Matisse Impasto Medium No. 2 | MM2

Matisse Impasto Medium
is a full-bodied texture paste and modelling compound. It may be thought of as a "heavy-bodied paint", free of colour pigmentation (however, it is not clear).
It dries to a low subdued sheen which is similar to the sheen on a dried paint film of Matisse Colours and it is equally water-resistant.
It is a great product as it allows all the water to evaporate while losing less volume on drying than other Gels or acrylic colours. Therefore mixtures of this medium and Matisse colours may be applied much more thickly in a single application than paint alone, without the fear of shrinking or cracking.
Matisse Impasto Medium allows for free intermixing with the Matisse Colours in any proportion. There is very little visual colour loss when up to equal volumes of a Matisse Colour and the Impasto Medium are intermixed.
The presence of  Impasto Medium on the canvas does not increase or lower the gloss rate of the finished painting, nor does it cause any light reflection distortion.
Although the Matisse Impasto Medium is not fully transparent when dry, it will not alter the richness of Matisse Colours in any substantial way.
The Matisse Impasto Medium lends itself suitably for use as a light modelling compound. It can be applied by knife or brush in heavy blobs onto the primed canvas and, when dry, fully over-painted with Matisse Colours.
Further Technical Information

MM2 IMPASTO MEDIUM

The word impasto refers to the application of a thick paint that leaves visible brush or palette knife marks. This medium is a full-bodied texture paste. It may be thought of as a heavy-bodied paint, free of pigmentation, however, it is not a clear gel and nor does it dry, on a microscopic level, as the Matisse colours dry. (See the section on water-based varnishes and how they dry for more detailed information). The MM2 Impasto Medium dries with a very open matrix. This has the major benefit of allowing all the water to evaporate while losing less volume on drying than other Gels or acrylic colours. Therefore mixtures of this medium and Matisse colours may be applied much more thickly in a single application than paint alone, without the fear of shrinking or cracking. Care should be taken when creating thick applications, taking into account conditions and drying time required.
MM2 Impasto Medium is most valuable for creating highly textured surfaces, brush stroke and impasto painting techniques, particularly when heavy built-up areas of colour are required. MM2 Impasto Medium dries to a low subdued sheen, which is similar to the sheen on a dried paint film of Matisse colours and it is equally water-resistant. MM2 Impasto Medium allows for free intermixing with the Matisse colours in any proportion. There is very little visual colour loss when up to equal volumes of a Matisse colour and MM2 Impasto Medium are intermixed. The presence of MM2 Impasto Medium on the canvas does not increase or lower the gloss rate of the finished painting, nor does it cause any light reflection distortion. Despite MM2 Impasto Medium not being fully transpar- ent when dry, it does not appear to alter the richness of Matisse colours in any substantial way. Although MM2 Impasto Medium can be used with Matisse Flow Formula colours, the Matisse Structure Formula colours are full-bodied acrylics and therefore complement the thick MM2 Impasto Medium. The MM2 Impasto Medium lends itself suitably for use as a light modelling compound. It can be applied by knife or brush in heavy amounts directly onto the primed substrate and, when dry, fully over-painted with Matisse colours. Do not use MM2 Impasto Medium as a transparent glue or size where its slightly milky opacity could cause some cloudiness. For this same reason, MM2 Impasto Medium should not be used for glazing effects. Subtle and delicate glaze colourations are best produced by intermix- ing MM8 Spreader and MM4 Gel Medium with water in various proportions to produce totally transparent glazes. Glazing with MM2 Impasto Medium will cover and distort the work with a slight opaque effect.