I’ve painted with watercolor and acrylic. I’m planning to try water soluble oil this summer, hence my reason for watching you. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Loved this video, thanks for it! Just wanted to address the issue of regular oils as a medium. I wish I wish: people understood something important about regular oils. They are pigments in an oil carrier. The oil is safflower, or walnut or other pure oils, basically. They DON'T contain solvents. The "solvent" can be......MORE OIL. Yes. Safflower or walnut works. Now if you want to use a medium to SLOW the rate of drying, you use perhaps linseed or stand oil. If you want to speed up drying, you use something like a quicker drying medium, and those have stinky solvents and other unpleasant things. I use that with pure whites or white tints, because white takes a long time to dry. But the smell of JUST oil paint is pleasant and nutty, sort of like pencil crayons, (to me). So like one commenter said: she used vegetable oil to clean her brushes (make sure you get the vegetable oil OUT of your brushes afterward) or just wipe the brush on a rag, dip in oil, work it around on the pallet, and repeat till your brush is clean. If I'm painting several days in a row, I just do the above, and then dip them in safflower oil with a few drops of clove oil per the advice of the wonder Mark Carder at Draw Mix Paint. The brushes stay fresh for 4-5 days, and you can re-dip your brush after a few days and keep them going that way. I might use one or two TABLESPOONS of odorless solvents per painting. Mostly I don't use it at all. THEREFORE: oil painting can be almost entirely solvent free, and if you're not in a hurry, you can work entirely solvent free. Don't need to worry about smells. FYI, I am very concerned about health and safety. I get headaches smelling solvents where no one else can smell a thing. the tiniest amounts of toxic chemicals make me sick. I too had a lot of misconceptions about oils. I do very little clean-up after a session. I absolutely don't know how y'all deal with acrylics. I sometimes do an under-painting with acrylics, and I hate having to endlessly wash brushes or worry that my brush will dry out or that I have to match a colour that just went off. And yes I know there are slowing mediums for acrylics. Obviously: there's a million mediums for us to work with, but traditional oils are safe. Like all our other materials: don't eat them, or forget that we absorb toxic substances through our skin. Read the safety data sheets. Keep it clean if you can! And good luck to us all :)
My favorite is walnut oil! Thank you so much for this comment-- so many important tips and tricks to consider. I'm also extremely sensitive to solvents and smells, so finding alternative ways is always beneficial! - Mia, Art Prof Staff
Okay, I'm binging this channel wwy to much 😂 but it's really fun to see you work! I'm always super frustrated with paints because everytime I try them I feel like the brush gets in the way (I'm used to graphite) it feels to me like I'm using my foot instead of hand accuracy wise 😅 (not to mention the colors!!! Those evil divas who keep on fighting each other!) But this technique might actually work form me, this seems fun.
I'm primarily using digital for "painting", but I find that it's still incredibly useful to observe traditional paintings. Techniques often translate between mediums. I've started with pen and pencil, but have dabbled in acrylic and am trying to get better with color. It's odd, I intellectually understand color, but have a hard time utilizing my understanding in practice.
Some folks believe that too much water will break down the binder of the paint, so a lot of folks will go get a water mixable oil medium. (There’s a lot of them on Amazon!) but I’ve also heard some say that the water will almost immediately evaporate and the oil paint is all that remains. I think it depends on the painting surface too though, whether or not it’s gonna stick well! I’ve used water mixable oils super thinned down, and haven’t had any paint flaking away.
I dispose of paint water by using cheap cat litter from dollar tree in a plastic shoe box in my bathroom. I live in an apartment in Florida, so outside is not an option and would never evaporate because of high humidity.
Watch our stream on painting a still life with water mixable oils: ua-cam.com/video/HFz0L2XzwlE/v-deo.html
I’ve painted with watercolor and acrylic. I’m planning to try water soluble oil this summer, hence my reason for watching you. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Water soluble oils are a really great option if you don't have facilities with really good ventilation! -Prof Lieu
Loved this video, thanks for it! Just wanted to address the issue of regular oils as a medium.
