Oil Mediums

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Archival Oil Mediums

Archival Oil Mediums are alkyd-based mediums compatible with all types of artists' oils. While you don't HAVE to use mediums to be able to paint with any oil, knowing which medium to use can improve your results dramatically and make working with oils more controllable. The 600 year old tradition of oil painting would be hard to imagine if mediums were not available. The Old Masters made their own. The images and descriptions shown below will help you to identify the benefits and uses of Archival Mediums.

Archival Solvents

Non-toxic Solvents
Paint companies do not ‘invent’ odourless solvents: they have been around for many years and are supplied by the major oil companies. They are petrochemicals, with the toxic aromatic (smelly) fractions removed, making them much less toxic than gum turpentine, mineral turpentine, or white spirit.

Odourless solvents are much slower evaporating than turpentines, so that very little vapour is generated during a painting session, and this factor is more important than the lower toxicity itself – they do, however, evaporate over time.

Drying racks as well as work spaces still need to be ventilated and painters in lofts should not recirculate the same studio air in living and sleeping areas because a slow vapour build up could become toxic.

Art Spectrum Mediums

Using Art Spectrum Artists’ Oil Painting Mediums

Painting with oil paint should be no more involved than working with a water-based paint. For instance, Art Spectrum mediums are used to thin oil paint just as water or binding mediums are used with acrylics. Wax or fillers are added to oil paints just as impasto mediums are added to acrylics. Pure soap and water are used for cleaning brushes with both types of paint.

The ‘lean to fat’ rule

When one layer of oil paint contains an equal amount of oil as the next layer, the top layer will dry while the bottom layer will be deprived of oxygen and remain wet. This will cause wrinkling and eventually cracking. To prevent this problem, use Artists’ Oil Painting Medium No. 1 first and then Artists’ Oil Painting Medium No. 2 for subsequent layers. This will give an even tension throughout the painting. This method is known as ‘lean to fat’.

Painting Medium No. 3 is viscous and ‘fatter’ for those who like a heavier medium. It should be used over the leaner mediums.

(NB: ‘Lean’ and ‘fat’ should not be confused with ‘thick’ and ‘thin’. A lean paint can be very stiff and go on thickly while a fat paint may have so much oil in it that it goes on thinly.)

Art Spectrum Solvents/Varnishes

Solvents

Art Spectrum offers a choice of solvents for diluting oils and for cleaning brushes and equipment.

Varnishes

Art Spectrum varnishes include some of the most traditionally used as well as specialised varnishes used for conservation, redtoration, antiquing and retouching.

National Art Materials Mediums

Winsor & Newton Oil Mediums

A range of mediums has been developed specifically for use with Winsor & Newton Artisan Mixable Oil Colour, allowing the characteristics of the tube colour to be altered and all oil colour techniques to be achieved.