Never CLEAN Oil Paint Brushes AGAIN! | Plein Air Oil Painting Art Vlog
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 พ.ค. 2021
- If you've wondered if you have to clean oil paint brushes after every time you paint, there's a great beginner's tip that will help! Cleaning oil paint brushes doesn't have to be a hassle after every plein air painting session, plus if you're not quite sure how to clean oil paint brushes, you can skip this step, or at least do it less frequently. After wiping off excess paint on a paper towel and rinsing the brush in mineral spirits, (I use Gamsol) I show you how you can make your own oil painting brush dip, similar to Geneva Brush dip, by mixing safflower oil and clove bud oil. (You can also use any slow drying oil such as poppy seed oil as well) Not only will this help you skip the time consuming step of cleaning your oil painting brushes, it will also help you keep your oil painting brushes in good condition and ready for the next plein air or studio painting session. Cleaning paint brushes doesn't have to be a headache anymore! Use this oil painting tip and make the oil painting process easier for yourself. Brush care and conditioning a brush will keep you from having to do major restoring to your brushes in the long run and that means more plein air oil painting and more creativity for you! In this art vlog we talk the basics of brush cleaning. I hope it helps!
Thank you to anyone who considers giving a Super Thanks! The Super Thanks will help me afford a new tripod to keep filming these painting adventures! (my old one broke!) 🙏❤️
Thanks for the tips! I have also found that if your brushes do dry you can put them in some Murphy’s oil soap for 24 hours and it will take all the dry pigment off. I have saved many a brush I thought were ruined like that 😊
Wow! That's really great to know. I just started using their soap and I really like it, especially for shaping my brushes. I should make an update video for this because I just found an even better method that doesn't require you to come back and check your brushes.
You know an artist is committed to the craft when their beard & head make a short flat brush haha, respect though that is a mighty beard!
HAHAHA! Touché!
Good recommendation -- but walnut oil is very slow drying and a lot cheaper than artist's safflower or poppy. I use it without clove oil, works fine. Also, after I dip the brush in the cleaning oil, I don't scrape it on the side of the cup, because that would land a lot of paint in the oil. Instead, I wipe it on a rag or a paper towel, or just rest it on its side on a rack without wiping it.
Great tips! I’ve also switched to dipping in walnut oil and no longer use the clove.
What a good idea. I haven’t used oils in a very long time, but I’m bound to pick it up again. I’ll file this tip away for when the time comes!
It’s a nice time saver! But only if you’re actually going to paint again. In that way it kinda motivates me to keep painting throughout the week and not let my brushes get destroyed. Sort of a sneaky motivator against laziness.
Thanks for the video. I didn't know this tip yet.
Absolutely. Thanks Carl
GREAT INFO!!! THANK YOU!!!
You are so welcome! I hope you find it helpful!
Love it. I know also Lavender Essential Oil can be used as a brush cleaner too instead of brush cleaner. I bet that would be very expensive though.
I’ve heard spike of lavender oil which I’m not sure if it’s the same as essential oil or not, but I’ve wanted to try it sometime! I use just regular walnut oil to clean my brushes and it’s really nice
Good to know. I’ll give this a try!
It’s been a big time saver for me especially if I’m painting regularly.
@@DannySabraArt that’s exactly what I’m thinking too.
I use baby oil, which works like a charm. I then was them in soap. Brushes soft and supple, no fumes, no toxicity. etc.
That’s a great alternative! After making this video I learned that you really don’t have to use archival oils, any store bought oil will work as long as you clean the brush off before starting your next session. Baby oil is a great tip! 👍
Windsor Newtons brush cleaner is phenomenal btw.
Good to know! I just recently started using masters brush cleaner but I might have to check out W&N too
THANK YOU!! This makes everything so much easier. You mentioned Poppy seed oil as well and that it's (even more?) slow drying, would I want to add some clove oil to that as well or can I use it as is?
I'm just getting started and haven't tried *any* medium so I don't have any experience when it comes to drying time. I'm interested in doing some plein air painting this summer and assume that would speed up the drying time.
Absolutely! Poppy seed oil would be absolutely fine on its own. Since I’ve made this video some controversy has arisen about the clove oil and *some* conservationists seem to say it isn’t a good idea to use. That said many good painters have used it but I have personally moved away from using it in my brush dip and I just use straight oil. I’m currently using artist grade walnut oil in a paint pan that you would use to paint your house. I put about an inch of oil in the pan and just set my brushes in that. When I want to use them I pull them out, wipe them off and am ready to go. Haven’t had to “wash” a brush with soap for months. Oil paint oxidizes rather than dries so plein air painting won’t particularly effect drying time. However unless you paint with tons of slow oils or with extremely thick impasto paint most of them will dry within a week or so in my experience.
