Plein Air Painting - Water Mixable Oils

Painting tutorial, en plein air in the woods with my pochade box, mounted on a standard camera tripod.
It’s too cold for watercolour this time of the year, so I used water mixable oils for this one, a limited palette of just Burnt Sienna & Olive Green. I created a simple value study that can be worked up at home in my studio.
Winsor & Newton Artisan Water Mixable Oils
Hardboard panel, primed with acrylic gesso
Daler Rowney Synthetic brushes, Pro Arte Rigger, 1" Bristle brush
If you have any questions, please get in touch via the comments.
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Happy painting!

[@jivka6518]

Nice to see someone actually using water mixable oils….I’ve been using them for couple of years really enjoying the oils without having to do all the other stuff needed to do with oil paints …..results are I believe same ….hadn’t tried them using as plain air medium but your explanation and example helps a lot….Thank you.

[@ChrisStephenArt]

Thanks so much. Water mixable oils are great for plein air work.

[@isobelstewart2354]

inspiring

[@ChrisStephenArt]

Great, glad you like it

[@sabinegrams6271]

Hi Chris, it's nice to finally meet the person behind the fantastic paintings! And this one is wonderfully successful, very atmospheric, simply beautiful! Thanks for painting plein air in the cold temperatures outside 🥶😂. I also didn't know that there was water-thinnable oil paint... very interesting 👍

[@ChrisStephenArt]

Thanks, Sabine. It was extremely cold !! Just a couple of degrees above freezing, still enjoyable though. The water mixable oils are great, especially if you don’t like using chemicals like thinners etc.

[@Keith-R-Taylor]

Tremendous video Chris, thank you for sharing your time and expertise. I am hoping to get out for some plein air painting with my new French easel and acrylics very soon. ☮

[@ChrisStephenArt]

@@Keith-R-Taylor You’re welcome, KT, thank you for watching!! Plein air painting is a great learning experience, I really enjoy it.

[@nellyturrini1886]

Hello! Very beautiful and interesting as usual. Thanks a lot. Would it be possible to get more videos about water mixable oil painting? 😊

[@ChrisStephenArt]

Hi Nelly. Yes, I will be making more at some point.

[@nellyturrini1886]

Great! I just ordered un set of water mixable oil paintings… Looking forward

[@ChrisStephenArt]

@@nellyturrini1886 Fantastic!

[@user-zi8qi9ip2g]

So how do you feel about water mixable compared to oils? I have been trying to use them without great success. I just need to keep at it, I guess. I actually am a watercolor outdoor painter but wanted to try mixables for variety. Thank you so much for sharing this video.😊

[@ChrisStephenArt]

I like them, as with all paint, different brands have different properties. The Winsor & Newton are quite thick, my favourite at the moment are Cobra. That said, I do prefer traditional oils.

[@alextomlinson9890]

I use artisan water mixable oils in the studio and have been thinking about going out bike packing and plein air painting with them but then started to worry about cleaning my brushes over the course of several days camping/painting and what to do with dirty water etc. How do you keep your brushes clean/wet during the course of a day's painting outside?

[@ChrisStephenArt]

Hi Alex, I usually just rinse them and wash them properly when I get home. If I was going to be away for a few days, I’d probably bring some soap, maybe shampoo, to wash the brushes. I always carry an empty bottle to store the dirty water and a plastic bag for waste paper towels etc.

[@alextomlinson9890]

@@ChrisStephenArt Only just seen your reply sorry. Thanks for the response. Have you seen the new Michael Harding 'Miracle Medium' range which is supposed to be a completely non toxic, non smelly, non flammable plant based alternative to turps? It might make me reconsider old school oils.

[@ChrisStephenArt]

@alextomlinson9890 I’ve just had a look online, very interesting, thanks for the tip. I generally just use odourless mineral spirits with traditional oils, although I do need to have a window open even with those.

[@WordlyPythons]

What kind of box do you use

[@ChrisStephenArt]

It’s a cheap paintbox, that I converted to be used as a pochade.