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Titanium White Sticky?
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Message
Posted
Titanium White will vary between makers, but it shouldn't ever be sticky. In oil, it's one of the pigments heaviest in Linseed oil (or occasionally safflower or Walnut oil) so will be slick - you can mitigate that by squeezing it on to a sheet of kitchen roll, letting some of oil seep out, then transfer the paint to your palette. Have you just noticed this with a specific tube, or become gradually aware of it across brands? Is the brand you're using mixed with Linseed (the optimal oil), or safflower (the worst apart from sunflower), or maybe Walnut oil, which can be a bit sticky?
Try mashing it with your palette knife - if dry, add a drop of oil, though it would very rarely be that. Have you had the tube for a long time, has it begun to oxidize, is it an alkyd Titanium rather than normal oil, or - is it water miscible? In the last case - I wouldn't use it.
Final guess if none of the above replies - it's not Bob Ross paint, is it? What IS the brand?
When you next buy Titanium White, try: Michael Harding's, ground in Linseed Oil; Rublev (you may have trouble finding it); Wallace Seymour; or Jackson's own brand artist's grade. Avoid any mixed with PW 4, Zinc White; probably avoid Winton. Try Rembrandt oil, but it MAY contain some Zinc.
If you find Titanium White too horrible - try lead white if you can find it: it can still be got, but you have to jump through a number of hoops; or Lithopone; Lowrey White (though that is a version of Titanium). Or alkyd Titanium, if that's not what's giving you trouble. Daler Rowney Artists Quality, not Georgian or there other inferior brands, is worth a try; Winsor and Newton Artists' quality should be OK.
Of all of them, I'd go for Michael Harding's.
I expect Alan Bickley will have ideas about this. You could also take a look at the website of the Supreme Paint Co - even ask them for their opinion, they're very helpful.
Posted
I saw this question earlier, but decided to hold back, because I felt that it was more Robert’s field of expertise!
I’ve not noticed any particular issues regarding titanium white being sticky.
Yes, squeeze it out on cardboard and let the oil (whichever oil it is), leach out and work it through with a palette knife, and work it well.
We need to know what brand you’re using Gary, Robert has already asked about this bit it could be the issue…
You won’t go far wrong with Michael Harding, whatever the colour, but I’m currently using a tube of W&N Artists titanium white.
Can’t fault it and it squeezes out of the tube quite firmly, that’s because it isn’t drenched In linseed oil and full of impurities and fillers!
You get what you pay for, as the saying goes!
Posted
Thank you for the replies. I think it's me going a bit loopy. I'm using Michael Harding and Old Holland and I think maybe sticky isn't the right word. I'm just finding that the white really clogs up my brushes more than other colours. Hard to describe but it must have always been that way and really there aren't many other options for white these days. I do have a Williamsburg porcelain white to try at some point (pw5).
Posted
I'll give it a try at some point. So after experimenting a bit today, much as I really like Michael Harding paints, I'm finding Old Holland Titanium White a nicer consistency for me - it doesn't clog up the bristles quite as much as the MH one (for me). I'm using Rosemary and Co eclipse synthetic mongoose. I do think the brush used is another factor - real bristle seems to clog up less.
Posted
Oh, ah - well I think you've self-diagnosed there - I have a very high opinion of all brushes from Rosemary & Co, but if you're using a lot of white, or indeed any significant quantity, you'd be better off with a hog bristle brush than with any synthetic, at least in the early and middle stages. The Mongoose is a soft brush, ideal for finishing, but not for the rough work: use it for refining those basic strokes, blending, adjusting - it's not robust enough to handle the bricks and mortar of a painting. You've done very well with it if that's what you've been using, but - hogs, me boy, hogs: them's what you want!
Posted
It will depend on that, to a great extent. Plus - how many brushes you've got, and how often you paint. I have synthetics, hog hair, black hog - old worn-down brushes, virtually pristine brushes - but anyway, a lot of brushes compared to some. I think though that if you like to really sculpt with oil paint, scumble it, push the brush into the canvas, and this is the way you paint - you're better off with something like the consistency of hog hair; but there are so many variables here, including the way you clean the brush, the consistency of the support on which you paint, the frequency with which you paint, the consistency of the paint you use - e.g. brands like Old Holland are thicker than others, and take more manipulation and are thus harder on brushes.
All you can really do is lay down a general principle, knowing that there are innumerable variations on the theme.
Posted
Whilst I don’t use oils myself and don’t know how much stress is put on the brushes etc , a lot of what Robert is saying goes for watercolour as well . I do realise that a thicker medium will take it toll on the bristles and need far more attention to the cleaning , the use of chemical cleaners must have a contribution to the ware as some take the natural oils out of bristles I suppose. I needed some replacement brushes and mostly I use Sable , I was bought a set of good quality synthetic brushes and to be honest at first I thought they would be rubbish how wrong I was . Will definitely replace them with similar ones eventually. The most important thing with any brush is to look after them and ensure they are cleaned and dried . My apologies to Robert for jumping in on his discussion about titanium white and bringing water y into the discussion.
Posted
No apology required! Some people use water-miscible oils of course, so water was bound to drip in somewhere.... Since Martin raised the brush question, I have been thinking more about it - I've seen some artists really butcher their brushes, mercilessly wielding them like weapons of war; and I'm a lot more careful - or gentle. One does not, I think, want to be SO gentle that the painting is reduced to careful little dabs of paint; it's the painting that matters more than the brushes after all. I shall ponder this next time I take to oils - I'm a bit rougher with acrylics.
Your sables though - I have a few, including one ancient red sable I only use for oils; probably time it was given a decent retirement, actually. I don't remember ever BUYING a sable for watercolour; most of mine were given to me (by Alan Owen) together with some synthetics, and a few mops (are these made of pony hair? I've forgotten! Mops like Ted Wesson used, anyway). I can be a bit rough even with watercolour brushes, but can't bring myself to brutalize genuine sables (which also need to be protected from moth, incidentally) - but yes, I agree with Paul that synthetics these days are excellent, and the good thing about them is that no animal had to die to make them. As it happens, sable for artists' brushes are made from offcuts from the fur trade, so no one is killing squirrels just to make our brushes - but great though they are, I do have a twinge of conscience about using them. I'm not a good enough watercolourist to justify either the expense or the provenance of buying sables; I judge no one who does use them! It is a bit silly to cavil about it; but there we are - once you've seen squirrels, you'd rather they kept their fur to themselves.
Just a by the way - if you see a "Mongoose" brush, for watercolour or oil, it will be a synthetic these days: Rosemary & Co make superb ones, but the Mongoose is now a protected species, so fear not - Rikki Tikki Tavi is safe, from painters at least.