Why Use Water Soluble Oils for Oil Painting

Water soluble oil paints have been used in oil painting since ages. There are various reasons due to which people prefer this over acrylics for oil painting, the most important one being that it doesn’t smell of turpentine.

Great oil painters like Pauline Dickerson and Starrpoint have preferred water soluble oil paints for oil painting for several reasons. Some of the common aspects that make the water soluble oil paints more preferable are:

Difference in drying time:

The acrylics are known to dry very rapidly and thus they give comparatively little working time. On the other hand the water soluble oils dry slowly like the traditional oils. This gives extra working time for the painters.

Easier to clean:

The water soluble oils are much easier to clean up. This makes it a favorable choice for beginners who tend to make more mistakes while learning the art of oil painting. Using water soluble oil paints also make it easy to clean brushes and stains on hands.

Odor free oil paint:

You may love oil painting, but may not like the smell of turps. The best recommendation for you would be to use water soluble oil paints. In this case, the odor is much less and this makes your painting more comfortable and your studio doesn’t smell of turps.

Things to remember:

If you are using water soluble oils for oil painting then you must keep in mind that they tend to blend a little faster. This can be a hassle while you are trying to shade from a lighter color to dark one.

It takes extra care and patience to ensure that your shading is gradual and distinct. If you are a beginner then this may create a little difficulty for you. Once you gain experience with the oil paints, using water soluble oils will be fun and easy.