Oil Mediums

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Oil mediums simplified


A medium is something you add to paint to achieve various paint effects - to improve the consistency of the paint and to alter the drying time.

Oil mediums are specifically formulated to open up a world of possibility and experimentation to enhance your oil painting experience, build layers and improve the finished product.

Various oil mediums will affect the following:
- The flow of the paint,
- The paint’s consistency, gloss and transparency
- The paint’s drying time
- Preventing paler colours from yellowing over time

Oil paints that are used neat will dry to a subtle velvet sheen, but adding oil mediums will increase the gloss.

Common oil mediums:
Linseed, Poppy and Safflower are the most commonly used drying and semi-drying oil mediums.

Linseed oil - Thickened linseed oil will increase the flow and gloss of oil paint, reduce brush stroke retention and slow down the drying time. (Linseed oil mediums are available as Refined Linseed Oil, Cold-Pressed Linseed Oil, Thickened Linseed Oil - aka Stand Oill - and Drying Linseed Oil).

Poppy oil - Drying poppy oil is used with pale colours to prevent yellowing of the pigment, increase the gloss and transparency of the paint and speed up the drying time.

Safflower oil - Safflower oil medium is slow drying and is also used with paler pigments to avoid yellowing, reduce consistency and increases gloss and transparency.

Tip: When using oil mediums to adjust the consistency and flow of your oil paints, the general ratio principle is mixing 50% solvent and 50% medium before adding to the paint.
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