If you do decide to use clove oil I would recommend washing the brush with mineral spirits before you paint your next session. The concern is that since it slows oxidation that it could potentially keep a painting from drying correctly and lead to problems down the road. I’m not sure this is the case and it needs studied more but I think to be safe I don’t use it as much.
Hope that helps and let me know if you have any other questions!
Hi @@DannySabraArt, Thank you for the update! Regardless, I found this video to be such an amazing anxiety-reliever.. That it doesn't have to be so complicated 🙂I've read that many are against using poppy seed oil as well since the bonding isn't as strong and some also claims that it won't ever really "hardens". I'm not a chemist, but I want to believe that the poppy seed oil that's sold as 'oil paint medium' will eventually get dry/oxidate/curate.
I never thought about using paint pans (the ones you use with paint rollers I assume?) but that's so clever!! I will give that a try. Approximately how often do you switch the oil before it gets too dense/sticky? If that has happened yet.
I'm currently binge watching your videos 🙃 They are very helpful and comforting.
@@jcookie9448 thank you so much! I hope you find enjoyment and value out of them. I agree, I think if you’re buying an artist medium poppyseed oil it will oxidize and harden. I try to use good practices but I also am not overly concerned with my art lasting 5000 years haha. Not at this stage anyway. So I try to use art supplies the way manufacturers intend and go from there. As for the walnut oil I have never had to replace it with it getting oxidized but I’ve noticed the level goes down a bit I think just from taking brushes in and out so every now and then I replenish the oil. If I leave a brush out of the dip it will dry after a week and I’ve panicked but usually can bring it back after putting it in some mineral spirits. So overall it really makes it much more convenient.
@DannySabraArt Oh man! I had all my supplies gathered up for solvent-free oil painting - including a bottle of clove oil. I'm glad I watched this vid and browsed the comments before I started mixing it with stuff.
I'll hold onto it. I'm surprised that a drop or two in safflower oil, blotted out before working, would harm paintings all that much. But then I'm not a conservator. I'll try to keep up with what they say.
@@vermis8344 personally based on what I’ve read there is debate over the issue. Mark Carder who did the presidential portrait for George W Bush uses clove oil mixed into his paint! I feel like someone painting at that level isn’t going to be doing something that dramatically destroys the paintings. One thing I’ve learned is that when it comes to conservation and “best practices” sometimes we’re talking about if a painting will last 500 years or 700 years. To me I’m not sure it’ll make much of a difference with my paintings. That said I do use clove oil but I don’t mix it into the dip. I just put it on a cotton ball on my palette if I need that to stay wet. As for my dip it never really oxidizes too badly but every now and then I add more oil as I lose some pulling brushes out and wiping them down before a painting session. I hope that helps!
Not an oil painter but I still enjoyed your video!
Thank you!! Glad you enjoyed it!
never knew about the clove oil trick with the safflower - nice - I have some actually (I find it's much cheaper than going to the dentist:)
Oh do you use it on your teeth? You’ll have to tell me about that. I have learned that you don’t necessarily want to paint with the clove oil in your medium as some people say it can cause problems on down the line. But in terms of making a brush dip or also putting some on your palette to keep paint fresh it totally works.
@@DannySabraArt it's for toothache Danny - it's what the dentists put in the mouthwash they give you - it sterilizes..but more importantly, numbs:) also good for throat infections (dont swallow tho) - just a few drops in a small glass of water and gargle/swill...saved me a few times
@@robinaart72 I will have to try it!
great
Thank you!
I'm new to oil painting so this may be a stupid question. Can you use Safflower oil from the grocery store? it's a lot less expensive is why I ask.
Hey yes you totally can as long as it’s just for the brush dip! In fact you can use any vegetable oil. It’s mostly just to keep the brushes wet. When you back to paint next time rinse them in your mineral spirits or just wipe off the excess on a paper towel and you’re good to go!
Hi the best way to oil paint a sunrise? Thanks
Thanks for the idea! I'm actually working on a video on that and it'll be out soon! Keep an eye open! it should be out soon!
Thank you for the video. Is this method suitable for water soluble paint?
