Empty Oil Tubes

[Mike Dodson]

Does anyone have a suggested source for purchasing empty oil tubes (37ml)?

Also, I was thinking of tubing colors with an added medium that I am using. Is this a good idea? Will it harm the oil colors? The medium is one that a friend of mine has developed and it allows the paint to dry extremely slow. Great for wet into wet where there is alot of blending.

[Michele Rushworth]

I don't have a source for empty tubes, though I know other artists on this forum have used them, Michael Georges being one of them.

As far as tubing pigment with medium in them, any harm that could be done would depend on what's in the medium your friend is making. I'm VERY careful about what I will mix with my paints and haven't found anything more trustworthy than linseed oil.

You might want to check out some of the threads on the use of different mediums in order to read about concerns that others have regarding the impact of experimental or unknown substances on the longevity of paintings.

[Peter Jochems]

Dear Mike,

I would NEVER use that medium.

You will regret it when you see your best works lose colour and quality when you get older.

Just use the simple linseed oil or something that is manufactured by experts.

Peter

[Mike Dodson]

The combination of mediums used are not experimental, at least individually, at all. It's actually pretty close to what I've read that Michael Georges is using. Sorry I'm being so sketchy here on the specifics but I'm sworn to secrecy to this person.

Michael, do you mix your medium with your oils before tubing?

[Elizabeth Schott]

Mike,

The following is where I get my tubes (I am not sure if the link will work, for some reason, I can't get things to work right ):

Daniel Smith

If you are mixing paint that has been mixed from other tubes, like changing values etc., I am not sure I would add a medium. I think you only add stuff if you are using dry pigments. The Daniel Smith web site explains this.

[Mike Dodson]

Thanks Beth, this is exactly what I was looking for as far as tubing.

My main objective is rather than having to mix the medium in the piles of paint on my palette each time I would already have this portion done.
It takes a little time to do this each time I sit down to work. I work alot in the evenings since I have a day job so time is precious but I do not want to jeopardize quality to save time. I'll continue to ponder/research this one before making the move.

[Michele Rushworth]

One thing you may want to consider is the issue of layers. One of the nice things about using paint straight from the store is being able to paint with it in lower layers since it doesn't have a lot of oil. Then for higher layers you can mix progressively more oil as you go.

If you mix a lot of oil/medium in with all the paint, you can't change the proportion of fat vs lean on different layers.

[Elizabeth Schott]

Mike,

After taking Marvin's workshop, and practicing his palette tons, I started tubing. I would say it takes a beginner at least two hours to mix just his skin tone palette, because he breaks down the neutrals, yellow ochres, warm and cool reds into 9 different values, so tubing made sense. But it is only a process of mixing certain colors together - it does not involve any filler oils, mediums or dry pigments. That would be way too much chemistry for me!

I don't know how I survived the mixing every two days, I go nuts spending the twenty minutes putting the paint on my palette right now - ADHD!

[Mike Dodson]

Michele,

That's an excellent point.

I don't do alot of painting in layers. The medium allows the paint to remain wet for several days. The great thing about it is that I can paint one day and come back to the painting 3-4 days later and pick up where I left off.

[Elizabeth Schott]

Mike, if you do try adding a touch of oil, try 100% Clove Oil from your pharmacy or health food store (you usually have to order it special), or others, like Oil of Spike.