I like acrylic because it's fast drying, but I can extend the drying time a bit. I use so much paint, oil would never seem to get dry for me. But I do like the versatility of painting wet on wet better.
I use water soluble oils by Holbein, and I get good results with a mix of Gamsol and Holbein oil painting medium. It's a bit counterintuitive, but water is not very good for thinning out water soluble oils. You can clean your brushes with water though, and that is awesome.
Im really liking my walnut oil paints but was told it’s not as archival as linseed but it also won’t yellow. Does the “archivalness” matter much between the 2 or is it so small a difference where it doesn’t really matter?
Conservators *highly discourage* using any sort of varnish or resin in any painting medium. They make the paint layer vulnerable to any solvent that could be used to remove a varnish layer later. MITRA - the Materials Information Technical Resource for Artists - is un up-to-date reference maintained by the University of Delaware's art conservation department. It's written in plain English, and has a *very* active forum of conservators and materials science experts to answer questions. Mayer's Artists Handbook hasn't been updated in over 30 years and is missingmuch of this information. Edit: Oh, and Virgil Elliott's book 'Traditional Oil Painting' is another good resource, as are George O'Hanlon's 'Painting Best Practices' seminars.
I'm an oil painting teacher and I absolutely love this channel! I recommend it to all of my classes. Your info is solid and your videos are really well made and easy to understand. Keep up the good work!
I really respect and love artists who are so generous with their knowledge and spend their time and energy to educate others and filter out the correct information to guide beginner artists like myself. A huge thanks to you 🙏
For now, I just use linseed oil… and I think it’s fine? Not exactly sure what to expect… I’m just experimenting all over the place hehe. So far though, I have to say that oil is quickly becoming my favorite medium to work with!!
I use a mix of Windsor and Newton artisan watermixable fast drying oil medium, and artisan thinner. No solvents so it's a little bit safer. A bit easier to clean the brushes as well. Works well with regular oil paints (non water mixable paints)
I really wanted to try Oil painting as I think it will give me more scope with what I want to paint. I enjoy landscapes and animals in those landscapes as this definately makes me happy!. I am a beginner when it comes to oil painting and you explained the mediums and how to use them very well. Thank You for sharing.
Thank you for all these details, I recently started to practice oil painting without fear with the help of your videos. After spending years practicing almost exclusively watercolor, some praxis are sometimes hard to break. So really, a big thank you for all these tutorials! Sorry if my english is bad it's not my native language. ^^,
Dear Florent, I like using linseed oil, and galquin original . Love watching your RUclips videos. Thanking you for all your help. ANNETTE QUEENSLAND Australia
This video was extremely helpful! I recently tried oil paints for the first time and was very frustrated with how long it took to dry. What do you think of Sennelier's "Green" product line of non-toxic oil painting mediums? I have yet to properly use them in the fat-over-lean method because I was missing the thinner, but swatching my oils with them was very satisfying.
I'm pretty much an absolute beginner at the moment, and as it's simpler, I'm only using a turpentine-based medium I picked up in an art shop to thin the first few leyers. Is this OK?
Florent, if you could only afford a rather stiff artist grade oil paint, would you consider premixing it in jars with a small amount of medium so that it is more smooth and buttery, rather than having to do so at the beginning of each painting?
I’m still quite new to oil painting, so all this information is pretty overwhelming for me huhuhu I don’t know if I should focus on buying slow drying or fast drying mediums… or if I should buy a medium at all AHHHHH but thank you anyway! This video was really informative!
I’m extremely new to oil painting myself and once I allowed myself to not care for a bit while learning the paint itself I started adding medium only to get the consistency that was best for me. I had to tell myself I don’t have to learn it all at once …which completely goes against my personality 😎 you got this!
Mediums are not necessary to successfully oil paint, but at some point in your creative journey it’s beneficial to experiment with, as it can make the effects you’re going for easier to achieve. My first medium was liquin, and it’s flexibility/fast drying time would help with the errors I’d make in fat over lean. Just don’t use to much, as your paint becomes too fluid. Good luck, keep at it, and remember you learn the most from the paintings that don’t turn out as desired!
Hello! One question - you say not to use too much medium or it won’t dry. But what about glazes? They are a small amount of transparent paint in medium-usually a larger amount of medium.???
Been using safflower and clove, but it takes too long…but I DO need a long drying medium, just not quite so long. But it can take months for the safflower to dry. I’ve heard bad things about poppyseed, including fragile paint film and discolouration. I’m thinking of switching to walnut/clove. I won’t touch linseed b/c I don’t want to burn down my house.
