A Beginners guide to Water-Mixable Oil paints

If you love the richness of oil paints but dislike the mess and fumes of traditional oils, water-mixable oil paints might be your perfect solution! These innovative low odour paints offer the same buttery texture, vibrant colour, and slow drying time as traditional oils—without the need for harsh solvents like turpentine or mineral spirits.

Why make the switch? Water-mixable oils clean up easily with just soap and water, making them safer for both artists and the environment. They produce fewer toxic fumes, reducing health risks, and are ideal for home studios or shared spaces. Plus, they dry faster than traditional oils, giving you more control over your work while still allowing for extended blending time.

Whether you are a beginner or an experienced artist looking for a more convenient and eco-friendly option, this guide will help you get started with water-mixable oils!

Who Are They Made For?

• Artists Sensitive to Solvents: Ideal for painters who want to avoid fumes and chemical exposure.

• Beginner's & Students: Easier to clean up and work with, making them great for learning oil painting techniques.

• Eco-Conscious Artists: Water-based clean-up reduces environmental impact.

• Artists Who Work Indoors: Without the need for strong-smelling solvents, they are suitable for home studios and enclosed spaces.

Brand Options for Water-Mixable Oil paints;

Press the links for more information.

Seawhite Water-Mixable Oil Paints 10 x 45ml Seawhite Water-Mixable Oil Paints provide the same excellent results as traditional oil paints, eliminating the need for harmful solvents and associated odours. Can be mixed and cleaned with water. Made with high-grade vegan pigments and oils. The highest degree of lightfastness varies between 2-star (good) and 3-star (maximum).
Royal Talens Cobra Water Mixable Oils Study Wooden Box - 10 x 40ml This convenient box contains everything you need to start painting with oil paint, without having to use solvents. The set includes a selection of ten Cobra Study water-mixable oil colours, a bottle of painting medium, solvent-free paint thinner, and various accessories to help you get started.
Daler-Rowney Georgian Water Mixable Oil Set - 10 x 37ml Tubes All Georgian Water Mixable Oil colours offer high levels of lightfastness, pigment load and durability. The viscosity and smooth texture of the colours of the tube mirror traditional oil colours and can be used for impasto techniques, or thinned down with water they create wash effects similar to watercolours. Surface dries in 5 to 7 days, and no colour shift from wet to dry.
Winsor & Newton Artisan Water Mixable Oils - Studio Set of 14pcs Like traditional oil colour, Artisan Water Mixable Oil Colour is made from linseed oil and safflower oil, though this has been modified so that they will mix and clean with water. Artisan has a thick, buttery consistency with a slow drying time, and each colour has a high degree of permanency and high pigment strength.
Daler-Rowney Georgian Water Mixable Oil Colours - 37ml Individual tubes offer high concentration of pigment, excellent light fastness, smooth buttery consistency, excellent water miscibility and dries in 5 to 7 days.
Winsor & Newton Artisan Water Mixable Oil Colours - Set of 10 x 12ml Winsor & Newton Artisan Oil Colour is a genuine oil colour which thins with water and cleans with soap and water. We suggest trying these colours out on an oil artboard pad or a canvas board with a pochade box when out in the field. The water washable nature of these paints makes them easy to use with minimal fuss.
Winsor & Newton Artisan Water Mixable Oil Colour - Beginner's Set - 37ml Tubes Winsor & Newton have developed a genuine oil colour which thins with water and cleans up with soap and water. To achieve a full range of oil colour techniques use the Artisan Water Mixable Mediums. No hazardous solvents are required. The unique Artisan formulation, manufacture and quality control ensure an oil colour of absolute excellence.

 

Mediums & Additives for Water-Mixable Oil Paints:

While water can be used to thin the paint, special water-mixable oil mediums can enhance flow, gloss, or drying time. Avoid adding too much water, as it can weaken the paint’s structure. There are some great brands below that work cohesively with Water Mixable Oil paint.

• Fast-Drying Medium (Water-Mixable): Speeds up drying time.

• Linseed Oil (Water-Mixable): Increases gloss and flow.

• Gel Medium (Water-Mixable): Keeps paint thick for impasto while retaining water solubility.

