Painting into the soup WSO

Hi. Making my first post here, I did find some information about mixing couch with WSO mediums but wanted to ask something bit more specific.

The effect I am looking for is "painting into the soup" and Jos Van Riswick has some nice time-lapse videos of his paintings online, it just looks so effortless how everything blends and moves around. He states on his website that he uses 1/2 stand oil with 1/2 liquin for this medium that dries in a day, he does not use any solvents. I tried mixing linseed oil with some walnut alkyd for similar effect but found that it makes the paint dissolve quite bit and wiping thinner layer of oil cuts down the effect too much.

Anyway, I have ordered WN stand oil for their WSO paints I am using but before that arrives thought to ask if someone would have any experience to share. I understood that walnut alkyd could be used to substitute Liquin to some extent accelerating the dying time and I am thinking to experiment adding it to stand oil. Linseed oil seems to be too thin and stand oil should help with that and walnut oil is really slippery.

Thanks.

Hi Luke, I have some limited experience with Artisan (W&N) Fast Drying Medium and their Artisan Stand Oil. Each one works as it is supposed to; one accelerates drying *but adding FDM was like painting with glue, the other slows drying. I have had paintings crack due to me not knowing the 'fat over lean' principle, so I tend to be very conservative in terms of tinkering with mixing mediums and other chemicals together... hope this might help a bit... ? alan

Thanks Alan, I read the same thing about their fast drying medium as well as their thinner that seems to work well. I just started experimenting with WSOs and Im trying to get the W&N paint flow nicely to begin with, so its pretty much basics at the moment. Its been nice to get good advice from here about different paints and mediums since I can't use traditional oils. Lets see if that stand oil will make a difference.

Hey Luke and welcome. So glad Alan was able to help with your question as he's the resident W&N Artisan expert.

I hope you'll let us know how the WN stand oil works for you as we're always interested in expanding our knowledge about the wso's & their mediums here.

Hi Luke,

Welcome to the forum. Are you having issues with paint not flowing properly with W&N?

Faisal

I've used the Walnut Alkyd as a medium and found that as long as you use the tiniest amount it works okay, but if you use very much of it then it takes longer to dry than regular walnut oil. Also, you'll need to clean your brushes while you're working as the walnut alkyd stops the easy cleaning of the WMO. Most people avoid Winsor Newton Artisan brand of oils, they are stickier and thicker than most other brands, although some people have been using them for years and have learned to work with them. Myself, I quit painting for a while because they were to difficult to work with. They are good for impasto painting, because they are so thick. Holbein Aquas are also a rather thick paint and are top of the line, Cobras are a looser paint. You might want to try the liquin with your project, it's still a fast dryer when you use more of it, but it will also stop the easy cleaning of WMO. Good luck and happy painting.

Hi Faisal and Crystal, now after using W&N thinner and not too much medium its fine. I did notice that stand oil with walnut alkyd does give more body to paint compared to linseed. Brushstrokes do not mix together so much making paint handle better and blending when you want it easier when its bit sticky in a good way.

Thats good to know about Walnut alkyd, I did notice quickly that its really slippery too if used too much.
Actually have any of you used Oleogel or Velazquez Medium with WSOs? I guess you can use them to get same effect as with traditional oils, only making washing bit harder.

Glad to see you, Luke, and that some of the others could answer questions for you. I used the walnut alkyd briefly but had to stop using it because it triggered breathing problems for me, the same reason I switched from traditional oil. Also, like Alan, I had some cracking of paint and I'm not sure if it was because I used too much or put a leaner layer of paint over the fatter, faster drying paint.

Keep us posted on you experiment.

Hi Luke,

I strongly recommend newcomers to WSO to start withe Holbein as they mix well with water and less head ache. Artisan W&N can become very gummy with water, so I tell newcomers to avoid it as much as possible.

Take Care,

Faisal

I've never used either Oleogel or Velazquez Medium so can't help you with information about them. But, as you yourself said, anything not designed to be used with WSO won't clean up with soap and water.

I have a tube of Cobra WMO Painting Paste 087, as far as I can tell it should be similar to oleogel. The Cobra WMO painting paste is made to be used with WMO, so you should be able to keep the easy cleaning of WMOs with it. I haven't yet mixed it with WN Artisans, but would expect it too work ok with the Artisans. Good luck and happy painting.