Safflower oil is prone to oxidation and molecular destruction rather than polymerization. The competitive destruction process forms many azelaic diacids OOC-(10CH2)-COO. This diacid is moisture sensitive and can react with many ZnO or other paint components, creating a brittle, moisture-sensitive, chemically aggressive substance into the paint layer. The other glycerol destruction fragments are also very problematic. These substances will cause oil film melting degradation. Linseed oil molecules can also crack under oxidative attack. But many linseed oil's decomposed fragments still contain double bonds and can polymerize even after destruction. Linseed oil film can soften, but it degrades less than safflower, poppy, walnut, or sunflower oils. If you're worried about the spontaneous combustion of linseed oil, you can get an oily waste safety can.
@@musa5950 well, also linseed dries far too quickly for me. I find it dries in two or three days, it takes weeks for me to finish a piece, which is why safflower/clove has worked. But it stays very wet a bit too long! xD
Thank you so much for sharing this fab information. Is there anyone who can advise about matte patches? I have a painting which has a lot of black background and if I need to touch up scuffs these areas stand out as they are very matte. I tried using a tiny bit of linseed mixed in with the paint to go over the dull areas. Is that the right thing to do? And why is it dull in the first place? Any advice would be greatly appreciated xx
Hi Florent, at the academy we were obligated to switch to water solueble oilpaints, I’m not a big fan of it, but I bought it and would be a shame to waist it. I miss my old oilpaints… Anyways, my question. Can I use the mediums you talked about with this paint?
hi there -- thanks for this video :) i read that dammar may yellow over time, is this like in a lifetime or in a year? and is that a factor as mixed into the paint itself instead of on top?
I have always painted with acrylics and fast drying time is often good but in many cases it just dosent allow me to do what i want with the paint, as soon i find free time i will start painting with oils. Your videos are great, keep on making them. You are of a great help for oil painting community.
It's a simple explanation, but I think it's too long. You only have to explain the core. This makes it more complicated. I want you to think about the beginner's mind and explain it.
Thanks for the feedback. I still think it’s valuable to spend time going in depth because people don't remain as beginners forever. There are shorts out there for quick and easy tips.
@@FlorentFargesarts I want to see you use oil from sketch to finish while drawing. Then I think it's easier to understand intuitively.. The reason why people ask the same question repeatedly is only in words.. There are already a lot of medium oil instructions in the Internet, but that's not enough.. I would appreciate it if you could make a video of how to use oil while drawing from sketch to finish.. It's been about a month since I started oil painting, but I still don't know how to use oil.. I've seen all the videos, but I know about oil. It's so hard to actually apply it to the painting. I need to use the oil depending on the situation..
Florent - I am in a situation right now where I can only paint in the house. What is the least smelling, safest medium in such a case? An oil painting friend said one can paint oils with NO medium ... ? (I used to paint exclusively about 30 years ago but have focused on watercolor and pastels recently ... I miss oils). Thanks for any simple suggestions.
You CAN but…it reeeally depends on the style and effect you’re after. For example, my style of silky smooth, soft gradations/shadows, would not work it I tried to use paint out of a tube. His example of linseed is probably your best bet- (NOT Liquin, as he stated, it is very smelly etc)
I can only paint in a small space so I use solvent free mediums like the gamblin solvent free and I clean my brushes removing as much paint as I can with safflower oil or the sennelier green for oil brush cleaner and then soap and water. If you paint daily you don't even need the soap and water just dip the brush in safflower oil and the next day it will still be wet. A pea size of liquin makes me lightheaded so I can detect quickly if there's solvents in the air. It still smells like oils, obviously, but not toxic fumes, no headaches and no dizziness.
What's your favorite painting medium ? 🎨🤔
My fav is water colour,I tried oil painting one time
I didn't know how to apply oil colour. I m from India
I like acrylic because it's fast drying, but I can extend the drying time a bit. I use so much paint, oil would never seem to get dry for me. But I do like the versatility of painting wet on wet better.
I use water soluble oils by Holbein, and I get good results with a mix of Gamsol and Holbein oil painting medium. It's a bit counterintuitive, but water is not very good for thinning out water soluble oils. You can clean your brushes with water though, and that is awesome.
Im really liking my walnut oil paints but was told it’s not as archival as linseed but it also won’t yellow. Does the “archivalness” matter much between the 2 or is it so small a difference where it doesn’t really matter?