	Daler-Rowney Water Mixable Oil - Linseed Oil (75ml) A Water Mixable Oil Medium for Oil Colours. Use this medium to thin, mix, and glaze water-soluble oil colours without breaking down the paint's pigment cohesion. Georgian oil paints are available in 37ml tubes, 200ml tubes and a selection set.
	Daler-Rowney Water Mixable Oil - Stand Oil (75ml) Daler-Rowney Water Mixable Stand Oil reduces the consistency of oil colours and slows down their drying time. Used straight from the bottle, this oil will give the paint a high gloss finish Ideal for adjusting the finish of paints, creating long workable blends, and making jewel-like glazes.
	Daler-Rowney Water Mixable Oil Medium for Oil Colours (75ml) A Water Mixable Oil Medium for Oil Colours. Use this medium to thin, mix, and glaze water-soluble oil colours without breaking down the paint's pigment cohesion. Georgian oil paints are available in 37ml tubes, 200ml tubes and a selection set.
	Winsor & Newton Artisan Water Mixable Stand Oil - 75ml Bottle Winsor & Newton Artisan Water Mixable Stand Oil is designed to improve the flow and levelling of Artisan oil colours. It's excellent for glazing and producing fine detail as it smooths brushwork. Stand oil is slow-drying.
	Daler-Rowney Georgian Water Mixable Oil - Fast Drying Medium (75ml) This Daler-Rowney Georgian Fast Drying Medium speeds the drying of water mixable oil colours and improves their flow. This medium will reduce brush marks and offers smooth application, as well as increasing both gloss and transparency. You can also use this medium for glazing and producing fine detail.
	Winsor & Newton Artisan Water Mixable Impasto Medium - 60ml Tube Winsor & Newton Artisan Water Mixable Impasto Medium is an impasto and texturing medium for use with Artisan oil colours. Always mix thoroughly into the colour. For thick impasto, build the texture in several layers allowing each layer to dry first. This medium speeds the drying of the colours.

 

Characteristics of Water-Mixable Oil paints

Mixing & Dilution:

• You can mix these paints with water to create thinner, more transparent layers or to adjust consistency. In this diluted state, the paint can be applied as an initial  base layer to block out large areas of your composition. The water evaporates quickly at this stage so drying time is slightly accelerated. This initial layer diluted with water will dry matt and you can see your brush strokes in the paint. 

• Once your first layer has dried you can apply your second layer over the top. This second layer of paint can be diluted with water-mixable painting medium or water mixable linseed oil, which will improve the flow of the paint, slows down the drying time and adds a gloss or satin finish depending on which medium you use. 

• They can also be mixed with a very small amount of traditional oil paints, but using too much conventional oil paint may reduce their water-solubility and you may need solvents to clean your brushes.

• Alternatively you can create a thicker impasto by adding a Water Mixable Impasto Medium.

• As with traditional oil paints they are very easy to mix with a palette knife, enabling secondary, tertiary and new colour palettes to be created.

Blending & Layering:

• These paints blend on the canvas and the palette similarly to traditional oils, allowing for smooth transitions and detailed work.
• They dry slower than acrylics, but faster than traditional oil paint, giving you extended working time.

• These paints may be applied directly from the tube onto canvas, canvas board, wooden panels, or oil paper, either undiluted or without the addition of medium or water for a thick impasto technique.

  Different brands will have a slightly different viscosity. Remember though when the water content of these paints have evaporated, the oil pigment will oxidise similarly to traditional oil paint to dry fully and if you have used a thick impasto this will take a longer time.

• Use the Fat over Lean principle of painting similar to regular oil paints. This simply means the first layer needs to be applied thinly with water as a dilutant and left to dry.  
• Once dried, subsequent layers (which may be a thicker impasto or richer in pigment colour) can be applied over the top. If you are planning to apply multiple layers of water mixable oil paint, you can, with each subsequent layer add a less water and a little bit more water mixable oil medium. This will avoid the top layers drying before the base or under layers. If your top layers dry too quickly before your base layers you may see cracks in the paint.

• When applying the final layers of your artwork, it's crucial to transition away from using water as a mixing agent. Instead, focus on utilizing solely the water mixable oil medium to achieve the desired consistency and blending effects. This shift will ensure that the final layers possess the optimal properties of the oil paint, including its rich colour saturation, smooth texture, and gradual drying time. Remember, while water is initially beneficial for thinning the paint and facilitating blending in the early stages, it should be progressively eliminated as you build up the layers. By adhering to this approach, you'll harness the full potential of the water mixable oil paints and achieve a professional-quality finish.

