Artisan Oil Colour Characteristics

These magnificent paints are designed to look and work just like traditional oil paint, but they're a bit special, because they can be used without any dangerous solvents and can be easily diluted and cleaned with water. Artisan water mixable oil colours are particularly suited for artists who are sensitive to traditional thinners such as turpentine and mineral spirits, or work in a home environment and wish to reduce the odour of oil painting.

Introduction

Traditional oil colour has a rich, thick, buttery quality fresh from the tube and is an exceptionally popular medium due to its versatility, offering the artist excellent results from the time-honoured techniques of blending and painting both in thin glazing layers or in thick impasto coats.

Like traditional oil colour, Artisan Water Mixable Oil Colour is made from linseed oil and safflower oil. The only difference is the linseed oil and safflower oil used in Artisan have been modified so that they will mix and clean up with water. Artisan has been specifically developed to appear and work just like conventional oil colour. The depth of colour, buttery consistency, lightfastness, opacity/transparency, performance and drying times of Artisan, allow artists to use this range for all oil colour techniques. Unique Winsor & Newton Artisan formulations, manufacture and quality control ensure an oil colour of absolute excellence, which is comparable if not better than many other conventional artists’ quality oil colours across the world.

What's different in Artisan and for whom it is suitable for?

The key difference between Artisan Water Mixable Oil Colour and conventional oils is its ability to mix and clean up with water. Artists using conventional oil colour will require the use of solvents such as turpentine or white spirit (mineral spirits), Artisan on the other hand can be thinned with water for painting and all brushes and equipment cleaned up with soap and water only; the use of hazardous solvents is not necessary. As a result, artists can enjoy a safer painting environment, and can develop a safer studio practice. As a result Artisan is ideal for:

Oil painters who are sensitive to, or simply want to avoid exposure to solvents such as white spirit (mineral spirits) or turpentine;
Students and teachers in schools and colleges where the use of oil colour is prohibited because of the solvents;
Artists working in shared studio space where the build up of solvent levels could lead to a harmful concentration of vapours and a generally unpleasant odour of solvents;
Artists who work within a small home environment and wish to reduce the odour of oil painting;
For travel – all Artisan products (colour & mediums) can be transported on aeroplanes. (Subject to the agreement of the airline).

A range of unique Artisan thinners, oils, mediums and varnishes have also been developed to allow artists to achieve all the traditional oil colour techniques and styles, without requiring conventional linseed oil or other mediums.

Colour range and series of Artisan water mixable oil colours

The Artisan range offers a balanced spectrum of 40 colours across two Series. Both Series are available in 37ml tubes, and 31 Series 1 colours are available in 200ml. To the same Artisan series are developed 11 additional products, including Thinner, Linseed Oil, Safflower Oil, Stand Oil, Painting Medium, Fast Drying Medium, Impasto Medium, and Gloss Varnish, Matt Varnish, Satin Varnish as well as Varnish Remover.

The series indicates the price of colour - mostly determined by the cost of obtaining and refining the pigment e.g. Series 2 colours are more expensive as they contain genuine cadmiums and cobalts.