About Jo Sonja's Acrylic Paints and Mediums

Jo Sonja’s® Artist Colours & Mediums

Jo Sonja’s Decorative Painting System was developed by Jim Cobb (Director of Chroma) and renown folk artist, Jo Sonja Jansen.  Both artists wanted a colour system that would meet the needs of the serious artist, so with the up to date technology that Chroma had to offer, the brand of Jo Sonja’s was produced to have both versatility and longevity.  This flexibility enabled the decorative artist to create techniques from the past and develop new techniques for the future.  Introduced in 1985, the brand quickly found its place in the market.  Artists worldwide recognise its value and quality with Jo Sonja’s playing a major role in the decorative painting market, a position that Chroma will maintain with its ongoing commitment to innovative ideas and quality.

The Paint

Jo Sonja’s Artists Colours are flow formula acrylics that offer the look and feel of traditional gouache.  Being made from only the finest quality, pure pigments.  Colour layering within designs can easily be achieved as the colour dries within minutes and can easily be painted over without damage being done to the underlying layer.  It provides opacity of colour and dries to a velvet matte.  While other paint ranges target the craft audience, Jo Sonja’s colours offer a professional paint range for the more serious artist.  Jo Sonja’s Artists colours are two to three times stronger than the bottled craft colours as well as being permanent.  No special instructions are required as they have been created to be used with ease.

The Decorative Painting System

With the range of paints, also comes a range of mediums to allow unlimited techniques.  Acrylic mediums are invaluable if you wish to change the paint consistency or alter drying times.  Chroma has discovered ways of allowing the same set of colours to be applied on a variety of surfaces such as wood, metal, glass and textiles.  The same colours (with the use of the mediums) can be stencilled, stamped, crackled or used in a host of elaborate faux finishes.  By experimenting with the mediums, there are endless possibilities that can be achieved.  Technique information sheets, designed to inspire your imagination, can be found on this website.   Chroma continues its research and development of new products. 

ASTM (American Society for Testing Materials)

This is an independent body establishing a reliable classification for light fastness of pigments and health labelling standards.  Jo Sonja’s Artists colours are made from only the finest quality pure pigments  All colours in the range are lightfast and carry ASTM ratings as a guarantee against colour fade.  Colours will remain true for generations and will be as vibrant as the day they were painted.  The colours are continually tested for quality and performance to ensure that Jo Sonja’s Artists colours remain the best possible product available or the artist.  Stringent controls mean you can have total confidence in the performance of each pigment.

ASTM1 – Excellent Light fastness

ASTM 2 – Very Good Lightfastness

ASTM3 – Not sufficiently lightfast to be used in artist paints

NB: All Jo Sonja’s paints carry either ASTM 1 or 2 ratings

 Jo Sonja’s paints and mediums are archival and lignin free.