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Linseed and Zest-it
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Message
Posted
I been fooling around with oil colours for a couple of weeks now, using Linseed oil and Zest-it in equal proportions. The last time I piated with oils was in the early 80s, and I used distilled turpentine and linseed oil in equal proportions. Ok, so it's been a long time, but I can't see any immediate difference, except the new mix doesn't make me cough and splutter and have problems with my breathing.I have some Zest-it Clear Painting Medium, Apparently an equal mix of Zest-it and linseed stand oil. Haven't tried it yet but unlike the Zest-it/linseed oil home made mix, this smells heavily of citrus, we shall see. It is touted as speeding drying times, creates an elastic film, and is resistant to yellowing.Slightly amusing bit - Front of the bottle touts as 'Safe Solution for Artists. Back of the bottle there is a, harmful notice.bestMick
Posted
Presumably he wanted to know if they could be mixed with traditional oils because sometimes you run out of colours in those and it's useful to know if you can raid the water-solubles- or there might be any number of other reasons: not getting on with water-solubles, for instance, which some don't, for several reasons. <div>
</div><div>I agree of course that if you're planning to use them with traditional oils, there's no point in buying them because you lose the whole advantage of water-soluble oil paint. But, technically the answer is yes you can; why you'd WANT to is another matter altogether; they offer no advantage over, say, Winton or Georgian oils if used conventionally. </div><div>
</div><div>I'm always interested in water-soluble oil, because the world seems divided on them: a colleague of mine uses them very successfully (Murray Ince, who sometimes shares his work here), and of course they offer a considerable advantage both in cleaning up afterwards and in avoiding the ghastly whiff of white spirit, which so many of us use to clean brushes and palettes. On the other hand, I've used them only rarely, and another old friend, who's been painting for some 40 years or more, did use them and has reverted to conventional oil paint. </div><div>
</div><div>Have you painted in conventional oils before? If you have, how do you find the water-solubles handle by comparison? </div>
Posted
I've read that too - snag is, how do you calculate 20% when you're painting? On the whole, if I wanted to use oils that would remain water-soluble, I'd just use the water-soluble oils. Each to their own with this sort of thing, but I like traditional oil paints, with all the smells and hazards - and although there ARE dangers, I've hardly died at all yet....
Posted
I've long been slightly curious about water mixable oils (but not sufficiently so to buy any). I've already worked out my own turpentine-free method; basically, neat oils and a knife, wiped clean with kitchen roll & cleaned up with baby wipes.
It works out on the hills and it works in the house, and I don't need to carry extra water (which is heavy; if water-mixable oils are anything like acrylic, I'd need quite a lot of water). As a bonus, using a knife stops me getting hung up on detail...
But if I were to try water-mixable oils, it is nice to know that I wouldn't be throwing money at something that was incompatible with what I already had.
Posted
Yes, they're fully compatible - I have a few which I sometimes use with the "normal/real" oils (pick your adjective, calculating it carefully so as not to offend either camp....); you could use them with your knife, and would probably need no water at all; if anything, they're rather looser in consistency than conventional oils. I just can't quite throw off this niggling feeling that they're under-pigmented by comparison with artists' quality paint, and substantially thinner - whether they're any more so than Winton or Georgian, on the other hand, I doubt. <div>
</div><div>I've only tried Grumbacher and Artisan water solubles; there's also Holbein Duo, with a much larger colour range - over 90 - and using genuine Cadmium colours as well as Hues, together with Cobalts (and Hues); these are described as being of Artists quality. If I were going to switch to water-solubles, or anyway use more of them, I think I'd try this range first. They're significantly more expensive than the Artisan range, but that probably tells a story in itself. </div>
Posted
Yup. The Holbein paints seem to be intended to bridge that gap - but as I say, haven't tried them. Take a look at Murray Ince's oils on here, by the way: he uses Artisan oils, and produces remarkable results with them; I think the solvents just aren't feasible for him - he's by way of being a colleague of mine, and it's interesting to watch him flinch ever so slightly if you refer to "real oils".....<div>
</div><div>The secret if there is one is, I suspect, adjusting your technique to the materials you're employing - so far as possible. Some are going to be better at that than others - anyway: I'd be using something or other at this minute, if I could make my senile mind up about what to paint......</div>
Posted
When I first started painting it was oils and more oils .I found Watercolour next ,then
acrylics which I fancied as being near to oils without the mess and odour.However I
was annoyed at the skinning over of my mixes when I stopped for a coffee.To my joy
someone invented water soluble oils so I bought all my chosen colours and found them
delightful to use and just like my turpsy oils which I gave awa asi didnt want to use them in error,with the resultant cleaning chore. for a change Idid waterclrs. and now
acrylics.Grasshopper but never in a rut.Now I think I will look out my Artisan tubes
and maybe smear some colours on my oil boards to resemble something .Yippee!
Syd.... :-) :-)