Water Miscible Oil Paints (WMOs)

When the thought of painting with oils popped into my head, I knew this would be an interesting adventure for me.  I had visited a studio in Old Town and watched several artists painting with oils.  I was intrigued, captured, and just in awe of their masterpieces.  I noticed there were various levels of skills.  A few artists invited me closer to inspect their work of art and told me their stories.  They invited me to sign up for the classes/workshops (waiting list).  At that point, I felt like I was surrounded by an extended family.  That was a wonderful experience for me.

If I was to get into oil painting, I knew there would be some "issues" to deal with.  I've heard about mediums or thinners that have strong odors and could potentially be a fire hazard (e.g. using rags for clean up).  My designated studio area is part of the living area in our house and it would be hard to ventilate/open windows in the middle of winter.

I did some research over the Internet and came up with a solution...Water Miscible Oils or WMOs.  Also known as Water Mixable Oils.  I won't be going into details about the chemical makeup of these oils, but I do want to mention that these oils are great to paint with and also easy to clean up.  WMOs are made from modified binders and with the resulting formula there is no need to use turpentine or mineral spirits.  They say you can mix water with these oil paints, but I prefer not to.  Instead I use the modified Linseed oil or Thinner from the same manufacturer for the WMOs.  No harmful fumes to deal with.  The WMOs handles and paints just like traditional oil paints.

I am currently using Winsor and Newton's Artisan WMOs.  Some artists say these are student grade paints while others consider them to be close to artist grade.  I've seen reference to being economically priced...which they are.  I bought a set of these at Michael's to try out.  Thank goodness for coupons.  The set came with basic colors.  I've learned to use the three primary colors (red, blue, and yellow) and then mix them to create the other colors.  I also purchased the Artisan Thinner.  I'm glad I did.  I have found certain colors to be quite stiff right out of the tubes.  Mixing the stiff paint with a bit of thinner creates a creamier mixture.

The Artisan paint colors that are stiff out of the tubes are:  Titanium white, Zinc white, and Lemon Yellow.  Typically when I mix another color that is creamy with the stiff paint, the mixture becomes creamy as well.

They dry to the touch within 2 to 12 days depending on the colors used.

As I mentioned before, clean up is really easy.  I use Palmolive Clear dishwashing soap to clean my brushes and my acrylic palette and rinse with warm water.

My well used W&N Artisan WMOs come in 40 colors (England)

Another brand of WMO is Cobra by Royal Talens, recently introduced in 2010.  I purchased a set on sale.  I've heard these are artist grade paints and are consistently creamy out of the tubes.  They are probably in the mid-range as far as price.  

Cobra by Royal Talens in 70 colors (Dutch)

Here is the most expensive WMOs...Holbien Duo Aqua Oils.  To my surprise, I found these at my local art shop.  I first saw them online and have found many artists love using the Holbiens.  They are considered artist/professional grade paints with high pigment content.  Out of the tube, I've read they are buttery and consistent.  They dry in about 24 hours.  I really believe that depends on the colors used and if mixed with modified linseed oil.  I think it would dry a bit longer than advertised.  I couldn't resist picking up a few tubes to try.  It doesn't hurt to try, right?

Holbien Duo Aqua Oils available in 80 colors (Japan)

Now, for the not so expensive paints, I present Lukas Berlin.  Dries to touch in 2 to 4 days.  I've heard mixed reviews as to whether they are student or artist grade paints.  They have a buttery texture consistently out of the tube.  For the price, I have to give them a try.  As far as availability, I've found these at Jerry's Artarama.

Lukas Berlin WMOs available in 30 colors (Germany)

I will be updating this post from time to time as I start to use these brands of WMOs and provide comments, likes, dislikes, and recommendations.

Painted Tonight...Christmas Candles

I did a quick painting tonight.  I ended up using 8 brushes to paint this small painting.

Yellow Ochre wash sketch

Painted in the dark value

Decided to paint the candles next

The finished painting...Christmas Candles

My palette.  The only color I did not use was the blue...which turned out blah!

Another Painting in Progress...My Second Rose

I'm glad I took a short break from painting.  I was having a problem getting inspired.  My quick sketches and drawings kept me in practice (e.g. learning to look).  I was able to get some rest over this long weekend.  After I dropped my brother off at the airport, I came home to paint.  I thought I was going to paint one of my sketches, but decided at the last minute to paint another rose from one of my photographs. 

So, here is my work in progress: 

Quick sketch in Yellow Ochre thinned wash

Painted the dark value

Painted the mid value and started the light value

Values completed

Painted a bit more details and blended the values

Still a work in progress

I have to laugh at myself.  At one point during my painting session, I had three brushes and my palette in my left hand.  I ended up getting paint everywhere.  You can see on my canvas paper some mistakes where my brush and my hand got in the way.   Here's the result after 1-1/2 hours of painting:

Not a Rose-y Day

I've been trying to paint at least 2-3 hours a week...if I'm lucky.  If the week nights are busy, I wait to do the 2-3 hours on the weekend.  That's the goal I've set to become proficient at this new hobby.

