness: I (per ASTM D5298)
Permanency: Excellent
Opacity: 2 (1 = most opaque and 8 = most transparent)
Viscosity: 24,000 - 28,000 cPs (as measured on a Brookfield RV viscometer)
pH: 8.4 - 9.0 (slightly alkaline)
Gloss: 35 - 45 (using a 75^o Glossmeter)

Flexibility: ASTM D522, Test Method B - Cylindrical Mandrel Test at 70^oF, 6mil thick film passes at 1/4" diameter mandrel. Adequate flexibility to withstand loose rolling and restretching at room temperature. Paint films become more brittle below 50^oF, and should not be bent or flexed under such conditions. Withstands expansion and contraction caused by changes in temperature and humidity.

Drying/Curing Time: a 10mil wet film will dry to touch within 2 hours when temperature is above 65^oF and humidity is below 70%. Thicker films will cure much more slowly. Lower temperatures and/or higher humidities will also slow drying process considerably.

DEFINITIONS

¹Value - The respective lightness or darkness of a given color. For example, Neutral Gray 7 is higher in value than Neutral Gray 6.

²Chroma - The degree of brightness of a given color. For example, Hansa Yellow Light has a high chroma.

³Hue - Refers to the primary or secondary color associated with a given color. For example, Pyrrole Red Light has a yellow hue when compared to Pyrrole Red, which has a bluer hue.

Disclaimer

The above information is based on research and testing done by Golden Artist Colors, Inc., and is provided as a basis for understanding the potential uses of the products mentioned. Due to the numerous variables in methods, materials and conditions of producing art, Golden Artist Colors, Inc. cannot be sure the product will be right for you. Therefore, we urge product users to test each application to ensure all individual project requirements are met. While we believe the above information is accurate, WE MAKE NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, and we shall in no event be liable for any damages (indirect, consequential, or otherwise) that may occur as a result of a product application.