Poppy Seed Oil

[Stanka Kordic]

Greetings to all,

Has anyone tried poppy seed oil? Results?

Here's my idea: I'd like to add it to my piles of paint on the palette so they will remain wet as long as possible. I hate the skin that forms!

Then, use Liquin to paint with (my usual).

Can anyone see any problems with this??

[Juan Martinez]

Hi Stanka

I'm sure you'll get responses recommending you don't do what you propose. Personally, I don't think there's anything especially the matter with it except perhaps that you will be adding quite a bit of richness to your paint. (Liquin should be considered as an enrichening agent. That is; not lean, nor neutral.) You might wish to drain some of the linseed oil out of your paint blobs first by letting them sit on an absorbent paper for a few minutes before putting them on the palette. Then, when you add the poppy-seed oil, you'll just be re-oiling the paint back to somewhere near its original amount.

Another option might be to purchase paints (as you need them) that already have a slower-drying oil as their vehicle. I believe that most of W. H. Graham's colours are ground in Walnut oil. Also, there's an outfit in New York (whose name escapes me at the moment) that makes hand-ground colours using your choice of walnut or linseed. If you're interested I can dig around in the bowels of my computer and see if I still have a reference for them.

I suspect that the greatest negative commentary you may receive about your proposed method is that poppy-oil is the weakest binder of the major paint vehicles, which may serve to compromise the paint layers. Of course, the counter for that is that you will be adding Liquin, which is a stronger binder.

Anyway, we'll see what others have to say.

All the best.

Juan

[Marta Prime]

Stanka,

Have you read Karin's post on "How to Save Paint" in this section? Since I started following her suggestions, I have had no more paint drying up to worry about! (Bless you, Karin!)

[Karin Wells]

I really hate it too when the skin forms over my paint! In addition to all my other suggestions, here is yet another one:

Try Winsor Newton's "Blending and Glazing Medium." Add a couple of drops to your paint and/or Liquin and it will prolong the drying time.

[Stanka Kordic]

Great suggestions everyone, thank you!!

[Tom Edgerton]

Stanka,

I used to use poppy oil a lot, but I also found out a few drawbacks and so have stopped. Also, I've gotten so I want my paint to dry faster than when I first started.

What I found out:

1) Poppy oil is slower drying, so it's easy to get a leaner mixture over it, unless you're careful, which leads to "fat over lean" problems. Also, it skins over as it dries, so you think it's dry when it's not. Next layers wrinkle.

2) It is a weak binder, compared to other oils. This promotes cracking. Better (according to Old Holland) to use some other fuller bodied oil - stand, linseed, whatever, in the first layers, and only use poppy oil as a last (on top) glazing medium if desired. Especially since poppy oil is non-yellowing (this is perhaps its best attribute).

I used to use a lot of it in the first layers, and now I worry about the adhesion of the paint over time.

Have you tried using clove oil to slow your drying? ONE or TWO DROPS on each pile of paint on the palette, and the drying time extends from a couple of days to a week or more. You can get it at the "health foods" store, usually. Watch adding too much, though, as you can compromise the linseed oil binder (maybe) and sometimes have an area of paint that seems to NEVER dry (happened to me).

Best,
Tom Edgerton

[Stanka Kordic]

Tom,

Clove Oil! Maybe that's what I was originally thinking...I will try that. Thanks for your response!

[Jim Riley]

I would just add to the caution regarding the wrinkling of poppy oil. I loved painting with it but watched several paintings (from my college days) wrinkle and separate to the extent that they looked like salt flats. It provided an aged and rustic look to paintings that were done in an old master's style, but I decided that it was not worth the risk to continue its use.

I have used oil of cloves and followed the advice that Tom recommended without problems. And you will enjoy the aroma as well.

[William Forward]

Clove oil is an amazing substance and has the ability to keep paintings wet for weeks or longer, depending on the amount used.

I've never used it full strength, as it's potent stuff, but if you want to keep your painting open for a month or more, I have had great results mixing clove oil 1:1 with linseed oil and adding a few drops to each pile of paint on my palette. Lately, I've experimented (on the advice of amazing realist painter and clove fanatic, Lance Richlin) with mixing it 1:6 with safflower oil (that's one part clove to six of saff), which seems to keep the work open for about two weeks.

One key trick is to keep the work, as well as your paint, in an airtight container between painting sessions. For smaller pieces, the large plastic storage boxes available at home supply/clothing stores such as Target are terrific. For larger works, you're on your own, but boxes fashioned from cardboard and plastic sheeting do a good job. When the painting is finished, hang it carefully in a safe place (tilted down to avoid dust), and it will dry over the succeeding weeks.

Clove oil seems best suited to thin, detailed painting (if you paint thick or use a lot of impasto, it may not be the medium for you), and it may sound like a hassle, but it's an amazing experience to work on a painting that's weeks old and feel as if you're painting alla prima. Lance refers to it as "the miracle of the cloves."

[Stanka Kordic]

Thanks, William, for your suggestions as well. I've been using the clove for oil about a year with fantastic results. I also like your idea of putting the palette in an airtight container overnight. Great idea!

Regards to all