Artist Problems - Water Mixable Oil Mistakes

Water mixable oils, seems to me, to be one of the most misunderstood mediums in the paint world.  I would have thought it would be something like egg tempera or casein paint, but alas, I get the most questions about these anomalies of the art world- a water mixable oil paint.

In this video, I’ll go over what water mixable oils are, but also what they are NOT.  I also go over some of the most frequent questions I get on water mixable oils, the biggest misconceptions I hear about water mixable oils, and some best practices for working with them.

[JerrysArtarama]

Enjoy Mike Not Jerry's humor? Be sure to check out his YouTube Channel!

[mpaykows]

Man, thank you so much for this video. I learned more within this 15 minutes than with any other videos. Now I know my mistakes and what I was doing wrong. Now painting with water mixable oils is pure pleasure and now I know how to use them properly with my other oils. Lots of ppl is doing the same mistake as I did, diluting it with water instead of medium. Thank you for explanation! excellent video!

[PHeMoX]

I completely and totally AGREE, don't use water thinking it's the medium you should use. Especially because wet brushes will totally destroy the paint and make it terribly frustrating to paint with. The drier the brush, the better. Use regular medium when you need it thinned down indeed. Excellent video! (And yes, they really are actual oil paints).

[billgrandone]

Thanks so much for the info. After 33 years away from painting, I've finally retired and at 69 am starting again. I have some health problems so I seriously considered water mixable oils. Well you answered all my questions about the matter of mediums. Thank you Mike.

[thestarspark]

I've always wanted to use oils, but avoided it because people seemed to think they overly complicated and difficult to use, expensive, and toxic as well. We weren't allowed them in high school, and at university we were discouraged from using them. Now, only as an art teacher myself I've discovered water mixable oils! I wish I had found them years ago! I've set up a home studio in a small room off my bedroom which has a french balcony, its fantastic, no fumes, easy clean up, and the benefit of the slow drying time. I can go to work, teach all day, and return to my painting in the evening which is still wet.

[BirdwithaBrush]

The Holbein Duo line includes cads and other heavy metal paints for those interested in those pigments.

[lucytyson]

I have both watermixable oils (WMO) and oil paint, I am phasing out the WMO's at this time. Because there are some great non toxic thinners like the Chelsea Oil of Spike Lavender thinner & Chelsea Lavender Brush cleaner and smells so good (which I love) regular oil paint can be used very safely and easy to clean with these products. I was so happy to hear you tell everyone DO NOT TO USE WATER TO THIN WMO's, WATER SHOULD ONLY BE USED TO CLEAN BRUSHES WHEN USING WMO's. I have stressed this whenever telling people about WMO's as I have seen personally how it dulls the paint when you thin with water, I cringe whenever I see an artist on a video do it. YIKES!!! Another great video by MikenotJerry!

[cherylhopkins]

Excellent info. I use WN Artisan and LOVE them! I bought them after watching this video a few months ago. I use Gamsol to thin them for the 1st layer then straight from the tube and finally mixed with a touch of WS linseed oil for the last layer. Love love these paints!

[DebraSpinks]

Love my Holbein Duos and my Artisans! I particularly like the smooth consistency of the Holbeins. The Artisans were frustrating to work with before they came out with the thinner, but now they are a breeze. Just a note, the mediums/thinners for one brand may not necessarily work for another. I experimented using the Artisan thinner with the Holbein Duos, but it just gummed them up. Holbein Duos thin easily with just a touch of water, but water gums up Artisans. I love the easy cleanup of both brands. The water miscibles touch dry a little faster than regular oils, but they fully cure in about the same amount of time as regular oils do. Difficult cleanup was the main reason I shied away from using regular oils, but I now use my regular oils for palette knife painting only, so cleanup with them is just a paper towel.

[medicinemadisonofficial]

Non toxic brush cleaner: LINSEED OIL or COCONUT OIL. I prefer coconut oil -- I just keep my semi-dirty brushes in it and before I paint I wipe off the remaining color with a cloth, then they're good to go.

