Create richly textured, vibrant paintings where the intention of every brushstroke is permanently captured. Smooth, thick GOLDEN Heavy Body Acrylics are crafted with pure pigments and no fillers, delivering clean color mixing capabilities and dimensional brushwork that holds its shape. Trusted by professional artists worldwide for over 40 years, GOLDEN maintains stringent quality standards with extensive testing for lightfastness, compatibility, consistency and longevity to ensure paints that stand the test of time.
Heavy Body Acrylics
Fresh look, new features -
150 Color Range
Rich Texture & Vibrant Color Set GOLDEN Heavy Body Apart
GOLDEN Heavy Body Acrylics deliver the richest, most sculptural painting experience in the GOLDEN acrylic lineup. Formulated with a smooth, thick, buttery consistency, Heavy Body colors retain brushstrokes, palette knife marks, and textured applications that would level out in thinner acrylic formulations. Unlike Fluid, High Flow, and OPEN Acrylics, Heavy Body is specifically designed for artists who want to build dimension, create expressive surfaces, and maintain the character of every mark.
The Mark of a Professional-Grade Paint
Featuring professional-grade pigments, Heavy Body Acrylics offer outstanding color strength, clean color mixing, and a wide range of natural opacities and transparencies that allow artists to move from thick coverage to luminous glazing effects. The formulation highlights the individual characteristics of each pigment rather than forcing uniformity across colors, giving artists greater control and a a deeply satisfying, tactile painting experience.
Take a quick look at Heavy Body Acrylics
Paint with Confidence
Artists trust GOLDEN Heavy Body Acrylics for their professional performance, exceptional color permanence, and rigorous testing for stability, durability, and lightfastness. Every product is supported by extensive technical resources, application guidance, and direct access to the GOLDEN Materials & Applications Support team, helping artists make informed decisions and create with confidence. As an employee-owned company, GOLDEN is guided by a shared commitment to support artists through exceptional products, expert guidance, and ongoing education.
Starter Acrylic Sets: Learn, Mix & Create
The GOLDEN Heavy Body Intro Set and Mixing Set provide an ideal starting point for artists. From learning the basics of color and composition to exploring more advanced color mixing concepts, these curated sets make acrylic painting approachable and inspiring, showcasing the rich texture and outstanding performance of GOLDEN Heavy Body Acrylics.
GOLDEN Heavy Body Intro Set
This 6 Color set focuses on simplicity, offering a balanced selection of essential colors that allows artists to start painting immediately. Its limited palette encourages experimentation and helps build confidence without the distraction of too many color choices.
GOLDEN Heavy Body Mixing Set
The 12 Color Heavy Body Mixing Set takes learning a step further by introducing a thoughtfully picked split-primary palette with warm and cool versions of the primary colors. This helps artists understand color relationships and allows them to mix a broad range of hues.
Go Further with Color
With five professional acrylic color lines, GOLDEN offers exceptional versatility for virtually any painting technique. From thick and expressive to fluid and precise, matte and graphic to slow-drying and blendable, artists can choose the consistency, finish, and handling characteristics that best support their creative goals, all while enjoying the same trusted color quality and performance.
GOLDEN Heavy Body Acrylics have an exceptionally smooth, thick consistency that retains brush and knife marks. The qualities of each pigment take center stage, resulting in a range of sheens and opacities from transparent colors for glazing to dense, opaque colors with excellent coverage.
Ideal for: Holding texture of brushstrokes, clean color mixing
GOLDEN Fluid Acrylics are even, flowing acrylic colors useful for dry brush application, fine details, pouring, spraying, staining techniques and more. Fluid colors maintain the same pigment load of Heavy Body in a more brushable, leveling, lower viscosity.
Ideal for: Detail painting, pouring and staining
OPEN Slow-Drying Acrylics have a dramatically increased working time, so artists can more easily explore techniques such as soft gradients, shading, glazing and blending. OPEN is also great for printmaking techniques like gel plates, linoleum blocks, and screen printing.
Ideal for: Portraiture, plein air, and printmaking
High Flow Acrylics are incredibly versatile, ultra-thin acrylic paints with an ink-like consistency that can go directly from bottle to airbrush, refillable marker or dip pen. They work great for drawing, staining, dripping, pouring, calligraphy and color washes.
Ideal for: Washes, drips, and drawing, and can be used in pens, markers and airbrush
SoFlat Matte Acrylics have a unique combination of matte sheen, increased opacity and leveling properties sought after by artists using gouache. Emphasizing its opacity and saturated color, SoFlat is ideal for color fields and graphic painting techniques.
Ideal for: A flat, matte finish for color fields and graphic painting techniques
Elevate Your Creative Toolkit
Thick to thin and multiple sheens, opacities and properties, Gels and Pastes open up new possibilities.
