Newbe to water soluble oils

Hi, I'm new to this medium and while browsing through the topics, walnut oil and safflower oil has been mentioned to thin out the paints, is the walnut oil that is used the same as used for traditional oil paints, or is it modified walnut oil? Also, has anyone tried using purified poppy oil?

Hello cactikid,

All the medium I have seen for WSO are modified for the WSO. But I have read somewhere that you can use the non-WSO type medium with WSO but then you "might" loose the property of Water Solubility... Some members may chime in and tell you in detail.

I use and like the Linseed Oil, Stand Oil and the W&N thinner. I avoid Water as much as possible, because it tends to make the paint sticky, so it is best to use the W&N thinner. If you have to wash your brush or use the water then just simply dip the brush back into a medium of your choice and wipe the brush down and re-dip in the medium and you will be good to go.

Good luck.

Hi cactikid
Welcome to the forum.
As far as oils are concerned, I am very conservative about them, and about mixing those from other brands or traditional oils. I use the WN medium and thinner and varnish with WN, and Aqua products with those, etc.
I might be over cautious, just am not adventurous with them. 'just in case'.
Be sure to tell us how things go!

Thanks to you both for your replies, I've been using traditional oils for a few years and love them, but the hazards of the medium is a concern, so I'm going to do some experimenting with the water soluble oils. Your comments will be very helpful.

One other question I do have is the concern about the modified linseed oil yellowing, have either of you experienced this? Would the stand oil be better?

I have used stand oil, (I have some, anyway...) but don't recall whether i liked it, sorry, or whether there was a colour shift. I have definitely used Quick Drying (oil?) in order to meet a painting submission deadline. I didn't actually care for its 'feel', which seemed gummy. It was like adding honey to butter; but it did the trick, so worth using if you need to.
Best of luck

I use M. Graham Walnut Oil and sometimes mix in a bit of Winsor Newton Thinner. I use these with all my WMOs...Artisan, Lukas Berlin, Cobra, and Grumbacher Max. I know a few others that have used this for a long time with no problems. Need to use a little soap to clean the brushes when using walnut oil. Happy Painting.

I have been using WSO for a year and I don't know if one year is long enough to give any oppinion on yellowing...

I have used M. Graham Walnut oil for several years and have not had a problem with yellowing. I do use it sparingly as i do with any medium. I like painting right out of the tube whenever possible except in the early layers when I use W/N thinner. The walnut oil is the same as used in traditional oils, and is not modified for WSO. It cleans up with soap and water just as if you were washing a cook pan you had put oil into.

Welcome to the forum. Feel free to ask more questions or to share your experiences as you experiment with the WS oils.

Judy

Hi, My name is Ronnie65. I'm a 66 yr. old male, retired Navy trying to learn something about painting. I"m new to oils of any kind. Started with acrylic's and I'm in a new world. I bought a course and really like the instruction, however nothing is mentioned about water-soluble oils.
I read I could mix linseed oil and mineral spirits, ratio: 1/3 to 2/3. If i gesso my canvas, let dry, then put a light coat of the mixture on will that allow my paints to flow better or do I need to dip in mixture during painting. I bought Winsor & Newton Paints. Ok for beginner?
I'm glad for a forum and folk willing to help. thanks in advance.

Hi Ronnie,
Welcome to the forum. I'm assuming you bought the W/N water-soluble oils. It sounds like the information you are getting about linseed oil and mineral spirits is for regular oils. For the WS oils, you can just apply a thin film of walnut oil, or linseed oil specifically for WS oils. (I prefer walnut because linseed oi bothers my allergies.

Apply a light coat of the oil to the dry gessoed canvas and then lightly wipe it off with a paper towel so there is just a slight sheen but no puddling of the oil. This will help you paints flow smoothly onto the canvas. If you feel the paint is too stiff, which is sometime the case with W/N WSO's, you can put a puddle of paint on the palette and then dip the tip of you brush into W/N thinner an slowly add small amounts of the thinner until you get the consistency you want.

Don't hesitate to ask more questions if needed.

Judy

Thank You so much for the infomation and I'm really glad I found your forum.