Summer

Hello Hermes, glad to see you here.
If it is not too much trouble, I would like to know in what significant ways you found that one was better than the other.
Thanks

Hi Trier.
I don't think alkyds are necessarily better than oils. For one thing, there is a bigger range of colours in oils than in alkyds. It could be that alkyds don't work too well for portraits, but I do textured abstracts and sometimes mix sand in with the paint.

I have found that alkyds suit my type of painting technique well. I like to build up textures in layers and usually use things like credit cards and painting knives instead of brushes to manipulate the paint on the canvas until I like the result. When I push them around on the canvas they behave almost identically to oils, but then I don't have to wait many days before I can apply glazes or scumble on some highlights. The drying time of alkyds is just right for me: acrylics dry too fast and oils dry too slowly.

I guess it's a very personal response to the characteristics of alkyds versus oils. I would like to hear your comments.
 
Beautiful, Katie!

I must have missed this the first time around, so glad to find it now.

BTW, I tried Griffin Alykds a long time ago, and also the new water miscible oil paints and would be very interested in your evaluation of them, if you do give the alkyds a try. I will withold my opinion on them so as not to influence your approach.
Thank you Trier.
 
Hi Trier.
I don't think alkyds are necessarily better than oils. For one thing, there is a bigger range of colours in oils than in alkyds. It could be that alkyds don't work too well for portraits, but I do textured abstracts and sometimes mix sand in with the paint.

I have found that alkyds suit my type of painting technique well. I like to build up textures in layers and usually use things like credit cards and painting knives instead of brushes to manipulate the paint on the canvas until I like the result. When I push them around on the canvas they behave almost identically to oils, but then I don't have to wait many days before I can apply glazes or scumble on some highlights. The drying time of alkyds is just right for me: acrylics dry too fast and oils dry too slowly.

I guess it's a very personal response to the characteristics of alkyds versus oils. I would like to hear your comments.
Hey Hermes

Thanks for your helpful reply.

Sorry to be late with my answer.

Problems.

When I was using the Griffin Alkyds, I found that I was always trying to get
more chroma in passages where I wanted intense color, but just could not even with straight out of the tube application.

Some colors were close to being okay, but overall I was disappointed and frustrated.

Then I tried a couple brands of water miscible oils with the same result.

Then I read in some posts on WetCanvas that others had the same experience.
More importantly, I read in a review that it was due to the fact that the alkyd medium will not take as much of a pigment load as the other mediums like acrylic.

Since I paint in a common manner of using just paint and mediums without additions of other fillers like sand, pumice and such, I would not expect a diminished color intensity.

That must be the key that accounts for the difference between the way you regard Griffin and my opinion of it.

I think this is kind of instructive, and would appreciate your thoughts about it.

I was unable to look up any data that specifies exactly the maximum pigment loads that each of the mediums would take for each pigment, but it must exist someplace.

The posting of this reply is sort of awkward since this is a thread by Katie about her painting , and we are having a discussion separate and apart from that.
There must be a better way; I am taking the liberty of also sending you this in a private message to your profile. It is bound to get through, one way or another, I hope at least.

Another Subject -
Re;your sculpture posts. I think they are outstanding works
 
Yes, I do sometimes, the largest being around 3' x 3' but I do go much bigger for abstract paintings.
Katie, Would you show one? I would love to see one of your abstractions. A few years ago, that is all I did with oils.
It brought me a lot of joy and freedom. I miss it. Should get into it again. When painting abstractions,I find that I move a lot more, I throw things at the canvas and loved the feeling. 😸
Sorry if I get excited and mix things up a bit.
Gate 4
24"x30"
Gate 4.jpg
 
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Katie, Would you show one? I would love to see one of your abstractions. A few years ago, that is all I did with oils.
It brought me a lot of joy and freedom. I miss it. Should get into it again. When painting abstractions,I find that I move a lot more, I throw things at the canvas and loved the feeling. 😸
Sorry if I get excited and mix things up a bit.
Gate 4
24"x30"
View attachment 3189
That's a beauty! Love it. I will post one of my big abstracts over in the abstract forum shortly.
 
I adore scenes like this.I have been painting Monet's garden lately and this reminds me of it.. Your work here is so beautiful
 
I adore scenes like this.I have been painting Monet's garden lately and this reminds me of it.. Your work here is so beautiful
Thank you I visit Monets Garden Last April with my daughter and it was truly inspiring.
 
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