Water-Soluble Oil Mediums

Cobra Water Based Oils with W&N Artisan Water Soluble Mediums 

The small medium jars are impossible to open UNLESS you first pry off the lid with a flat screwdriver, essentially 'popping' the seal.  Then the lids will open as usual with a push and twist.  I twisted too hard with the first jar and the outside lid split off the plastic interior lid.

I made a chart with 'primary colors' mixed with water, thinner, painting medium and fast drying medium, each alone and then mixed (except the water for the mix).  I also added a column of the plain with a palette knife (impasto).
I will provide the drying times here, loosely. Drying times vary from color to color but I am not analyzing the specific colors; the results are 'ball-park".  Supposedly with the drying medium the paint will dry in half the time.  I need to put in a column of the impasto plus fast drying to see how fast that is.

A useful site for drying times of regular oils is here: http://filarecki.com/oil-paint-drying-times.html. The rate of drying should be proportional for water-soluble oils.  However, in general water-soluble oils do dry a little faster than traditional oils. I have read that they should be dry to the touch within 48 hours. Perhaps this is true if applied thinly or at least not impasto.

photo under daylight lamp:
water soluble medium comparison

gray scale water soluble medium comparison


Next morning after 12 hours (testing for dryness):

after 12 hours: water soluble medium comparison

I will do a close-up of one of the colors since I think this photo clearly indicate the effect of the mediums.


12 hour dryness results water soluble mediums
The plain paint patches were still damp.  I patted the paint with a paper towel and this is the result.  The ultramarine patch actually stuck to the paper towel so I removed the towel from the patch and added it to the imprint.  The column with the fast drying medium did not result in a print on the paper towel for any of the patches.  And no phthalo paint came off  on my thumb.

Three days later: some of the patches with medium were still wet to the touch (excluding the fast-dry). The drying time does vary by the pigment/color but I did not do a detailed analysis of this.

Preliminary Analysis:
Water alone.  The color seems to be more muted in the Primary magenta and the cadmium yellow medium.  (I will not use water; in fact the paint company recommends that the artist NOT use water to thin the paint.) 
Thinner: Again the color seems more muted in the Primary Magenta and the Cadmium Yellow Medium. But perhaps good for toning,
Fast drying medium (see next image):  I will use the fast drying medium to speed up the drying time when working outside.
Painting Medium: Otherwise at this point I think that the only reason to use this medium is for how it feels if working in the studio: is the paint smoother? is it easier to do details? This will take more practice.

I would like to try this with Gamblin's Solvent free gel.  It's an alkyd but actually can only be cleaned with mineral spirits so I'm not sure it's a good medium to use. The advantage for travel is that it is not a liquid. I have discovered other fast drying mediums on the market and will try them as soon as my order arrives.

And of course we need to look at final paintings. 

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