Artsnacks Bonus box Review! New Liquitex products!

I just got my bonus box from Artsnacks!!! They partnered with Liquitex ™ for their new cadmium-free acrylic paints. I took the #LiquitexCadmiumFree Challenge. These paints conform to the Art & Creative Materials Institute (ACMI ®) ASTM D 4236. I received 5 bottles and a plastic palette knife. There were two medium yellows(.74 fl oz/22ml), two medium reds(.74 fl oz/22ml), and a titanium white(2 fl oz/59ml).

Cadmium is a chemical element found on the periodic table and is a metal. Because of its metallic nature it creates a lightfast paint. It is a main component of reds and yellows and was first discovered in 1820 and first used as a paint in the 1840s. Because it is a heavy metal, people are claiming that it can cause cancer, skeletal fractures, and other diseases. (2) A lot of pigments are being “partially replaced by azo pigments.” (1) Liquitex is the first to make cadmium-free reds and yellows for artists.

Sidenote: The paper I used for the tests was the Strathmore Canvas Paper. This is my go to testing paper for acrylics. (not included in the bonus box)

The quality of this paint is amazing! I could not tell any difference in the colors at all after doing some tests. The texture was about the only difference I could feel with the palette knife. Bottle “B” felt a little more thicker when I “pushed” the paint along. Bottle “A” was a little easier to paint with but only the slightest. When I mixed them with the titanium white(provided in the box)they both mixed to the same colors. (my lighting was a little off but the yellows are the same)

For the mixing of both the reds and yellows I used the same amount (as accurate as I could) for each mix. (I only caught this picture after mixing the A bottles)

After I mixed each of the portions. For the most part they mixed to the same color. (Again I apologize for the lighting.)

I placed each of the paints and mixes I made in small oval dots. For the most part they are the same. I’ll be honest I wasn’t the most accurate on my white measurements when I was mixing but I did the best I could.

As a side note, for all intents and purposes, I caught a slight smell when I painted but it turned out they both smelled the same.

In conclusion, besides the texture of the paint there wasn’t much of difference of color nor paint-ability. They both worked out great. Now, I couldn’t test lightfastness because that would take years to test against the sunlight. But Liquitex already did the test on the video shown on the website below.

https://www.liquitex.com/cadmium-free-challenge/

On the site, you click on which bottle you got and then which you think is cadmium-free. It was difficult to say but I thought it was bottle A. I was incorrect.

But I wasn’t alone in thinking so!

This was a great bonus box! Liquitex is thinking forward for future generations of artists and that is important for everyone to think about. And I really do love subscribing to Artsnacks and the opportunities they give for trying different new products every month.

Don’t forget use code THEARTLAB10 for 10% off of your first month’s box!
www.artsnacks.co/products
Have a great day!

🙂

Christy

Sources:

• (1)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadmium_pigments
• (2)https://news.artnet.com/art-world/ban-on-cadmium-pigments-could-change-art-forever-113493