Press this link for a print out of the Fat over Lean technique

Mediums & Additives: While water can be used to thin the paint, special water-mixable oil mediums can enhance impasto, flow, gloss, and drying time. Avoid adding too much water, as it can weaken the paint’s structure. Do not mix the mediums together in one jar, always use them separately.

Cleaning Up: Brushes and tools can be cleaned with water and soap, eliminating the need for harsh solvents. We recommendThe Masters Brush Cleaner - 75ml, just rinse ;your brushes first with water first then use the brush cleaner and rinse again, this will help restore and condition your brushes and this cleaner is suitable for both natural and synthetic bristles.

Drying Time: These paints take longer to dry than acrylics but may dry slightly faster than traditional oil paints, depending on the thickness of application. And will dry even quicker if you use Daler-Rowney Georgian Water Mixable Oil - Fast Drying Medium (75ml).

Techniques, Tips and guidelines for Using Water Mixable Oil Paints

 Basic Techniques:

✅Alla Prima (Wet-on-Wet):

• Since water-mixable oils dry slower than acrylics, you can blend colours directly on the canvas.

• Use a soft brush or palette knife for smooth transitions.

✅Glazing:

• Thin the paint with a water-mixable oil medium (rather than just water) to create transparent layers.

• Wait for each layer to dry before adding another for depth and luminosity.

✅Impasto:

• These paints work well for thick applications using a palette knife or stiff brush.

• Since they dry slower, you can manipulate textures over time.

✅Underpainting:

• Use diluted paint (water or medium) for an initial sketch or for blocking out large areas of colour.  Subsequent richer, thicker layers of colour can be blended on top of this initial layer

✅Scumbling:  Apply a dry brush with little paint over a dry layer to create a broken colour effect.

We tested Seawhite Water-Mixable Oil Paints 10 x 45ml

Testing Opacity  Opaque Colours; Typically include Titanium White, Cadmium Red Deep, Yellow Ochre, and Mars Black. Semi-Opaque Colours: Such as Burnt Sienna, Cerulean Blue, and Ultramarine, Lemon Yellow and Cadmium Yellow. Transparent Colours:Often include Crimson Lake and Viridian Green.
Testing Tinting Strength. We added small incremental amounts of Titanium White paint to a Secondary colour to monitor the change in pigment strength. Laying down each mixture in a ladder will allow you to see how much Titanium White you will need to create a lighter tint of the same colour. A Strong tinting strength colour will influence the outcome more than a weaker tinting strength colour. This is a good test to do with different brands of the same colour.
Testing dilution with water to create thin paint for initial first layers. The dark area to the left of the jug handle was painted only adding water to the pigment,   hence the brush marks. The actual Jug and handle has had a number of thicker layers of paint added, progressively using less water to dilute and a water mixable oil medium to thin paint.
Dilution with  Daler-Rowney Water Mixable Oil medium. To illustrate how different the finishes are, the lower square has been created with Seawhite’s water mixable oil paint diluted with just water, giving us a dull matt surface. For the middle square we used water mixable oil medium with the pigment and you can clearly see the sheen on top of the surface. As the pigment oxidizes this sheen will sink into the canvas but it won’t dry completely matt
Creating, vivid Secondary colours; We mixed; Seawhite water mixable oil paints. Lemon Yellow mixed with Scarlet Lake, and with Cadmium Red Deep, to create a range of orange hues We then mixed Cadmium Yellow mixed with Scarlet Lake, and with Red Deep, to create a range of orange hues.
Creating Tints and Shades Testing out Titanium White and Black. We used mixed Cerulean Blue with increasing amounts of Black to create a variety of shades. We then mixed Ultramarine Blue with Black to create a deeper variety of shade.
Glazing We mixed a diluted dark red pigment  with Water Mixable oil medium to create a glaze.  We then painted the glaze over a number of dried painted squares.  One coloured square had been diluted with just water providing a matt finish.  One coloured square had been mixed with Water Mixable medium.  The glaze provides a subtle change in colour.
Viscosity of paint Seawhite’s water mixable oil paints have a smooth and creamy viscosity, making it an ideal medium to use for Impasto techniques.

 

Best Products & Tools to Use with Water Mixable Oil paint

If you want to get the best results from water mixable oils, using the right tools can make a big difference. Here are some top recommendations:

Brushes, Palette Knives and Silicone painting tools

 Brushes;

Synthetic bristle brushes work well (since natural bristles can become damaged by water), they are durable and water-friendly. Use flat brushes for bold strokes, round brushes for details, and fan brushes for blending.

