Now that you've tried acrylics I have to wonder if you've ever tried the water mixable oils?I used to use acrylics all the time in college because they dried so much quicker than oil. Eventually I decided to go back to oils and have been using them almost exclusively ever since. Then I heard a bunch of stuff about how oils are bad for your health and particular bad for a home based studio so I went to the water mixable oils which are supposed to be better for you. I brought this question up on wetcanvas.com and got myself in a real good bit of trouble with the oil folks. Anyways I now mostly use water soluble oils for my children's book art because it dries faster like acrylics and yet has some of the same characteristics as regular oils. Now after using them for some time I am beginning to notice things about them that I don't like. FOr instance, water mixable oil seems to leave little nibs on the paint surface, Dark colors seem to get dull when they dry (could be how thin I paint) and I just plain don't like that they dry faster on the palette than regular oils. I also bought a couple of the mediums designed for them and they don't really seem to do what they say they do. I wonder if you have had any experience with the?
Yes, over glazing is a typical problem. For some reason close up the glazes don't seem to be adding much effect.
I have tried the water based oils Matthew, but not as systematically as I would have liked in order to give a good report on them. I think the worst aspect of oil painting is using turpentine but if you use a low odor solvent like Gamblin Gamsol you should be okay. For me the water based oil seemed a bit too stiff, not necessarily thick, but stiff as if they needed some solvent added to just get the stuff off the brush. But it is something to consider especially since paint companies are making new breakthroughs and improvements all the time.
Now that you've tried acrylics I have to wonder if you've ever tried the water mixable oils?I used to use acrylics all the time in college because they dried so much quicker than oil. Eventually I decided to go back to oils and have been using them almost exclusively ever since. Then I heard a bunch of stuff about how oils are bad for your health and particular bad for a home based studio so I went to the water mixable oils which are supposed to be better for you. I brought this question up on wetcanvas.com and got myself in a real good bit of trouble with the oil folks. Anyways I now mostly use water soluble oils for my children's book art because it dries faster like acrylics and yet has some of the same characteristics as regular oils. Now after using them for some time I am beginning to notice things about them that I don't like. FOr instance, water mixable oil seems to leave little nibs on the paint surface, Dark colors seem to get dull when they dry (could be how thin I paint) and I just plain don't like that they dry faster on the palette than regular oils. I also bought a couple of the mediums designed for them and they don't really seem to do what they say they do. I wonder if you have had any experience with the?
ReplyDeleteNot much to say about glazing, ;) Just to confirm to be careful not to "over glaze"
ReplyDeleteI like this rock and water painting! Well done
John,
ReplyDeleteYes, over glazing is a typical problem. For some reason close up the glazes don't seem to be adding much effect.
I have tried the water based oils Matthew, but not as systematically as I would have liked in order to give a good report on them. I think the worst aspect of oil painting is using turpentine but if you use a low odor solvent like Gamblin Gamsol you should be okay. For me the water based oil seemed a bit too stiff, not necessarily thick, but stiff as if they needed some solvent added to just get the stuff off the brush. But it is something to consider especially since paint companies are making new breakthroughs and improvements all the time.
Thanks for your questions!