No, unfortunately this wouldn't be a good method for water soluble paint because water will be repelled by the oil in the brush. Unfortunately I'm not sure that there is a comparable method for water soluble paint because soaking brushes in water can dissolve the glue that holds the bristles and ferrule onto the brush, and therefor ruin the brush. Your best bet if you're using acrylics is to rinse your brushes very well after each painting session. OR you could switch to using oils! ;)
I paint with water soluble oil paint 🙂. I do not have a studio and I don’t want the house to smell of terpentine. But I will try it out with an old brush.
@@arieswets Oh I understand. I thought you meant acrylic or gouache which are often called water soluble. With water soluble oil paint the best thing is to clean your brushes in just plain water and soap. .But if you want you can try this method with one brush and see if it works. I understand that the oil in water soluble oils has been altered to dissolve so you might have mixed results if you use an oil other than an oil soluble oil. But they do make mediums for water soluble oil painting so probably one of those would work for a brush dip.
Can you wrap safflower dipped brushes with saran wrap and slow down the dreaded oxidation even longer? Or even brushes loaded with pigment??
Interesting question. You probably can and maybe even freeze them. But if you’re going to leave them for a long time it’s more advisable to simply leave the brush bristles in the dip soaking. This won’t damage the brush at all and will keep the brushes soft for a very long time. You’d have to be talking months of not years before the oil would evaporate assuming you have it in a dish or tray of some sort. This is actually what I do now. I use a painters tray and put food grade oil in it. At the end of my painting sessions I just set the brushes in there and leave them till my next painting session. Hope this is helpful.
I wouldn’t leave brushes loaded with pigment because different pigments dry at different rates and you might find your brush dried out the next day. Sometimes I surprised what’s dry and what isn’t on my palette just after 24 hours even if all I use is linseed. Best to dip your brushes and leave them in the dip
Thx
@@robmeyer7985 no problem. Happy painting!
👍😊
Thanks!
I just use a big bucket of vegetable “oil” medium as my cleaner. I use odorless thinner only as a medium, which mixes well with this medium. I never clean my brushes at all! The oil medium stays “wet” and protects my brushes…forever as much as I can tell. And I am not getting nearly as much exposure to the (odorless but just as toxic!) thinner.
Nice! So you actually paint with vegetable oil as a medium? Does it effect your paintings dry time? I’ve heard that vegetable oil from the store isn’t archival but I haven’t looked at the science behind it too thoroughly
@@DannySabraArt Its a medium they sell here in Italy, called “distilled vegetable oil.” Maimeri makes one, but I have also used similar in the US. Only thing I have noticed is that when I use it as a medium the colors seem slightly muted, or even muddy. This won’t do, hence I use it in my brush rinse tub. Then, because I LOVE the way good old “aquaraggia”(thinner) mixes with my oils, it is my preferred medium. Of course ideal would be water, but have you ever tried water-miscible oils? Please!! Anyway, I love the stuff. I am hard enough on my brushes without drying them out by washing them with soap.
But here’s another tip: I buy student grade brushes from Blick, which are very cheap, and just throw them away when they begin to misbehave. No guilt!
That’s very cool! I often use the student grade brushes from Blick as well. They’re not too bad! I struggle to spend lots of money on brushes although I have a few nicer brushes for gouache and watercolor that I really enjoy. I used to use mineral spirits as my main medium when painting but I noticed that often the colors looked more muted than when I’ve used other mediums. I’ve been experimenting with using oils (walnut or linseed) or sometimes gamblin’s solvent free gel and I feel the colors are much more robust when I use a bodied medium like that. I’ve been trying to use less and less mineral spirits and have switched to using walnut oil to clean my brushes and I’ve noticed they hold up much better than they used to. I’m planning on making a video about it soon.
As for water miscible oils I do have some and use them occasionally. I haven’t quite gotten the full hang of them. It seems you have to use synthetic brushes more because using hog hair and dipping it in water it becomes totally soft and unusable. I wouldn’t say I’ve had any issues with the colors themselves however. I have one video on the first time I used them and I was happy with the results.
Hi please help me im actually confuse can i use sunflower oil to clean my brush while painting? just to clean my brush not thin my paint and for thinning i use linseed oil
Yes you can. If it’s during a painting I would use artists grade safflower oil. You can also use walnut oil which is good for cleaning brushes during painting.
@@DannySabraArt i only have sunflower oil though is it still okay? i can use linseed oil though but i don't have enough is sunflower oil still manageable?
@@jhussss any art grade oil for oil painting will be fine. Just be careful using cooking or food oils if you’re using DURING the painting. After the painting you can dip in food grade oil just like I show in the video here. But if it’s cleaning during a painting I would use artist grade oil from an art supply shop because these oils have been purified and Are archival and will not yellow as much as a food grade oil.