Conservators *highly discourage* using any sort of varnish or resin in any painting medium. They make the paint layer vulnerable to any solvent that could be used to remove a varnish layer later. MITRA - the Materials Information Technical Resource for Artists - is un up-to-date reference maintained by the University of Delaware's art conservation department. It's written in plain English, and has a *very* active forum of conservators and materials science experts to answer questions. Mayer's Artists Handbook hasn't been updated in over 30 years and is missingmuch of this information. Edit: Oh, and Virgil Elliott's book 'Traditional Oil Painting' is another good resource, as are George O'Hanlon's 'Painting Best Practices' seminars.
I'm an oil painting teacher and I absolutely love this channel! I recommend it to all of my classes. Your info is solid and your videos are really well made and easy to understand. Keep up the good work!
I use a 50/50 mix of linseed oil and gamsol . I start with just the gamsol in first layer. Then each layer after I just use the 50/50 mix.
I really respect and love artists who are so generous with their knowledge and spend their time and energy to educate others and filter out the correct information to guide beginner artists like myself. A huge thanks to you 🙏
Thanx so much ! Your channel is really interesting and helpful
For now, I just use linseed oil… and I think it’s fine? Not exactly sure what to expect… I’m just experimenting all over the place hehe. So far though, I have to say that oil is quickly becoming my favorite medium to work with!!
I use a mix of Windsor and Newton artisan watermixable fast drying oil medium, and artisan thinner. No solvents so it's a little bit safer. A bit easier to clean the brushes as well. Works well with regular oil paints (non water mixable paints)
Excellent explanation. Thank you for sharing!
I really wanted to try Oil painting as I think it will give me more scope with what I want to paint. I enjoy landscapes and animals in those landscapes as this definately makes me happy!. I am a beginner when it comes to oil painting and you explained the mediums and how to use them very well. Thank You for sharing.
Thank you so much🙏🙏🙏
Very very helpful. Cleared up a few misunderstandings for me. Thank you 👍
Thank you for all these details, I recently started to practice oil painting without fear with the help of your videos. After spending years practicing almost exclusively watercolor, some praxis are sometimes hard to break. So really, a big thank you for all these tutorials!
Sorry if my english is bad it's not my native language. ^^,
Great video as always Florent! Thank you 👌🏻
Dear Florent, I like using linseed oil, and galquin original . Love watching your RUclips videos. Thanking you for all your help. ANNETTE QUEENSLAND Australia
Thanks for sharing! You can't go wrong with that, Annette 😊!
Thank you. This was really helpful ❤
Thank you so much for all the information 👍😊
Holaaa!!! Te sigo desde México! Un abrazo! Me encanta todo tu trabajo🤩
Muchas gracias 😊🎨✨
This video was extremely helpful! I recently tried oil paints for the first time and was very frustrated with how long it took to dry. What do you think of Sennelier's "Green" product line of non-toxic oil painting mediums? I have yet to properly use them in the fat-over-lean method because I was missing the thinner, but swatching my oils with them was very satisfying.
I'm pretty much an absolute beginner at the moment, and as it's simpler, I'm only using a turpentine-based medium I picked up in an art shop to thin the first few leyers. Is this OK?
thank you!
Florent, if you could only afford a rather stiff artist grade oil paint, would you consider premixing it in jars with a small amount of medium so that it is more smooth and buttery, rather than having to do so at the beginning of each painting?
I tried that w/ gam gel and it ruined the paint completely. It was sticky and unusable
I’m still quite new to oil painting, so all this information is pretty overwhelming for me huhuhu I don’t know if I should focus on buying slow drying or fast drying mediums… or if I should buy a medium at all AHHHHH but thank you anyway! This video was really informative!
I’m extremely new to oil painting myself and once I allowed myself to not care for a bit while learning the paint itself I started adding medium only to get the consistency that was best for me. I had to tell myself I don’t have to learn it all at once …which completely goes against my personality 😎 you got this!
@@iMakeThat thank you!! I really appreciate this as it’s against my personality as well to just let go and experiment!!!
Mediums are not necessary to successfully oil paint, but at some point in your creative journey it’s beneficial to experiment with, as it can make the effects you’re going for easier to achieve. My first medium was liquin, and it’s flexibility/fast drying time would help with the errors I’d make in fat over lean. Just don’t use to much, as your paint becomes too fluid. Good luck, keep at it, and remember you learn the most from the paintings that don’t turn out as desired!
Thank you for sharing your knowledge! One question I have, can you use liquin when using the stand oil/ODS medium?
Thanks
Hello! One question - you say not to use too much medium or it won’t dry. But what about glazes? They are a small amount of transparent paint in medium-usually a larger amount of medium.???
Had the same question
Been using safflower and clove, but it takes too long…but I DO need a long drying medium, just not quite so long.
But it can take months for the safflower to dry. I’ve heard bad things about poppyseed, including fragile paint film and discolouration.
