Regarding the paint, the brush and the human, here are a few oil painting tips that may prolong the life of all three.
Long lasting paint brushes.
I have found that to keep brushes in good shape it helps to have a bottle of Vaseline around.
When you are ready to close shop for the day the following will help you better preserve your brushes.
After cleaning your brush with turpentine, thinner, citrus based thinner, soap, baby wipes, linseed oil or any of the other myriad cleaning methods, its time for the Vaseline.
Take the brush and glide both sides across a surface of Vaseline.
Use your fingers or a paper towel to further mold the brush back to its original form and then put it aside until the next time you are ready to paint.
Next time you are ready to paint the brushes are still holding the shape that you left them in.
Longer lasting paint.
With the price of tubes of paint climbing into the stratosphere conserving paint once it is out of the tube is no small consideration.
Just like a loaf of bread, paint is going to dry unless you cover your palette board with saran wrap or cover it by other means.
An esoteric potion that will keep your paints from drying is clove oil extract.
It comes in small tubes but fortunately not much needed.
Merely a sprinkling of fine drops around the palette board before covering or sealing it will dramatically increase the life of your paint.
Longer lasting human.
When I started painting in oils I used to clean my brushes with turpentine but the fumes soon got to me.
I had a ceiling vent pulling air out of the studio but the turps were still overwhelming.
I switched to turpenoids, natural and odorless, but after time found that they were taking their toll on me too.
It got to the point that I was missing steps, getting dizzy and soon realizing that I had to find something else or switch to acrylics.
I am still listening to various options on how to clean brushes while one paints and how to clean the same brushes more thoroughly after a painting session is done.
One path that has helped me stay in oils was to switch to a citrus-based thinner made by a company called Eco-House.
This Canadian company produces several oil painting products including mediums, varnishes and cleaning agents.
All their cleaning and thinning agents are made of oranges.
The smell is pleasant, the headaches are gone and they truly are a reasonable substitute for turpentine and paint thinner Citrus based solvents however still have a toxic component to their vapors.
The best non-toxic medium for painting is using the classic of day, refined linseed oil.
While it may take a much longer time to dry, refined linseed oil eliminate most of the toxic vapors that will be inhaled or ingested through your skin.
Long lasting paint brushes.
I have found that to keep brushes in good shape it helps to have a bottle of Vaseline around.
When you are ready to close shop for the day the following will help you better preserve your brushes.
After cleaning your brush with turpentine, thinner, citrus based thinner, soap, baby wipes, linseed oil or any of the other myriad cleaning methods, its time for the Vaseline.
Take the brush and glide both sides across a surface of Vaseline.
Use your fingers or a paper towel to further mold the brush back to its original form and then put it aside until the next time you are ready to paint.
Next time you are ready to paint the brushes are still holding the shape that you left them in.
Longer lasting paint.
With the price of tubes of paint climbing into the stratosphere conserving paint once it is out of the tube is no small consideration.
Just like a loaf of bread, paint is going to dry unless you cover your palette board with saran wrap or cover it by other means.
An esoteric potion that will keep your paints from drying is clove oil extract.
It comes in small tubes but fortunately not much needed.
Merely a sprinkling of fine drops around the palette board before covering or sealing it will dramatically increase the life of your paint.
Longer lasting human.
When I started painting in oils I used to clean my brushes with turpentine but the fumes soon got to me.
I had a ceiling vent pulling air out of the studio but the turps were still overwhelming.
I switched to turpenoids, natural and odorless, but after time found that they were taking their toll on me too.
It got to the point that I was missing steps, getting dizzy and soon realizing that I had to find something else or switch to acrylics.
I am still listening to various options on how to clean brushes while one paints and how to clean the same brushes more thoroughly after a painting session is done.
One path that has helped me stay in oils was to switch to a citrus-based thinner made by a company called Eco-House.
This Canadian company produces several oil painting products including mediums, varnishes and cleaning agents.
All their cleaning and thinning agents are made of oranges.
The smell is pleasant, the headaches are gone and they truly are a reasonable substitute for turpentine and paint thinner Citrus based solvents however still have a toxic component to their vapors.
The best non-toxic medium for painting is using the classic of day, refined linseed oil.
While it may take a much longer time to dry, refined linseed oil eliminate most of the toxic vapors that will be inhaled or ingested through your skin.