I paint with both water-mixable oils and traditional oils, and I get a wide variety of responses when people discover this. Everything from rude negativity (“what crap is that?”) to nods from those in the know (“I use them too, aren’t they great!”). It’s rather funny, as most art supplies don’t have groupies or naysayers like this… The lovers and the haters of water-mixables.
You would think there would be a safe middle ground, but unfortunately, outright suspicion of water-mixable paints (oil and water shouldn’t mix, right?); or rejection of new science as bogus, can make artists retreat to tried-and-true materials. But technological advances have given us: lightfast pigments, more colors, and safer paint than ever before. The old masters would KILL to have our paint choices, I’m sure. So, let’s take another look at water-mixable paints with an open mind.
Water-mixable oils (also known as water-miscible or water-soluble) can be a great asset to oil painters if you know some secrets to get started. I’ve had more than one artist friend confess they tried them, but ‘tossed them all out’ wondering why anyone likes them at all. However, if used correctly, you will see why many artist’s are very excited about these paints.
What’s Not To Love?
Water-mixable oils sound great: artist-grade pigments, easy clean-up, no solvent needed. They also dry faster in general than traditional oils thus great for travel, or under-painting with ‘lean’ layers.
Looking Past the Label: A Little Science Lesson
Yes, they are ‘real’ oils, just like traditionally formulated ones. Water-mixable paints in the tube contain no water, only oil/binder, pigment, and additives such as resin or emulsifiers. The big factor for most people is understanding how this ‘oil and water’ idea even can work. However, there is solid science behind the paint which has been around since 1990. Different brands of paint use different elements to allow the oil and water to mix. Either a fatty acid molecule in the oil has been modified or removed to allow for binding with water, or an emulsifier has been added. Sometimes it’s a mix of factors. This is not necessarily a scary thing or ‘too new’ to use without question (like genetically altered food); oil and water have been mixed for centuries to make creamy things like mayonnaise, or tempera paint, with egg as an emulsifier. Also, we must remember that artists for centuries have been experimenting with new ways to paint. Someone invented oil painting in the 15th century after all… It was not always around.
Benefits Of Water-Mixables:
Better For Your Health, as there is no need for solvent. Simply use water as your ‘solvent’ to thin the water-mixable paints and for clean up. You can tone your canvas, wipe areas out, or create a ‘watercolor’ thin under painting. Solvents are not healthy as all have a warning label, including so-called ‘green’ ones. Newer OMS solvents (Odorless Mineral Spirits) such as Gamesol still gass off harmful vapors, you just can’t smell them, unlike turpentine which has a powerful smell. Allergies to solvent can develop suddenly or gradually over time. You may not even know you have a sensitivity (this can appear as headache or fatigue; or more severely as hives, light-headedness and shortness of breath). Interestingly, solvent as a paint medium/thinner has not been in use all that long in the history of oil painting… so perhaps we should be taking a look at the archival nature of solvent in oil painting as well? But that’s another blog post I think…
Faster Dry Time. Water-mixables dry in about half the drying time of traditional oils. The paints actually have two dry times. For thin watery mixes (like a watercolor wash or canvas tone) the water evaporates rapidly and is mostly dry to the light touch in 5-10 minutes. You can still re-wet areas to wipe out or re-mix. At this stage it is possible to start more direct painting, or layering with thicker strokes. To let a thin tone or grisalle layer fully dry (via oxidation) wait at least until the next day. The thicker the paint application (the less water used), the more your dry times will increase. Paint that contains a lot of oil already such as Cadmiums can take longer to dry.
Clean Up Is Very Easy. Just use soap and water. Also great for travel.