Hi, could i use safflower oil that is organic and cold pressed? Because i couldn't found the artist grade one :(
Hey Jul! You definitely can. Actually you could even use vegetable oil if you wanted to! Any oil will work, but I mention safflower oil because of it's slow drying times. Since you're not actually painting with the oil just using it to keep your brushes fresh, you should be totally fine using the safflower oil meant for consumption. I've actually discovered another method that Rembrandt used which was to leave his brushes sitting in oil. If you have a container and you can leave your brushes on their side, you literally could use vegatable oil and they'll stay wet and fresh inside the oil till your next painting session. Eventually you should probably clean your brushes out someday but this helps not having to clean them after every session.
Another oil you could try is poppy seed oil. But as I was mentioning you only need a slow drying oil if you're going to "dip" your brushes and then leave them exposed to air. If you try the other method where the brush hair is actually submerged in oil, it can be any oil and doesn't need to be an expensive artist grade oil like safflower.
@@DannySabraArt thank you so much for the clear explanation !
@@julstvn no problem! Hope it helps!
Hi Danny, I know this sounds strange, but a while back I read something about linseed oil and spontaneous combustion. Since that time, I have ceased using linseed oil. Do you know anything about this? Thank you.
Yeah I do. I think all quick drying oils (essentially all artist medium oils) will have the risk of spontaneous combustion when in rags because the heat from oxidization can catch rags on fire. This is only if the rags are bunched up or in a big pile. Easy solution is to hang your rags flat (like socks on a clothes line) and they’ll dry without creating enough heat to catch. If you throw your rags away you can also dip them in water first which also solves the e problem. And if you want to throw money at the issue you can get a fireproof waste disposal can. This is what art schools and fine artists use.
But a bottle of linseed oil will not spontaneously combust or else all the art stores would’ve burned down by now! Haha. It’s just the combination of adding that oil to combustible fabric rags or paper towels, and then crumpling up that rag so that it traps heat *could* lead to a situation where enough heat builds up to create a fire.
The solutions are easy and there is no need to let it stop you from using linseed oil or any other oil. Linseed is a great medium!
Thank you for this awesome question. I hope this helps alleviate your concern!
@@DannySabraArt Hi Danny, So nice of you to respond, and so quickly.
Thank you for allaying my fears and in a humorous manner.
I know that throughout history, it seems that a disproportionate amount of artist have lost everything from studio fires.
I will now open my bottle of linseed oil, which I purchased a couple of years ago, only to read about this risk the next day.
I owe you one.
Thank you.
@@Dennis-Hare my pleasure. I know what you mean and it’s definitely smart to look into all of those things and have a healthy concern. Art supplies can be hazardous just as anything can be. But as long as you keep it away from flame and don’t create an obvious fire hazard with the rags you should be completely fine.
Never wash brushes again??? Awesome 👍 you would fix all my problems lol
Try it! It works for me.. the only drawback is if you're not going to paint for a long time you definitely have to wash them or else the brush will harden to concrete! (i speak from experience) but with this mixture you have 7-14 days depending on how warm and dry your climate is and how much you saturate the brushes (don't skimp on the oil.. really saturate them and you'll be good)
Well I use liquin most of the time so I don't know if it will work
@@GMammanoArt I find that it works for me provided that you clean it in your mineral spirits really well and provided you’re going to paint again within three days or so. If you saturate the brush with oil it should be good for at least three and maybe longer. One thing I didn’t mention is the stay wet time will depend on your climate, both humidity and heat. Low humidity and high heat will shorten the dry time. Just something to consider, but it still could work
would you use mineral oil or baby oil? What about water mixable oils?
You could use mineral oil or baby oil just fine. Just make sure to wipe off the excess oil thoroughly or rinse in mineral spirits if you use them before resuming painting. If using water mixable oils I would use water mixable oil to dip your brushes in but you could also rinse your brushes in water and they should be ready to paint with the next day. If you’re really concerned about paint drying when using water mixable oils you can rinse the brush in water and then keep the bristles a little wet and wrap them in aluminum foil. They’ll still be damp the next day for painting and you shouldn’t have any problems.
@@DannySabraArt oh! The aluminum foil is a great idea! And water mixable oil is also a great tip.