I’m thinking of switching to walnut/clove. I won’t touch linseed b/c I don’t want to burn down my house.
Safflower oil is prone to oxidation and molecular destruction rather than polymerization. The competitive destruction process forms many azelaic diacids OOC-(10CH2)-COO. This diacid is moisture sensitive and can react with many ZnO or other paint components, creating a brittle, moisture-sensitive, chemically aggressive substance into the paint layer. The other glycerol destruction fragments are also very problematic. These substances will cause oil film melting degradation.
Linseed oil molecules can also crack under oxidative attack. But many linseed oil's decomposed fragments still contain double bonds and can polymerize even after destruction. Linseed oil film can soften, but it degrades less than safflower, poppy, walnut, or sunflower oils. If you're worried about the spontaneous combustion of linseed oil, you can get an oily waste safety can.
@@musa5950 well, also linseed dries far too quickly for me. I find it dries in two or three days, it takes weeks for me to finish a piece, which is why safflower/clove has worked. But it stays very wet a bit too long! xD
Thank you so much for sharing this fab information. Is there anyone who can advise about matte patches? I have a painting which has a lot of black background and if I need to touch up scuffs these areas stand out as they are very matte. I tried using a tiny bit of linseed mixed in with the paint to go over the dull areas. Is that the right thing to do? And why is it dull in the first place? Any advice would be greatly appreciated xx
Hi Florent,
at the academy we were obligated to switch to water solueble oilpaints, I’m not a big fan of it, but I bought it and would be a shame to waist it. I miss my old oilpaints… Anyways, my question. Can I use the mediums you talked about with this paint?
hi there -- thanks for this video :) i read that dammar may yellow over time, is this like in a lifetime or in a year? and is that a factor as mixed into the paint itself instead of on top?
Awesome :D
What kind of medium is like a paste it’s Matt for oil paint ?? I’m new to this oil painting
It is a clear one tho where could I get it ? It has to be clear and Matt
You can try a cold wax medium like the one by Gamblin.
@@FlorentFargesarts thanks
isn't any wax medium a melting hazard?
I bought oil paints few weeks ago but i still did noy try them
You're going to love it, trust me 😊👍👍👍
I have always painted with acrylics and fast drying time is often good but in many cases it just dosent allow me to do what i want with the paint, as soon i find free time i will start painting with oils.
Your videos are great, keep on making them. You are of a great help for oil painting community.
It's a simple explanation, but I think it's too long. You only have to explain the core. This makes it more complicated. I want you to think about the beginner's mind and explain it.
Thanks for the feedback. I still think it’s valuable to spend time going in depth because people don't remain as beginners forever. There are shorts out there for quick and easy tips.
@@FlorentFargesarts I want to see you use oil from sketch to finish while drawing. Then I think it's easier to understand intuitively.. The reason why people ask the same question repeatedly is only in words.. There are already a lot of medium oil instructions in the Internet, but that's not enough.. I would appreciate it if you could make a video of how to use oil while drawing from sketch to finish.. It's been about a month since I started oil painting, but I still don't know how to use oil.. I've seen all the videos, but I know about oil. It's so hard to actually apply it to the painting. I need to use the oil depending on the situation..
If walnut and linseed were good enough for the masters, then its good enough for me. Walnut seems to yellow less.
Please put Persian subtitles . Thanks .💙💙💙✋✋✋
Florent - I am in a situation right now where I can only paint in the house. What is the least smelling, safest medium in such a case? An oil painting friend said one can paint oils with NO medium ... ? (I used to paint exclusively about 30 years ago but have focused on watercolor and pastels recently ... I miss oils). Thanks for any simple suggestions.
You CAN but…it reeeally depends on the style and effect you’re after. For example, my style of silky smooth, soft gradations/shadows, would not work it I tried to use paint out of a tube. His example of linseed is probably your best bet- (NOT Liquin, as he stated, it is very smelly etc)
How about water soluble oil paint?
@@susanwong6471 Thank you for that suggestion, but I have quite an investment in regular oil paints so want to go with those.
I can only paint in a small space so I use solvent free mediums like the gamblin solvent free and I clean my brushes removing as much paint as I can with safflower oil or the sennelier green for oil brush cleaner and then soap and water. If you paint daily you don't even need the soap and water just dip the brush in safflower oil and the next day it will still be wet. A pea size of liquin makes me lightheaded so I can detect quickly if there's solvents in the air. It still smells like oils, obviously, but not toxic fumes, no headaches and no dizziness.
@@loati94 Thank you! This is great information. I appreciate it!
Maybe you could have mentioned toxicity of these mediums