 

Silicone painting tools:

Princeton Catalyst silicone blades are perfect for spreading and blending water mixable oil paints, offering smooth, brushless texture control. Their flexible edges allow for dynamic mark-making and easy clean-up with just soap and water.

 

Palette Knives for Textured Effects:

Great for mixing paints on the palette and for creating thick, textured painting techniques like impasto.

Surfaces and Substrates

Canvas, canvas board, wood panels, or thick paper primed with acrylic gesso. Avoid overly absorbent surfaces, as they may cause the paint to sink in.

Best Canvases and Canvas Boards

	NEW ARTdiscount Premium STANDARD PROFILE Stretched Canvases 420gsm - Multi-Packs - Crafted from 420gsm medium grain 100% cotton, our canvas offers an exceptional surface for your artistic expression. Triple primed with Archival quality.
	Seawhite Stretched Canvas - 380gsm - Deep Edge - Multi-Packs - Each canvas is stretched and quadruple primed. Priming helps to protect the fibres from the oxidisation that occurs over time, especially when using oil paints.
	Winsor & Newton Artists' Canvas Boards - Multipacks -triple coated with one coat of acid-free sizing and two coats of highly pigmented primer.
	ARTdiscount Economy Canvas Boards (Multi-Packs) -Canvas boards are sheets of compressed card adhered to primed cotton canvas.

 

Oil  Papers

Oil painting paper is specially primed to handle water mixable oil paints without warping or bleeding. It provides a convenient, portable surface for practice or finished work with rich colour retention.

	Seawhite Oil Painting Paper - A2 Plus - 240gsm - 10 Sheet Pack -Seawhite's Oil Painting Paper has a primed, linen-textured surface that allows artists to start painting right away.
	Seawhite Cotton Canvas Sheets Pad - 280gsm - 10 Sheets - The Seawhite Cotton Canvas Pad is ideal for use with oils, acrylics and mixed media. Its 280gsm, quadrupled-primed surface is acid-free, making for an optimal working surface.
	Daler-Rowney Georgian Oil Painting Pad- Daler-Rowney Georgian Oil Paper features an excellent surface for oil colour with a natural texture similar to canvas.

Wooden Panels:Pre size and prime your panel before using. 

Follow our step by step check list or download and print off.

Paulownia is technically asoft hardwood — it's porous and very absorbent, so proper sealing is especially important. It’s less likely to warp than many other soft woods, but its open grain can suck in paint like a sponge if left unsealed.

	ARTessentials Artists Wooden Panels (Multi Packs) ARTessentials Cradled Wooden Panels are made of a smooth, sanded Paulownia rapid growing hardwood, reinforced to prevent warping. Sturdy and lightweight, they are perfect for both painting outdoors or in the studio. ART Essentials Wooden Artists panels are manufactured by a leading producer of Artists supplies with worldwide distribution. The manufacturer is FSC accredited.
	Global Unprimed Artist Wood Painting Panel (Natural Wood) Global Unprimed Wood Painting Panels are suitable for most techniques and applications. These panels are are made from birchwood, with a natural wood, smooth finish.  Perfect for use with oils, acrylics, gouache, charcoal, pencil, and airbrushing. Made to specifications by well-known Italian producer Belle Arti.
	Seawhite Cradled Wood Painting Panels - Round - Pack of 3 These Round Cradled Wood Painting Panels from Seawhite come in packs of 3 and offer artists a unique painting experience. Their circular shape allow for unconventional and eye-catching compositions with portraits, landscapes, and abstract work, and they work great for mandala-style artwork.
	Seawhite Unprimed Cradled Panels - Packs of 3 These Cradled Wood Painting Panels from Seawhite feature 18-20mm deep frames. They are a brilliant, interesting painting surface—their extra-smooth birch wood allows paint to sit in place and stay vibrant. Seawhite panels are becoming the popular alternative to canvas, have you given them a try yet?

 

 

Water mixable oil paints offer the richness and versatility of traditional oils without the need for harsh solvents—making them a fantastic choice for beginners and seasoned artists alike. Whether you're exploring oils for the first time or looking for a more studio-friendly alternative, these paints provide a great balance of performance and convenience. So grab your brushes, experiment freely, and enjoy the journey into the vibrant world of water mixable oils!