Review of water based oil paints.

Aside from sculpting, I love to paint. For years I had used acrylic and hated painting. I thought I was a particularly bad painter and I got fed up and quit. Later, I tried oils and found a love affair with them and since have never turned back. The only thing is that they take a forever to dry and a house full of clumsy boys will guarantee a disaster.

I found these paints on clearance at Hobby Lobby and thought, hey, these are the best of both worlds. I don't think they are new, however I had never seen these before. Maybe I live under a rock.  I was really excited to try them. I bought some cheap canvases and went to town.

 At first, I was confused on how to use them, as they don't require a thinner medium like my favorite "Turpanoid'. I thought maybe a gel water based medium would be effective and that is no NOT the case. Plain old water does the trick, but unlike oil that goes on smooth and buttery and true, it goes on kind of chunky and water color like. For some artists that's going to be a great arrangement. I, however prefer the true color of oils and rely on the consistency. I was strange to get around that. As any painter, I adapted and ended up loving these paints. For the paintings I did, I really didn't require thinning of the paint and so it worked great. Smearing and blending is my method and it performed beautifully. 

I notice as well these paints dry light years faster than average oils. after about a week, I was able to touch the canvas without paint transferring to my fingers. 

My only complaint is that I assumed water mixable meant that my brushes would be easier to clean. That is not true at all. My brushes are stained blue and green and still have a greasy feel so I will have to use the "Turpanoid" after all. 

For 5.39 for the set of 12 colors,  it was well worth it. However nothing really stands up to true oils. It's just not the same. I would recommend this to children and adults who are new to learning about oil paint techniques.