I'm starting a bit of experimentation with artist's oils for figure painting. Just to get the feel for the material, I put a very thin coat of oil paint on an old aircraft model (which had several previous layers of paint on it, so no bare plastic). That was last sunday. Four days down the line, and the paint is no dryer than it was half a day after application. I'm getting a bad feeling about this...
Anyone here have experience with artist's oils? Any info I could find on the web assumes the paint is used on prepped canvas. Modeling forums generally ignore the inconvenient business of drying
artist's oils
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Re: artist's oils
I use oils from time to time and I use pastels. I've gotten good results with both. The good thing about the olis is if you're not happy take it off and start over
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Re: artist's oils
I've used artists oils that have taken 3 weeks to dry. Mostly, I use them for items having a simulated wood finish. Oils are easy to alter.
You can buy stuff (can't remember its name) to speed dry time up, but I've never used it.
You can buy stuff (can't remember its name) to speed dry time up, but I've never used it.
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Re: artist's oils
There are new oils on the market that dry in 24 hrs. I have found them very good.
When using the standard oils I use a drying medium which really speeds up the drying.
My favorite method for painting figures is "Wet on Wet" which gives, to me, greater control over subtle shading.
Dai
When using the standard oils I use a drying medium which really speeds up the drying.
My favorite method for painting figures is "Wet on Wet" which gives, to me, greater control over subtle shading.
Dai
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Re: artist's oils
I use oils for wood effect. Two techniques to speed up drying: thin a little with Liquin, which you'll find in any art store and radically accelerates drying. Alternatively, squeeze your paint onto a wadded paper towel and leave for an hour before use. The towel draws out oil and again speeds it all up. Hope that's of some help.
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Re: artist's oils
That's the main reason I'm looking into this medium. Since accellerators (at first glance) seem to cut down on the very reason I'm considering these paints, I wanted to use the unaltered paints for my tests.DH-Drover wrote:My favorite method for painting figures is "Wet on Wet" which gives, to me, greater control over subtle shading.
I don't mind waiting for weeks for the paint to dry, in fact, that was somewhat expected, but I was getting worried that it might not be curing at all. Specifically, I had expected it to at least show some noticable change within a few days, so I was getting worried I might have missed some crucial step in preparation. I'll take the fact that nobody has called me out on such an omission as a good sign
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Re: artist's oils
Rob, another issue might be the environment the paints are in: in the Northern latitudes we live in, the weather is pretty damp and miserable right now. Overly moist air will slow down the evaporation of the water (and even oil based paint has plenty of this) and delay drying. You probably knew that already, though.
Liquin is worth experimenting with: it knocks days rather than hours off drying so wet on wet is still very possible, and I'm sure different concentrations in the mix would have different effects.
Liquin is worth experimenting with: it knocks days rather than hours off drying so wet on wet is still very possible, and I'm sure different concentrations in the mix would have different effects.
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Re: artist's oils
Not inside the the house it isn't. The cats would never forgive me if I allowed that to happen. Also, I'm not at my best when I'm damp and miserable myself (outright foul tempered, actually). Long live central heatingArcwelder wrote:Rob, another issue might be the environment the paints are in: in the Northern latitudes we live in, the weather is pretty damp and miserable right now.
Seriously though, high humidity levels will have an effect. That said, the only time relative humidity seems to go down here is when it's freezing
I certainly intend to take it for a spin, but after I've figured out the pure characteristics. Not much point testing without a proper baseline.Liquin is worth experimenting with: it knocks days rather than hours off drying so wet on wet is still very possible, and I'm sure different concentrations in the mix would have different effects.
Re: artist's oils
Oils were recommended to me by figure painters because their slow drying times allow the painter to subtly blend the shades and variations in colour. Depending on how thickly they're applied, I've had figures that have taken up to 3 weeks before the can be handled.
These figures were painted in Reeves Oil Colours
These figures were painted in Reeves Oil Colours
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