I wish I wish: people understood something important about regular oils. They are pigments in an oil carrier. The oil is safflower, or walnut or other pure oils, basically. They DON'T contain solvents. The "solvent" can be......MORE OIL. Yes. Safflower or walnut works. Now if you want to use a medium to SLOW the rate of drying, you use perhaps linseed or stand oil. If you want to speed up drying, you use something like a quicker drying medium, and those have stinky solvents and other unpleasant things. I use that with pure whites or white tints, because white takes a long time to dry. But the smell of JUST oil paint is pleasant and nutty, sort of like pencil crayons, (to me). So like one commenter said: she used vegetable oil to clean her brushes (make sure you get the vegetable oil OUT of your brushes afterward) or just wipe the brush on a rag, dip in oil, work it around on the pallet, and repeat till your brush is clean. If I'm painting several days in a row, I just do the above, and then dip them in safflower oil with a few drops of clove oil per the advice of the wonder Mark Carder at Draw Mix Paint. The brushes stay fresh for 4-5 days, and you can re-dip your brush after a few days and keep them going that way. I might use one or two TABLESPOONS of odorless solvents per painting. Mostly I don't use it at all.
THEREFORE: oil painting can be almost entirely solvent free, and if you're not in a hurry, you can work entirely solvent free. Don't need to worry about smells. FYI, I am very concerned about health and safety. I get headaches smelling solvents where no one else can smell a thing. the tiniest amounts of toxic chemicals make me sick. I too had a lot of misconceptions about oils. I do very little clean-up after a session. I absolutely don't know how y'all deal with acrylics. I sometimes do an under-painting with acrylics, and I hate having to endlessly wash brushes or worry that my brush will dry out or that I have to match a colour that just went off. And yes I know there are slowing mediums for acrylics. Obviously: there's a million mediums for us to work with, but traditional oils are safe. Like all our other materials: don't eat them, or forget that we absorb toxic substances through our skin. Read the safety data sheets. Keep it clean if you can! And good luck to us all :)
My favorite is walnut oil! Thank you so much for this comment-- so many important tips and tricks to consider. I'm also extremely sensitive to solvents and smells, so finding alternative ways is always beneficial! - Mia, Art Prof Staff
Okay, I'm binging this channel wwy to much 😂 but it's really fun to see you work!
I'm always super frustrated with paints because everytime I try them I feel like the brush gets in the way (I'm used to graphite) it feels to me like I'm using my foot instead of hand accuracy wise 😅 (not to mention the colors!!! Those evil divas who keep on fighting each other!)
But this technique might actually work form me, this seems fun.
I'm primarily using digital for "painting", but I find that it's still incredibly useful to observe traditional paintings. Techniques often translate between mediums. I've started with pen and pencil, but have dabbled in acrylic and am trying to get better with color. It's odd, I intellectually understand color, but have a hard time utilizing my understanding in practice.
I totally understand this!! Somehow when I have to put my knowledge to real world use, it becomes foreign to me... - Mia, Art Prof Staff
Is there a Part 2 or is the final Version of the piece posted somewhere?
Not yet! I'm hoping to do a part 2 at some point. -Prof Lieu
Ohh I wish I had caught this live. Can I ask why not use a bit of water and medium at the beginning to make the paint run better?
You can totally do that! Underpaintings are fun because you can mess around and know it'll all be covered up, more or less. - Mia, Art Prof Staff
Winsor and Newton makes a thinner specifically for the water mixable oils.
I've gotta invest in that... - Mia, Art Prof Staff
The Ampersand panels are expensive. I paint on canvas pads taping individual sheets on drawing board. Then I mount the canvas afterwards.
Incredible! - Mia, Art Prof Staff
Instead of using water soluble paint for underpainting, can you use acrylic instead?
Definitely! You can put pretty much any paint over acrylic, you just can't put acrylic over oils. -Prof Lieu
Acrylic is a bit absorbent, sucks oil out of upper oil paint layers - which makes it harder to work wet in wet. This can be good or bad
I''m confused. It's water mixable paint but Clara is adding medium. Why not use water?
Some folks believe that too much water will break down the binder of the paint, so a lot of folks will go get a water mixable oil medium. (There’s a lot of them on Amazon!) but I’ve also heard some say that the water will almost immediately evaporate and the oil paint is all that remains. I think it depends on the painting surface too though, whether or not it’s gonna stick well! I’ve used water mixable oils super thinned down, and haven’t had any paint flaking away.
You can use both! I like using walnut oil for the shine, even if they're water mixable paints - Mia, Art Prof Staff
I dispose of paint water by using cheap cat litter from dollar tree in a plastic shoe box in my bathroom. I live in an apartment in Florida, so outside is not an option and would never evaporate because of high humidity.
Oh wow, I've never heard of this technique before! It seems really effective - Mia, Art Prof Staff