Winsor and Newton Artisan Oil Colors

Made from modified linseed and safflower oils, Winsor & Newton Artisan Oil Colour has a soft, buttery consistency that handles just like conventional oil colour, but can be thinned with water rather than hazardous solvents. Clean up is easy with just soap and water!

Of Oil and Water and Chemical Marriage Counselors
Just because oil and water don't mix in your kitchen doesn't mean there aren't other methods to make them happy in each other's company. A most effective route is through the addition of a chemical emulsifier - a kind of molecular marriage counselor - that has an attraction on one side of the molecule for water and, on the other, 'warm feelings' for oil. The result? A happy match made, if not in heaven, at least in the laboratory. A marriage that is highly stable and eminently practical - particularly when you want to use water as a solvent to loosen up oil colour or to clean brushes. Artisan Water Mixable Oils work in exactly this way. Formulated with modified linseed and safflower oils, Artisan is, in every way, shape, and form an oil colour.

Mix with Water Artisan provides all the characteristics expected from conventional oil colour: High pigment strength, a high proportion of single pigments, and variable opacity. The key difference is their ability to be mixed with water.

Drying Time The water evaporates out of the paint film fairly rapidly leaving behind a conventional oil colour film that dries by oxidation, as normal. All colours are touch-dry in 2-12 days.

Artisan Makes a Lasting Impression Winsor & Newton have taken the lead in working with the conservation community on research to confirm the stability and anticipated permanence of Artisan Water Mixable Oil Colour.

Chemical analysis has indicated that any added water fully leaves the paint film within a short time; no water remains “trapped” to weaken or loosen the colour on the canvas. Adhesion and drying time have been shown to be comparable to conventional oil colour. Research has also shown that the dried Artisan film is similar to a conventional oil film in solvent resistance and other measures of stability.

In fact, Artisan may remain slightly softer than conventional oil colour, offering increased flexibility, which is a very good thing. Your canvas can flex with changes in temperature and humidity; a paint film that will go along with it will better resist cracking or lifting.