Hi Jennifer, I find it makes sense to use earth colors for the underpainting as they are fast drying. Save the slow drying for the very topmost layer: ultramarine blue, cadmiums, ivory black are colors I have noticed dry extremely slowly. I mark my paint on the tube with oil content and speed of drying.

Thanks! After reading the article on water-miscible oils, I have decided to use traditional oils for my underpainting instead! Would the best solvent-free method for traditional oils be to use paint straight from the tube, spread as thinly as possible, and then wait for it to dry fully before painting the subsequent layer, which would have a…

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There are several articles on water-miscible oils in the Resources section you should first review. Once you have come back here and let’s discuss this further.

Hello,
I am maintaining a solvent-free practice, and for my initial layer, which can be a simple block-in or loose drawing, or an overall toning of the canvas, I have been using water-mixable oils thinned with water. For my support, I am using oil-primed linen. Is this OK? What, if anything, is known about the longevity of water-mixable oils?…

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All right then, there they go into the trash…. Thanks!

Ann

Unfortunately, nothing can impart structural improvement to oil paints containing dammar resin.

You can slow the drying process by reducing the amount of black oil and replacing it with linseed oil.

Cadmium sulfide pigments darkened when used with lead white upon first introduction to art, due to free-sulfur impurities in early forms of the pigment. This is not the case today because cadmium pigments contain only trace amounts of free sulfur. This may also have been true of early forms of synthetic ultramarine when it was first introduced…

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Ugh. I have so many tubes of Mussini that have the Damar in them – is there something I can add to it when I use them that will counteract the risk of cracking. Right now I am planning to toss them, even the cobol blue, etc.

Thanks,

Ann

Thanks for the tip!

I went through all my oil paints & got rid of any of them that had zinc white in them.

Pam

I am going through all my oil paints, and I am wondering if you have list of brands that you have found issues with and I should therefore consider tossing. For example I have a lot of Mussini like the one in the picture. Do those have additives I don’t want in my paintings?

Thanks,

Ann

After the impasto session, I mixed black oil and chalk into lead white to see what it would do. The paint was very thick and ropy and reminded me of Rembrandt’s impastos. It also dried extremely fast – too fast to use for highlights. Definitely for a structural impasto.

I just read Lead combined with cadmiums or ultramarine could darken eventually?

This does matter to me as I’m working on great pieces. One currently I am using Black Oil which I really love, with a multitude of pigments including glazes of cadmiums and ultramarine as well as Lead white. I assume it should mostly be okay except based…

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Join the discussion from the March 2026 Technical Studio Session.

Ann,

For oil paintings, it is generally best to avoid commercial paint markers—such as Krylon or Molotow markers—when the goal is long-term permanence. Most of these products are formulated with acrylic resins, solvent-borne industrial paints, or alkyd systems designed for craft, signage, or mixed-media work. While they may perform well on many…

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I am working on these large panels of icons of various saints (attached below). I need to put a red line around all the halos, and it has to be exact and the same width. Is it safe to use those Krylon Oil based markers, or can I get an empty one (they abound) and make a mixture of linseed oil, paint, and some mineral spirits to make my own. …

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Thanks so much, George!. Being a member of the this group is the best thing I ever did.

-Ann

Ann,

When working with metallic powders—especially bronze—it is important to consider adhesion, solvent sensitivity, and long-term stability rather than simply appearance.

First, regarding the underpainting: yes, it should be fully dry before applying the Schmincke Bronze Medium mixture. The bronze medium you describe is based on white spirits…

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Thanks, I know I have to use the Schminke medium instead of linseed, but I’m assuming also that it’s OK to use the linseed in the underpainting if I leave it to dry first.

Hi Ann,

I’m unfamiliar with the Schminke medium of which you speak, but I can offer some advice on underpaintings:

It is indeed good practice to let the underpainting become touch-dry before adding the color layer on top. Otherwise you risk lifting the underpainting and/or getting the underpainting’s color mixed in with the colors you’re laying…

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I know that I should use the Schminke Bronze Medium with their Bronze powders – but I need to paint an undercoat of something like a transparent yellow iron oxide or a raw sienna…. should I use the linseed oil medium under the Schminke Medium, or something like Liquin or ? I have done some reading and found that it is critical to let…

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Well, believe it or not I thought it was you guys from which I got this information. The problem, if I recall, had to do with alkali pigments (???). But now I just re-read the page in NP on this pigment and see indeed that I should not worry. I had probably read an outdated entry somewhere. I apologize, but thank you, as always for your…

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I am curious where you read this information about chrome yellow? Much of the information about historical pigments is from previous centuries, especially the 19th century, for chrome yellow. Chrome yellow (lead chromate) was susceptible to sulfur dioxide present in air pollution, but in the 20th century, a type of lead chromate encapsulated…

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Hi all – I recently purchase some chrome yellow from you guys and have some questions about its compatibility with other things. I have read, for instance, that there are certain pigments with which it is ill advised to mix or use with chrome yellow. Is this accurate and what pigments would those be? Are there other chrome colors I need to…

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Overall, the concnerns about using lead white paint in a professional practice is overstated. With normal hygiene practices you can keep yourself safe from personal exposure to lead. Normal hygiene should be practiced in every studio regardless of whether you use lead white or not, because we cannot assume that all materials we use in our…

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