How to paint with WATER-SOLUBLE OILS?

Question

I am a watercolorist and am thinking about painting with water-soluble oils.. any advice would be great..To start, what brand is best?
How about mediums? Maybe a suggested beginner's palette.
Thanks

A friend sugested that I use Grumbacher MAX.. any comments?

Answer 1

Grumbacher Max is what I use. I do portraits. I use the following palette in this order, always.
Titanium White, Ivory Black, Raw Umber, Burnt Umber, Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna, Golden Ochre, and a "cool" and a "warm" in each of the primary colors: This means - Cad Red light (warm), Alizarin Crimson (cool), Cad Yellow Medium (warm) , Cad Yellow Light (cool), Ultramine Blue (warm), Thalo Blue (cool) and Sap Green. You can make any color in the world with these. I use Grumbacher Max Liquid Medium bottles not gel tubes) and water to thin the colors. I use Murphy's Oil Soap to clean the brushes. Non-toxic, non smelly, you can't do better. There are several good books on using the water soluble colors in the Northlight Book Club website. Grumbacher Max 2 is a student grade paint and not as good at the Max itself. Holbein Aqua Duo is very high quality and real good. "Artisan" brand and "Talens Van Gogh" is HORRIBLE, thin and more filler than pigment. AVOID.

Answer 2

When I started painting, I started with these:

I used Holbein Duo Aquaoils, which worked pretty well. They sell the same "Duo" brand mediums, though water worked better than most just to thin it a bit. I would definitely buy the Duo brush cleaner though, your brushes still won't get totally clean with just soap and water.

As for a starter palette... I'd go with Titanium white, Mars Black, (Any black really), Cadmium Red, Cobalt or Pthalo Blue, Cadmium Yellow, Yellow Ochre (I used this color the most!), and Raw Umber.

Happy painting!

P.S. You're going to want to switch to real oils eventually.. nothing can beat them! Consider it before you spend money on these water-soluable ones!

Answer 3

Peace knows what she's talking about. Just remember to go easy on the medium when you start and keep in mind you can go over it again. (unlike water colors) That mindset needs some getting used to.