@@susansimmons7955 hope it helps! 👍
Not to be picky...but linseed oil is or is not ok and is or is not a slow drying medium? I'm confused? L
Great question Teresa. I did misspeak here and meant to say Safflower oil not linseed. linseed is a fast drying oil. That said it can be slowed down with clove and if you wanted to preserve your brushes for a short time like a day and all you had on hand was linseed it would get the job done. I’ve done it my self but I found that a slow oil like safflower or poppy works better. The other variable I didn’t discuss here is the local temperature and climate. Hotter dryer climates will have the oils oxidize sooner so you should try it out and monitor just how long you can get out of it. There’s some variability. That said the more oil you dip it in the longer it’ll stay wet. Hope that helps! Thanks for clarifying that!
I just use safflower oil from my kitchen. No problems so far.
Yep that will work as long as you’re going to paint again relatively soon. Doesn’t need to be artist grade oil at all.
@@DannySabraArt , thank you. Good to know. I paint almost every day and I think less cleaning and the oil are good for my brushes. I buy my Rosemary brushes from Studio Pintura here in the US and they recommend not using Gamsol on their brushes, but use odorless turps or oil. Interesting.
@@---Dana---- that is interesting. I’d think any kind of turpentine would be more aggressive on the brushes than Gamsol. But oil for sure is kinder to the brushes. I find eventually if you want them totally clean you do have to go in with soap and water every now and again but o my if you want your brushes spotless.
1:00 The pigments never harden on the brush. The rest of oil and resins does!
Interesting. I assumed since the mineral spirits breaks down the oil, that what hardens is residual pigment. But you may be correct, it could be residual oil. I've often wondered if you could clean a brush adequately with just OMS and not have to actually go to the soap and water stage, but it seems ubiquitously advocated that mineral spirits alone will not adequately clean a brush.
@@DannySabraArt Hi, there is usually a bit of resin in oil paints, too (e.g. damar). Resins dissolve in oils and in turpentine, but not in mineral "spirit", which is kerosene in fact. Most pigments have the form of anorganic powder, which does not change during paint hardening. Maybe turpentine alone (even non-rectified cheap one) could clean brushes well.
Interesting! Thanks for that info. I wonder why the change from turpentine to mineral spirits as the predominant brush cleaner. Both are toxic no? Is it just mineral spirits have less odor? I find most of my paint tubes list only two ingredients, pigment and linseed oil. But is there resin in the linseed oil?
@@DannySabraArt 1. Turpentine often causes heavy alergic reaction. Mineral spirit is more mild.
2. Pure linseed oil contains no resin. Manufacturers tend to add small amounts (less than 10%) of materials as paraphine, resin, aluminum oxide etc. to improve stability or modify texture of the paint. They say these are "secret recipes".
3. I use water mixable oil paints now, which enables me to clean brushes with warm water only.
@@ButtonsKing thanks for all this info! It never occurred to me that they might leave some ingredients out. I’ve been thinking of trying water soluble oils for a while now. Do you find you lose anything in the color? What are the main cons of water soluble oils?
I’ve been using a brush do for years and I swear by it . Brushes last so much longer when you’re not incessantly cleaning them
Yes absolutely! I’ve been experimenting with dropping solvents altogether and only cleaning my brushes with oil as well and I’ve noticed my brushes hold up much better. I still am not 100% convinced on never using solvent but I think using it less definitely keeps the brushes in good shape for longer.
So, you've sold me the car and super expensive wipers, and are now working on upgrade my tires to quadruple thread or something. Seriously, lots of information in this painting video, but you've worn me out with all the options. What's the one thing I should put my brushes in (or coat it with), or should I really just be cleaning my brushes?
You can put your brushes in vegetable oil and wipe them off before you paint again. Hope that helps.
CLOVE OIL NEVER DRIES. IT IS DESTRUCTIVE TO MULTI-LAYERED PAINTINGS, ESPECIALLY WHEN CLEANING IS REQUIRED YEARS LATER!
That has not been my experience, that clove oil never dries, however I agree that clove oil should not be used in a medium or during the painting process. This is rather to utilize as an oxidization retarder for the brush dip only. Using this method it is recommended to use it in conjunction with odorless mineral spirits or another spirit to rinse the brush from any dip (and therefore clove oil) before resuming painting. For those not using a mineral spirit you can omit the clove oil and it will work as well but the dip will oxidize more quickly depending on your local humidity and climate.
@@DannySabraArt - Thank you for clarifying Danny. People who casually offer advice on these things will find the mere mention of something like "essential" clove oil ON THE PALETTE will end up in their painting . . . best practices found by searching "Virgil Elliot" who literally wrote the book on the chemistry of fine art substances. Cheers & good luck painting!
@@rodmanjohnson9593 thanks Rodman! I’ve been dying to get a copy of Virgil’s book but it’s tough to find! Happy painting!