Just what IS their problem?

I watch all sorts of groups on Facebook and elsewhere, and so often the same questions arise; one in particular puzzles me. They say - I use water-miscible oils (they usually say "soluble", but they're not; but never mind) because the clean up is easier; I don't need to use strong solvents.   No you don't.  But you don't need to use strong solvents ANYWAY.  Oil paint doesn't need Low-Odour Thinners, Sansodor, Gamsol, Turpentine, or any other blessed solvent.  It works just fine either straight out of the tube, or mixed with a little oil - or even Liquin, although the reek of that stuff makes me nauseous.   You can't - they also say - get all the paint out of the brush if you just use soap and water with normal oil paint.  Really?  You think?   This is just all nonsense.  All you need to do is: wipe your brush on rag, or heavy-duty kitchen-roll - this is by far the most important part of the procedure: squeeze out all the paint that will come out - and then scrub it in the palm of your hand with a little ordinary soap and cool water (not hot, unless you want to melt the glue in the ferrule).  If you've let the paint dry on the brush, of course, this is going to be a fight and a half; but then, the answer to that is not to do it.  I've nothing against water-miscible oils, if you like using them for whatever reason.  But feeling you HAVE to use them, in order to avoid solvents, is just wrong. Many use turps (or substitute) in the actual painting process, of course; I used to - and yes, it helps the paint to flow better than oil alone, though at the expense of degrading it and weakening adhesion.  But it requires just the smallest change in technique to overcome that problem and not use turps at all.  Some like to use a "turpsy wash" to tint the canvas prior to painting; fine, if that's what you like to do.  But again - a tiny amount of oil will work just as well - may take a little longer to dry, but not enough to be a nuisance.  And depending on the colour you like to use, you may not need any oil at all - just scrub it on with a stiff-bristled brush.   Anyway, it's all up to us what procedures we follow or materials we use, and I'm not on a crusade against water-miscible oils (much..).  But I really don't see the point of them - they seem to me to be offering solutions to problems that don't exist.   But by all means defend them vociferously, before I turn a withering gaze on "cadmium-free" oil paint, and other artful marketing gimmicks. 

Lead white IS very expensive now, yes...... used to be one of the cheapest whites, too, lead being formerly ubiquitous.  But it's not any more.  I have to steel myself to part with the £60 for Cremnitz White (in large quantities, though); but I don't use a vast amount of it, and I'm quite happy to supplement it with Titanium, in places.  Did I point you to the Natural Pigments European website?  They offer a range of lead whites from the Rublev range (American brand, Russian antecedents) which might be a little less fearsomely priced than, e.g., Michael Harding Cremnitz,   I've been using Stack Lead White (made by a one-time habitué of this website - and very good: I want more!) today, the very minimum of Linseed OIl, mixing the paint with a palette knife to get the consistency I'm after, and painting on wood.  And very satisfying it was too, with nary a hint of mineral spirits or Turps in sight.