[ellesnyder]

In your "prove it" video on water mixable oil vs oil paint you used water as a "thinner" (see mistake number 1 in this video.) You should probably pull that video and update it. You can totally mix both types of paint and use all the standard oil paint thinnners if you wanted to. When actually cleaning the brush (using water mixables) you can use soap and water. Murphy's Oil Soap Liquid Wood Cleaner is also a good brush cleaner for both types of oil paints. I keep a little bit on hand for cleaning between color changes if my brush gets especially dirty- otherwise i just swish it out in water. I use synthetic brushes. I also use freezer paper in my masterson palette saver for easy cleanup. I ifrst tried water mixables in an oil class. At that time we were trying to ue water as a thinner and nobody liked the results. Too muddy or dull. I put them aside and went back to regular oils. Then a year later I realized I'd been using mostly my old water mixables - they got mixed in my box- with standard oil paints and mediums and couldn't tell the difference. After that (and pneumonia) I switched fully over to water mixable oil paints. There's just no point in breathing noxious fumes or absorbing toxics stuff thru your skin. Even "odorless" thinners still have toxic stuff your breathing- you just can't smell it. I need my brain cells for the long haul. I use walnut oil as a medium- straight from the grocery store.

[petermcmillan]

Thank you for starting with the most important facts first. Got a case of water mixable oils on eBay - love the colours - now that I know I can use them with my regular oils and not have to change up my process, I'm very happy. Also, I don't mind taking time over cleaning my brushes, it's a ritual. Bonus: the smell of the spirit in the jar I keep outdoors bamboozles mice and squirrels and keeps them away from the patio area.

[AmyFlannigan]

First I used oil paints I had a bad experience and it scared me. So for my second try, I got water-mixable Cobra paints from Royal Talens and I don't intend to change that. I think they are brilliant and easier to clean with no fumes.

[clairemeyer]

If I wanted my paint to dry nearly instantly I would just use acrylics and that is what happens when I have tried using water as a thinner for these paints. If I want to put a base down like a primer great but otherwise it seems to defeat the purpose of using oils. That wet on wet work etc. So, thank you for this information. As I am learning to use these it has been frustrating to see tutorials using water as the thinner and I was wondering why one would use these rather than acrylics if they behave like acrylics. I used oils in the first place, way back in the "olden" days because I wanted the properties that they offered over acrylics. I am so happy to not to have to dump this whole experiment because I can't handle exposure to those solvents anymore.

[shainachance]

Hello, I enjoy your videos, thank you for taking the time to make them. Recently, I got a a set of Windsor Newton Artisan water mixable oil paints on clearance from Hobby Lobby. Yesterday I found a set of Windsor Newton Water mixable oil paints for 16.99(it said the original price was 49.99)...So I figured, I have to get it, and added to my art collection. I paint with watercolor mostly, and Ive never had a proper class in anything artsy. I just learn online. I’m hoping that you could recommend a good source to learn how to oil paint. I would assume since these paints are the same(but different), that intro to oil paints would be my best bet? Or no? Cheers to you! I like your style.

[fredjones]

You should move your hands more so I can understand better.

[jalexoneschanel]

I love my Windsor and Newton Artisan water mixable oils. They’re the only oil paint I’ve used so far, and I’m so happy with them that I doubt I’ll use anything else. Clean up is so easy. I use regular stand oil and the Artisan series water mixable fast dry medium, and gamsol as a thinner and cleaner. This makes it fatter, but clean up is still easy. Water and just the tiniest bit of soap and a conditioner and my brushes are like new again.

When I first started painting, I used acrylics and I absolutely HATED how quickly I had to work with them. I could work with them before they dried and got good results, but I couldn’t get really beautiful and seamless blends like I can with oil. It’s been a big shift coming from acrylic and now working with oil because I have literal MONTHS to work with a single layer of paint whereas with acrylics I was rushing to finish a layer in 15-20 minutes.

[FIZZGIG-RARF]

Thank you, this is the best video I've seen on water mixable oils! This makes so much more sense now! I do agree that it's a bit tackier than regular oils. What about using water mixable oil mediums with regular oils? I haven't seen anything on that yet.

[gep]

I bought a set of WMOPs a couple fo years ago, finally threw them out. The painting I did was still wet (would color the tip of the finger) a year later, also it was flat, like a gouache painting. Did not know I could have added a medium to help it dry and give it sheen. Thanks for the help here (still not going to use them, but now know what I did wrong).

[hannahmarie]

Thank you so much for this video! Very helpful information for me as I plan to take up water soluble oils soon. I really appreciate the information and your humor.