Use alone or with your colors for a variety of purposes.
Add to paint for specific attributes.
GOLDEN Virtual Paint Mixer for Artists
GOLDEN MXR helps artists turn color inspiration into accurate, repeatable paint mixtures faster and with less waste. Available for Williamsburg Oils and GOLDEN Acrylics
- Reduce guesswork, wasted paint, and material costs.
- Save, refine, and share repeatable color recipes.
- Match colors from photos, RGB, or CMYK values virtually.
- Create accurate acrylic and oil paint formulas before mixing in the studio.
- Build and save custom palettes using the colors you already own.
- Instantly explore tints, complements, and color variations.
Heavy Body Acrylics — Technical Specs
Key Features
- Thick paints that retain texture of tool marks and impasto peaks.
- The broadest spectrum of lightfast or single-pigment or ASTM Lightfastness 1-2 pigment colors available to artists in an acrylic paint.
- No fillers, extenders, opacifiers, or dyes.
- Exceptionally high pigment load facilitates extension and modification with more affordable mediums, gels, and pastes.
- Each color formula expresses the unique qualities of its pigment composition. Colors that tolerate a higher pigment load dry to a more opaque, matte finish. Colors that are more reactive and do not allow as much pigment loading dry to a glossier, more transparent finish.
- Compatible with all GOLDEN acrylic products.
Decoding the Label
We make it easy to know exactly what is inside each container of GOLDEN Heavy Body Acrylics by what we put on the outside.
Hand-Painted Swatch - Unlike other brands, we don’t add matting agents to unify a color's finish. Each color dries to its own natural sheen and opacity based on the pigment’s true nature, offering the same nuance found in fine oil paints. The hand-painted swatch applied over the three black bars on each label highlights these key characteristics at a glance.
Pigments – The Color Index Name of the pigment(s) used in each color are clearly listed.
Lightfastness – We go beyond industry standards in testing colors to measure their resistance to fading when exposed to UV light.
Opacity - An opacity symbol quickly designates the level of transparency/opacity of each color.
Application
- May be applied to any surface receptive to acrylic paints.
- Modify with GOLDEN acrylic paints, mediums, gels, pastes, or distilled water.
- Add Regular Gel to extend paint without changing consistency.
- For increased painting time, add GOLDEN Retarder, Glazing Liquid, OPEN Medium, OPEN Gel or OPEN Thinner.
- Thick applications dry to the touch within hours or days, but can take weeks or months to fully cure. For faster overall drying, build up multiple thin layers.
- Do not mix with nor apply over oil paints.
- Minimum application temperature is 50 °F (10 °C).
Clean Up
Wash hands and tools after use with soapy, warm water. Thin, dried acrylic can be dissolved with isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol, but this may allow some pigments to stain some surfaces. Consult with local authorities for approved methods and review these resources:
Storage
Store paints between 50–85°F (10–30°C). Avoid repeated freezing/thawing or extended exposure to temperatures exceeding 120 °F (49 °C). Minimize water loss by keeping container openings clean and fully closed.
Handling and Transportation of Artwork
Heavy Body Acrylics are flexible enough to resist cracking over decades of display and transport. This thermoplastic flexibility corresponds to a somewhat soft film that is susceptible to marring or adhesion of environmental contaminants.
- Employ standard conservation protocols during transit and storage to prevent incidental and prolonged surface contact.
- Apply protective varnishes or topcoats as required by display conditions or aesthetic preference.
- Acrylics begin to stiffen at 59 °F (15 °C). Below 40 °F (4.5 °C), the film becomes brittle and may fracture when flexed. Low humidity contributes to this brittleness. Avoid rolling/unrolling canvases or excessive handling of flexible works in these conditions.
For more information about handling and transporting paintings, please refer to our detailed articles:
- Handling and Transportation of Acrylic Paintings
- Rolling Acrylic Paintings for Shipping or Storage
- Pack and Ship Unframed Paintings with Cardboard Corners and Rails
Technical Information
- Resin: methyl methacrylate/butyl acrylate copolymer aqueous dispersion
- Vehicle: Water
- Opacity: Varies by pigment type
- Gloss Range: 10–96 GU @ 85°
- Viscosity: 12,000–30,000 cP (Brookfield RV 100 rpm)
- pH: 8.3–9.0 (slightly alkaline)
- Permanence: Excellent to very good, except fluorescent colors
- Flexibility: ASTM D522, Test Method B-Cylindrical Mandrel Test at 70°F, 6 mil-thick film passes at 1/4" diameter mandrel. Adequate flexibility to withstand loose rolling and re-stretching at room temperature. Withstands expansion and contraction caused by changes in temperature and humidity.
More Information
Videos, articles, and resources to help you get more out of Heavy Body Color.
