Jackson's Aqua Oils?

Hi all. I'm new to the forum, and might post a proper introduction in the proper place at some point. In the meantime I was wondering if anyone - probably only applicable to UK based painters - had tried Jackson's in house brand of WS oils?

I can't post the link because I'm new and they (rightly) don't want me to spam you. If you go to the Jackson's Art online shop, they can be found in the water soluble oils section as Jackson's Aqua Oils.

I haven't painted for a few years due to time/space constraints and think that WS is probably the best way to start again, since I live in a tiny house with my grandmother and don't want to stink the place out with solvents. (Finding a place to paint is another question since I like to work big)

I'll probably just get a few Artisans to start me off, but I've heard that these and Cobra can be a little thin at times and I'd like a paint that holds brushstrokes and is suitable for impasto in the long run. I'd rather do this out of the tube than need to add a medium (I'd rather add a medium to thicker paint when I want it thinner than vice versa). Obviously Holbein is very recommended, but also expensive, so I'll probably just get a few colours here and there as I can. Lukas Berlin sounds cheap and cheerful and like the texture would probably suit me, but I can only find one UK company selling it (not that I can't buy some from them). Anyway, as I said at the beginning, I was wondering if anyone had tried Jackson's Aqua Art - also cheep and cheerful by the looks of it - and what you thought of them?

To be fair, at that price, there isn't really any reason not to get a few and see how they are myself. I'll let you know how I get on if I do.

Thanks for sharing.... what does it cost, including cost of shipment. Does it get tacky with water. Holbein is very good that way, it does not get tacky with water and that is my primary reason for using it.

Welcome to the forum. I'm glad you took the time to ask. I haven't heard of Jackson's, but I have used Artisan, Cobra and Holbein. Artisans are the least expensive and I have never found them to be too thin, if anything quite thick, except for color hue paints which have less pigment and are thinner. Cobra and Holbeins are both great right out of the tube.

I would suggest getting a few small tubes of different brands and trying them out on small canvases until you feel confident with which ones meet your needs. Then go big.

I'll have to look up the website and see how they compare to the ones I have used.

Thanks for your quick replies and welcomes.

The paints are pretty cheap, around £3.70 for 56ml (they say the RRP is higher, but since they're the only place manufacturing and selling it, I'm not quite sure how that works) or £21 (RRP: £36) for a set of 8x56ml tubes. I imagine they can pass on some savings to the customer from producing 'in house' and the packaging is pretty simple, but I'm not expecting professional grade at that price. Shipping depends on your total order and weight, but seems reasonable - £3.75 standard.

Judy - I think you're right about experimenting with different brands. Do you know if there can be problems using branded mediums with paints from other brands?

Hi HT,

I use walnut oil rather than WSO linseed oil because I don't tolerate the smell of linseed. It works in all brands and still keeps them water-soluble. You still clean your brushes with soap and water.

Cobras and Holbeins thin down well with small amounts of water. Artisans DO NOT. They become tacky. I use Artisans thinner for all three of the brands and am very happy with that.

Other than that, I don't use other mediums. I have tried Graham's walnut alkyd as a quick drying medium, but that triggers my allergies very badly so I don't use it. To avoid the frustration of waiting for something to dry enough to add more layers, I try to focus on different areas of the painting each day to give other areas time to dry, or I work on several paintings at the same time.

Faisal has been experimenting with clove oil to slow drying time so he can blend more easily over a prolonged period of time. he might fill you in on that.

Sorry! I went directly to my questions, rather than welcoming you HT.. . So here is a warm Texas Welcome to you... .

I use Walnut Oil (on Judys suggestion) and love it. I have also used Linseed Oil, but I don't think the flow is that great with it.

However these days I am using Clove Oil to prevent quick drying. Please follow the link below for the discussion: https://watersolubleoils.forumotion.com/t879-clove-oil-to-slow-oxidation

You just need to read the first page of the discussion and you will get the idea... I am loving Clove oil as it is liberating and I can leave my work and go about doing other chores around the house.