Today, I allocated some hours to paint after I was done with teaching a knitting class.  I thought the class would take 2 to 2-1/2 hours the most.  It went for 4 hours.  I was one tired puppy.

It took an hour to put away all the knitting stuff and then collect myself in front of my canvas and arrange the paints, palette knives, and miscellaneous art stuff.  This blank canvas stared back at me:

I've been collecting pictures of stuff to paint (e.g. flowers, blueberries, our beloved beagle, some buildings, etc).  I pulled out a picture of a pink rose and thought it would be an interesting challenge for me.  So, here's my sketch in a thinned yellow ochre wash:  

I have to tell you, my heart was not in the mood to paint.  I could tell as I was mixing the colors for the pink rose and then for the green foilage (or lack of) and background, I just wasn't happy with the colors.  So, I trudged along and applied the paint to the canvas panel and this was the so-so results of my efforts:  

I decided not to touch the painting anymore and let it sit and dry for the next few days.  Was I trying to tackle a subject that was way over my head?  Not really.  I've done several pencil sketches of roses and other flowers...it's not a new subject for me.  Was it because I was using a cheap canvas panel?  That may have something to do with it...it was from Walmart.  Was I too tired to paint?  Yes!

Lessons learned:  (1) not to use cheap art materials.  I'm using good paint and great brushes.  What was that?  You get what you paid for?  I know, I know.  No more cheapie canvas panels.  (2) Not to attempt too many hobbies in one day.  (3) Stay on target and focus on the hobby (e.g. painting) that I want to work on.

Back to the drawing board....

Three Applies Painting

This evening,  I got a chance to sit and paint for a few hours.  I went ahead and finished my apples painting by adding in the shadows and then painting the white paper towel underneath.

Three Apples (close up)

Rough sketch on the left and the final painting

I'm going to leave the painting as is and call it "done".  I've been learning that the more I touch something, the more I overwork it.  Simple and less is better.

Now, I'm off to look for a photo to paint from.  I've got thousands to look at.  Sigh!

Three Apples - WIP

In less than two weeks, I'm on my fifth oil painting which is an apple study.  I used titanium white, lemon yellow, alizarin crimson, cerulean blue and yellow ochre.  The three primary colors represent cool colors.

My palette of mixed colors

Used yellow ochre mixed with thinner to create a light wash for my outline

Still a work in progress...to be completed later this week

Two More Paintings on Values and Secondary Colors

Here's my third oil painting called 'Secondary Colors'.  This represents the purple, green, and orange colors that are created by mixing the primary colors of red, yellow, and blue.  I then mixed the purple, green, and orange colors to create the background colors.  I also used some titanium white to create the lighter colors.  I have to wait a few days for this painting to dry before I can finish it.

My second painting represents another take on values, but in the color blue.  I used Ultramarine Blue and Titanium White to create the values.  Before I finish this painting, I have to wait a few more days for the painting to dry.  

I'm trying to figure out if I should paint the background first and let it thoroughly dry and then paint the objects.  Currently, I'm painting the objects first and then painting the background.  This method makes it harder to paint in between the objects.

My New Hobby...Oil Painting

I've been interested in drawing/sketching since Jr High when I took the required art class, but I never pursued a career in the arts.  Let alone an education in that field.  In 2000, I picked up watercolor painting. I took a local class that got me off to the wrong start.  One, may paintings were miserable looking and two, my instructor wasn't that good.  That was a short lived hobby.  In 2002, I decided to get back into watercolors and took an 8-weeik course at an Old Town shop.  I studied with a wonderful lady, Karyn, who painted beautiful and lively scenes.  I wanted to paint like her.  My painting skills improved immensely as she introduced me to artist/professional paints and brushes.  That made a huge difference.  I continued painting for another year or so.

Since then, I have taken on additional hobbies like sewing and knitting garments and accessories.  I really enjoyed spending time in my fiber arts.  My short lived painting experiences helped me see a gamut of colors, hues, and textures.

Now, I've taken up oil painting.  I looked around for classes, but decided to learn this new hobby on my own.  The money I would have spent for lessons, was instead used for my new supplies (paints, palettes, and brushes).

My first oil painting called 'Values'

After playing around with the oils, I can honestly say that I enjoy it more than watercolors.  I did a wet-on-wet or single layer painting technique called Alla Prima.  It took only two hours to complete this painting.  

Here's my mini painting studio area:

My painting area.  One of my watercolor paintings is hanging on the wall (upper right)

I got the hang of holding the palette in my hand and didn't feel any fatigue.  It felt natural.  I also managed to hold additional brushes and a paper towel in the same hand.  I do need to get a larger palette once I start painting and mixing additional colors.  

My clear acrylic palette