Heavy Body Acrylic Colors
Overview of the, history, attributes and uses for Golden Heavy Body Acrylics.
How to Mix a Replacement Color for Discontinued Quinacridone/Nickel Azo Gold
The rumors are true – Quinacridone/Nickel Azo Gold (PY150, PO48) in all GOLDEN acrylic lines is being discontinued due to the unavailability of PO48. Unfortunately, there is no perfect replacement for Quinacridone/Nickel Azo Gold at this time, but a blend of Transparent Red Iron Oxide (PR101) and Nickel Azo Yellow (PY150), as shown here, should get you into a similar range in the masstone with a glowing orange undertone. We are working to find a good replacement for this color space. In the meantime, you can learn more about pigment discontinuations in a JustPaint.org article called "The Life of Pigments in Fine Art Paints" and try out your own replacement blends with our Virtual Color Mixer. Both of these resources are linked below in this caption. This will also impact Williamsburg Artist Oil Colors Quinacridone Gold Brown and QoR Artist Watercolors Quinacridone Gold and Quinacridone Gold Deep but we have sufficient inventory to keep these colors available in Williamsburg and QoR through early 2024. Virtual Color Mixer - goldenpaints.com/mixer Learn more pigment discontinuations - justpaint.org/the-life-of-pigments-in-fine-art-paints/
Heavy Body Acrylic Colors Overview
The first acrylic colors offered by GOLDEN, Heavy Body paints are known for their exceptionally smooth, buttery consistency. The Heavy Body palette includes the largest assortment of unique pure pigments in a 100% acrylic emulsion available to professional artists. These colors offer excellent permanency and lightfastness. There are no fillers, extenders, opacifiers, toners, or dyes added. Each Heavy Body color formula reflects the qualities of its pigment. Colors that tolerate a higher pigment load dry to a more opaque, matte finish. Colors that are more reactive and do not allow as much pigment loading tend to have a glossier, more transparent, finish. Because Heavy Body colors contain no matting agents, the gloss of each color will be different.
Heavy Body Acrylics Essentials Set
Six versatile, foundational colors capable of mixing a full range of hues, tints and shades.
Heavy Body Acrylics Intro Set
This balanced selection of colors provides an excellent starting point for artists looking to explore the working properties unique to each of our acrylic color lines.
Heavy Body Acrylics Mixing Set
Mixing is easy with the intuitive split primary method. A warm and cool choice of each primary color in addition to other key colors allows the artist to mix an extensive range of colors.
Lightfastness Testing of Heavy Body Fluorescent Colors
Artists love Fluorescent colors, having recently revisited lightfast testing of our Heavy Body Fluorescents, we address some of the common questions we receive regarding the long term stability of these colors.
Super Textural Painting with Acrylic
We explore a variety of ways to create highly textured surfaces using acrylic paints, mediums and collage.
The GOLDEN Commitment to Product Safety
At GOLDEN, your safety is as important to us as the quality and performance of our products. We are committed to developing professional artist materials that meet high standards for both artistic excellence and responsible use. Our products undergo careful evaluation, and we follow established industry guidelines for toxicological assessment and product labeling to help ensure artists have accurate, reliable safety information.
We believe transparency is essential. That's why we provide comprehensive Safety Data Sheets (SDS), clear labeling, and easy access to health and safety resources that help artists understand how to handle, store, and use our materials responsibly.
Our Environmental Health & Safety team continuously works to evaluate potential risks, support compliance, and provide guidance that promotes safe studio practices.
Our goal is to empower artists to create with confidence, knowing that product safety, environmental stewardship, and customer well-being remain central to everything we do.
National Poison Control
Phone: 1-800-222-1222
This will route your call to a local poison control center based on the area code and exchange of the caller. If the victim has collapsed or is not breathing, call 911.
Safety Data Sheets
Standardized documents covering hazards, safe handling, first aid, and emergency procedures.
Wastewater Treatment & Management at Golden Artist Colors
Behind every tube of paint is a sustainability story: discover how GOLDEN recycles thousands of gallons of water through innovative wastewater management. Wastewater reclamation at Golden Artist Colors
Additional Resources
Heavy Body Intro Set
Experience the smooth, thick texture of richly pigmented Heavy Body Artist Acrylics with this balanced selection of six colors.
Heavy Body Mixing Set
Mix an extensive range of colors with this 12-color palette using the split primary method.
Heavy Body Traditional Set
A selection of historically significant colors ideal for mixing the range of colors needed for figurative painting.
Heavy Body Essentials Set
Six versatile, foundational Heavy Body colors, capable of mixing a full range of hues, tints and shades.
Explorer 14 Set
Explore GOLDEN acrylics with a self-guided workshop in a box. Includes a selection of Heavy Body, Fluid, OPEN and High Flow Acrylic Colors as well as a range of Pastes, Gels, and Mediums.