HT, I have heard about Jackson's Watermixable Oils, but I've never used them. I heard that they are available in the UK, but not in North America. I understand that they are a fairly good quality, at a reasonable price. Actually, 2 of the people that used them believed them to be the best WMO they had ever tried, and at a cheaper price than anything in the USA. It was the Americans that thought it was fairly good, but not the best. I would definitely try a tube or two, to see if they work for you.

Sometimes you need to be careful with buying sets. Companies often put some of their cheapest paints in the sets, not the colors that will work the best for you. But, if you're buying a small set, just to see what they're like, it could be okay. Sometimes I look at a set of 6 colors and realize that in the long run, I'll probably end up using just 1 or 2 of the colors. Good luck with everything. Hope you like this forum.

Crsytal - Good to hear what you've heard. And thanks for the heads up about sets. And yes the forum is great, there's so much information. I think I'm going to try a few colours from Jackson's and some Artisans, so I'll let everyone know how I get on.

Thanks for the info on mediums - I mentioned both the walnut and the clove oils to my mum who has been painting for years (although has mostly been doing sculpture recently) and she said that she'd never used either before and is really interested to try them.

Jackson's offer titanium whites with either linseed or safflower base with only a few pence difference in price. Would there be a particular reason to use one over the other?

Hello I was just wondering if you have tried the stuff from jacksons and how do you find them?

Hi Stevegahan & welcome.

We haven't heard from HT to know whether they got the Jackson's products or not. I think most of us participating here these days are from the US or Canada and don't order from Jackson's much, if any.

I'm like Crystal though & have heard they're good products. If you happen to try any of them, please report back and tell us how you like them.

HI Stevengahan,
Welcome to the forum. I'm glad that you have taken the time to browse through topics. sorry we couldn't give you an answer, perhaps someone else may be able to. Hope to see you around the forum more.
Judy

Hi Steve

Luckily I have email alerts for this thread.

I did indeed get several of the Jackson's Aqua Oils and I was overall quite pleased with the quality, although they are definitely produced as a student rather than professional range, as you might expect from the price.

I found that the pigments are, on the whole, vibrant, with good saturation. I find them very easy to work with - they mix well, and handle well. They range in consistency, from fairly stiff to looser and more oily (the transparent colours tend to be a bit thinner), but that is a good thing, since it means that they aren't being made uniform with extra filler. In terms of drying times, I found that they are actually quite slow drying (at least when used with walnut oil), but not excessively so, and the paint will stay wet on your palette for a decent amount of time. I can't really comment on longevity because I haven't really had them very long.

They are the only WS oils I have tried, so I can't really compare to other brands.

I should really get some swatches up for people to look at, but I haven't painted for a little while because I'm back at uni and pretty busy with it. Also my grandmother broke her hip this weekend, so I probably won't have time to dig out my painting stuff for a few weeks at least.

Anyway, I hope this helps. I'd definitely recommend these, especially if you're new to WS Oils, or as an alternative to Artisans (if you're regularly using Holbein Duo's then you're a) richer than me and b) spoiled for other brands). Besides, they're really cheap (I've just checked and they're on sale atm) so definitely worth getting a few and seeing if you like them.

Oh, and if you do get them, the little stars on the label indicate lightfastness.

Thank you all for your replies. I'm glad to have found a site with so much info on wso.thanks ht I'll give them a go. By the way I'm using artisan. I too am not well off, and honestly now, I have five kids to feed. :-)I'll give the Jackson brand a go and see how I get on. Thank you for your time. Steve

Artisan may be cheap, but they are difficult to use... especially if you are new to painting.

Faisal

Actually, I rather like Lukas Berlin WMOs and find them to be very similar to Cobra by Talens. I use both brands and have to look at the label to see which one I'm using since they seem to feel the same. I bought a lot of Artisans to start with and quit painting altogether for a while, because they were so difficult for me to handle. Good luck with all your painting.

Stevegahan. Don't give up up on the Artisans you all ready have. Artisan WSO Thinner for leaner "thinning" and walnut oil for fatter "thinning " totally eliminated the handling problems for me.

I've been painting with Artisan for about 7 years. It's true that there are better paints (Cobra, for one) but I have made my peace with Artisans, and use them a lot.