[K. Ellenburg]

How many of you have used Artist Oils? I have used Winsor & Newton on a lot of resin military figure models with outstanding results in 1/12 scale all the way down to 1/32 but have never tried them on wood. They mix really well for highlights, high highlights shadow and dark shadow and are great for flesh tones. Burnt umber, camden yellow,burnt sienna and titium white. I also use camel hair brushes but since I am new to carving I have yet to try the artist oils on wood.

[Just Carving]

Kevin,

Susan (Irish) or Lori Corbett will probably be the ones to answer your question. They know brushes and paints very well. But my guess is if you use oils you're probably going to need to seal the wood first with a wood sealer. This might be one of those times when you take a piece of scrap wood--of whatever your favorite carving wood might be, presumably basswood, make some cuts in it--simulating carving, and then make some practice pieces. And experiment--with sealer, without sealer, thinned paint, even thinner paint. Some carvers desire the finished carving to have color but with the grain still showing through. So, in that case, you're going to want to use paint that's been thinned down. I'm speaking from experience with water colors or acrylics. That's why I said in the beginning that Irish or Lori Corbett would be able to help you. I'm pretty certain that use the oil colors on a regular basis.

Bob L

[K. Ellenburg]

Thanks for the info. I have always liked the drying time of oils and how easy they are to blend and mix, but like I said I just dont have the experience using them on wood.

[hruukki]

Hi, I've painted some pictures with oil on plywood. Basically oil paints need some kind of base, for instance artist's gesso or even PVAC glue. Otherwise the wood gets soaked with the turpentine and oil that should stay with the paint, to make it durable when drying. I hope this helps. I think if I were to paint some carved figure or so, I would test PVAC glue idea first.

[Thor]

I use oils on some of my carvings, and like the rich colors I can achieve. I usually use boiled linseed oil as a base, and then add the oil pigment mixed with turpentine in washed layers until I get the shade I want. It seems, if you are going for an opaque color instead of transparent, then you would want to use an undercoat of gesso before you apply oil pigments.

I think tests will give you your answers.
Thor

[Mottles]

I use artist oils mostly on my woodcavings and I like the way the oil flows over the wood. It's amazing how fast the oil drys on wood also. Here is a link to one of my relief carvings painted with oils there are others on the site. http://krobbinsaz.tripod.com/sitebui...oloradjust.jpg
I use acrylic on the smaller carvings as they dry faster and usually there is more than one to paint. For oils I use turpenoid if I need to thin the oils.
A little tip: I use baby oil to clean my hands and brushes. Not only does it clean and condition your brushes, but smells so nice.
Speaking of brushes I use both bristle and sable brushes for artist oils. For acrylic paint I use artificial sable Lowell brand. You can't beat them for price and they hold an edge well.
Kathy

[K. Ellenburg]

I never had to use any type of base other than a primer on the resin stuff that I have painted which is a lot, let me see if I understand what you guys are trying to explain to me. So if I dont use any thing as a base the wood will soak up the oil in the paint, leaving me with what? I know I always used mineral spirits or turpentine to thin, mix and clean up. Thor what does the linseed oil do as far as a base why do you use it?

[hruukki]

OK - you can go many ways but the idea with artist's oils is this: you use less oil and more turpentine at the start, adding oil to the paint when you add layers. That way the paint dryes properly. The first layers dry faster, the consecutive layers slower, due to the oil/turpentine ratio. If you want to use oil as base, then you need to use oily paint already on the first layers. Linseed oil can take a really long time to dry altogether, so if you plan many layers, it's far safer to start with paint diluted a bit with turpentine. Otherwise, if you plan to paint thick, the paint might crack. That's why the gesso or some such for base. But if you only paint a layer or two, there's no big difference in how you go, as long as you don't soak the wood with the oil from the paint but seal it with something else first.