Linseed oils

I usually use linseed oil to thin my paint when I’m painting. It not only thins the paint but it also makes the paint shiny.

I sent my wife to the store to buy some linseed oil so I could show her some new ideas I’d been working on and I was out of linseed oil. She returned with some boiled linseed oil from the hardware. I really hadn’t used anything but artist grade linseed oils found in the artist’s supply catalogs, but its linseed oil, right? Wrong! This “boiled” linseed oil was darker in color and after washing our brushes, we put them away as usual.

After some drying time I noticing that the stretched canvas was buckling, I got back to my brushes and they were getting hard. We almost lost all of our brushes. If we’d waited two to three weeks in between painting I’m sure we’d have lost all of our brushes.

So, all linseed oils are not created equal. Be sure to use artist grade linseed oils if you plan on using it to thin your paint. I love the effect that I get with it, but I’ll always be sure to use the right kind from now on.

Enjoy your painting

sungmanitu