Excellent For Layers/OK to Intermix With Other Oils. Because the paints dry quickly if you know you like to layer, you can start your artwork with water-mixable oil paints and then move into more full-paint layers, or on to traditional oils (since the dry time is more with traditional oils they are therefore ‘fatter’). You can inter-mix traditional and the water-mixables if you are painting directly. Once you cross over a 20% ratio (approximately) the water-mixable quality gets lost. You can intermix brands of water-mixable paints. Although manufactures say it’s safe to intermix these paints with other media (watercolor, acrylic, alkyd) I would be cautious here. I believe after researching this paint, that with too much mixed stuff it is hard to control the dry times of the paint layers. The only trouble I ever had with these paints was when I used Alkyd Titanium White and Quick Dry water-mixable gel medium for heavy applications of pastel whites (fine cracks developed after a few years, in a few studies done on panel).
Traditional oil paint still has it’s place, especially for those who like a long time to maneuver wet paint on the canvas. Currently my favorite way to work is to start with water-mixable in one or a few colors, and then switch to traditional oils for the longer dry time. I still paint without any solvent when using traditional oils and use a variety of techniques to get by. I freeze my brushes for the next paint session (used paint is still in the brush). If I need a clean brush I’ll dip it repeatedly in oil to free excess pigment.
Drawbacks Of Water-Mixables:
Avoiding Sticky Paint. If you are not careful with how you use the paints they can become sticky, which is very unpleasant to paint with. Avoid using the paints with a small amount of water, as they don’t thin very well with a few dots of water (to make it more viscous). Instead, a little water-mixable linseed oil or water-mixable medium will work wonders to make the paint more spreadable. Ironically, it’s fine to thin the paints with a lot of water (to make a puddle that looks like milk) to start your drawing or ‘block-in’ stage, grisalle layer, or to tone the canvas. Remember, that this watery layer should only be an under-painting. Layers that are too thin will not stand up to the ravages of time and are not archival. Some paint brands such as Cobra are inherently more creamy right from the tube, thus avoiding the sticky range for the most part.
Paints can freeze more quickly in winter conditions if you paint outside in the winter.
Rain Texture. Paints will not work well in the rain or mist (obviously), although rain can create some interesting texture effects, so this could be a good thing.
Paints can dry with a more matte finish, but a simple varnish layer, or working with a medium or a touch of oil will fix this.
Will These Paints Last?
Remember these are ‘real’ oils (not alkyd or acrylic) and we know oils last for centuries if they are painted on a proper surface with good techniques (‘fat-over-lean,’ etc.) and cared for. Studies so far show these paints to be very archivally sound. I will say that although current and past scientific studies were referenced frequently, (I did talk to a technician who worked in a lab), no manufacture provided me with actual papers or concrete published studies with hard data. So, I’d say more sharing can be done in this arena. On a personal note, I have a painting that was done with Max (Grumbacher) paints on canvas in 1998 that has a paint film in perfect condition with no cracks or color distortion (I keep it to remind me about my early oils). It’s been carted around the country in several moves and stored in less than ideal conditions in the back room or unheated garage.
Brand Comparison/Reviews of Water-Mixable Paints:
There are several major paint manufacturers of water-mixable oil paints: Grumbacher (Max – nice, great colors, but can be stiff), Holbien (Duo – very nice, a bit more expensive) and Winsor & Newton (Artisan – can be smelly, contains only ‘hue’ colors, and has somewhat less pigment load, also can remain sticky when dry), and Royal Talens (Cobra – newer brand, very nice buttery consistency, yet some colors are ‘off’ such as the too-pale cadmium yellows and a too-strident French Ultramarine). Newer brands have come on the market: such as Weber (sOil), Lukas (Berlin), Daniel Smith, and Reeves, I have not tried these. Each brand seems to have their quirks. I use a mix of MAX, Cobra, and Duo paints.
(For full disclosure I don’t work for any paint manufacture and currently do not have any contract with any company to promote their paints.)
As you can see there is more to explore with water-mixable paints, but they do offer a wealth of choices and opportunity for the artist of today. Perhaps in time these will be the new way to paint with oils, and we will scorn the old days of when people painted with that awful toxic solvent!