When Oil and Water Mixes

About a year ago I was given a starter set of water miscible oils. I had last used oil paints in art school – given the choice between traditional oils and acrylics I'd gone with acrylics and stuck with them through the years. Oil paints actually scared me – it was not so much the fumes and toxicity of the solvents as the difference in handling, slow drying time, and difficult clean up. I'm all for keeping things easy and simple. But there were things about acrylics that were getting to me too – I wanted to do more blending, and the quick drying time was becoming frustrating – especially while trying to paint outdoors in the summer sun. And it has always sort of bothered the latent hippie child in me that acrylics are essentially plastic.

I think I took to water miscible oils so easily because I never had to compare them to traditional oils. They do everything that I want from paint right now. They have a lovely, buttery consistency and can be used effectively thick, or thinned down with various mediums, some that quicken the drying time. The colours are rich and luminous, and are more alive than acrylics. They work very well with the mosaic and stained glass styles that I'm currently developing, and most importantly, they fit into this crazy lifestyle I am living better than any of the other paints. I take care of my 4 year old grandson on a regular basis, and with water miscible oils I can leave palette and wet brushes sitting for hours while I deal with distractions, so I can paint in fits and starts and not lose my momentum. I also like to paint plein air and the slower drying time is convenient there as well. And as for clean up – not only do my brushes, hands and face wash up with soap and water, my clothes come clean in a normal laundry cycle.

I'm loving these paints and excited about exploring the many different ways they can be used and the effects I can create with them.

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