Testing water soluble oil paint.

 

Testing Water soluble oil paint

For those who share their studio area in the same floor with the living area, have a septic field independent of county facilities, or, who have over the years developed skin reactions for hazardous solvents, water soluble oils may provide perfect solution.

Water soluble oil paint is oil paint that has been formulated to dissolve with water, without the aid of traditional oil solvents. For the purposes of this exercise I used Windsor & Newton Artisan Water Mixable Oil Colours, black and white, accompanied with Water mixable thinner and stand oil.

I painted on a Masonite board which I gessoed, sanded, and wiped clean. I toned the board with a layer of yellow casein.

The test subject is a photograph of a bust of Alfred Lord Tennyson by William Ordway Partridge.

To begin, I mixed gray scale on my palette to get starting values correct, then I would blend the variation of light directly on the painting. Neither the thinner nor the stand oil was used to mix the gradients.

As the painting developed, the stand oil was mixed the same as the thinner as needed, and in small amounts, in order to help achieve the desired effect with this particular surface. In this respect, it is the same as with traditional oil.

Generally speaking painting on a gessoed board tends to make most medium feel heavy, and that was the same case here. For those looking to replicate this exercise, but would like a smoother surface, you could cover the board with thin layer of acrylic medium over the tone layer. Alternatively, you could purchase an already gessoed board, which has a smoother surface.

In this study, it was important to use the paint a tad on the thick side, to judge drying times at the end of the exercise. I used a palette knife for the thickest lights.

The results of this exercise in terms of drying time and quality and comparable to those I would obtain with regular oil.