10 Comments

1. 

   Mathew Kaminski on February 7, 2015 at 11:17 am

   Oh man! Thanks so much for these videos.
   I'm loving the application of all the different medias at once.
   I am paying particular attention to times when you blend the medias all together.
   Oh and that life painting of Jinx was EPIC!

   Is there a certain ratio to water you use with your acrylics to get them that thinned out and would you recommend a brand? Lastly… any tips of mixing colors really easily?

2. 

   Jeff Miracola on February 7, 2015 at 4:48 pm

   Thanks Matt. There is no hard and fast ratio I go with. I just go by feel. As for brand, I like different brands for different reasons. I use three brands of acrylic paints consistently, Liquitex hard and soft body, Golden fluid acrylics, and Badger airbrush paints.

3. 

   Dan on February 7, 2015 at 5:25 pm

   I'm all about the Golden Transparent Airbrush colors lately. They are perfect for washing in an underpainting. Very transparent (so you don't lose your drawing), very vibrant, and they don't get rubbery if you use them right out of the tube.

4. 

   Amanda Duarte on February 9, 2015 at 10:20 pm

   Thank you very much for the videos, I'm starting a painting with oils tomorrow and I'm very nervous. How much the linseed oil takes to dry? I will have to hurry to paint the area before it dries? If it dries, will be harder again to disperse the paint?

5. 

   Amanda Duarte on February 9, 2015 at 10:21 pm

   And can I use turpentine with the linseed oil? Can I use only the linseed?

6. 

   Jeff Miracola on February 10, 2015 at 3:38 am

   You do not want to mix turpentine with linseed oil. But you can use both in the same painting. You could thin your paints with turpentine to block in colors, but then let it dry before you decide to start working over it with paint that is mixed with linseed oil.

   As for drying times, if you want your paint to dry faster, you should use a product called Liquin. Like linseed oil, it will thin your paints, but it drys much faster. As for how long it takes linseed oil to dry depends on many things. some paint colors dry faster than others. For instance, white and yellow take much longer to dry than black or blue. I've worked on paintings where I use straight yellow or white mixed with linseed oil and it still takes 5 days to dry completely. Using liquin, it could be dry in a matter of hours or one day.

   Good luck on your painting.

7. 

   Dan on February 12, 2015 at 2:55 am

   Actually, you can mix turp and linseed oil. I do it all the time. You just don't want to add too much turp. Linseed oil is essentially a fat, and adding too much solvent will break up the lipid chains, which means the oil will lose it's structural integrity. But if you keep the turp to less than 40% or so (that's just a guess), you'll be fine. In fact, it's a very good way to control the fat ratio of your pigment, making it easier to follow the 'fat over lean' rule of painting. Use just turp at the beginning stages, turp and oil in the mid stages, and just oil at the later stages.

8. 

   Amanda Duarte on February 12, 2015 at 5:39 pm

   Thats another thing I forgot to ask, how much linseed oil I can use without ending with a forever-wet painting? Also, I'm feeling ridiculous asking this, but can I varnish (Using spray) between the layers before the paint is dry when touching to move to the next layer?

9. 

   Jeff Miracola on February 15, 2015 at 11:13 pm

   I'd listen to Dan then about the linseed oil/turpentine mix thing. I have never been able to get that to work well. The linseed oil always separates. But clearly I am using too much turpentine.

10. 

    lasthavoc on February 26, 2015 at 7:17 am

    Is it possible to only use linseed oil and no solvents at all? I live in a cold climate and ventilation is difficult. Thanks!