alkyding aside!

I said I wasn’t going to bore you about alkyds and quick drying oil paints but what else should I write about on an art related blog?

As I mentioned, when I was commissioned to paint a portrait of Kira the brief was it absolutely had to be oil paint, but time was pressing to get it ready for Christmas. Ordinarily oil paint, given the time I had, would never have been suitable.

But… There are things called alkyds.

This is the definition of an alkyd:

alkyd |ˈalkid|
noun Chemistry
any of a group of synthetic polyester resins derived from various alcohols and acids, used in varnishes, paints, and adhesives.
ORIGIN 1920s: blend of alkyl and acid .

Not so exciting maybe to just any old Tom Dick or Harry but for those of us who paint they are very good things. Indeed we all benefit from them in household paints and varnishes. They are what turn a regular varnish into quick drying varnish and help paint air dry etc. etc.

I’m sure a chemist could give you a much more detailed description of what they do if you want the nitty gritty then click here.

There are alkyd additives that can be purchased and then mixed with oil paint that will then dry faster, reaching a tacky stage during a painting session, but I’ve not used those. To be honest I am a fan of the lengthy drying process oil paint requires. I paint quickly but enjoy the luxury of living with a ‘finished’ painting for a while to see if anything bothers me. Oil paints afford me that luxury and enable me to make changes on a still workable surface.

Given the time constraints I had to try something new though. Rather than learn alkyd mixing and what worked and didn’t, I found Winsor & Newton Griffin Alkyd Fast Drying Oil Colour.

It was… adequate. I want to be more generous but I really didn’t get on with it. The fast drying part was perfect. It did exactly what it said on the tin tube but the texture was not to my taste at all!

When I first began to paint many years ago I used acrylic and I liked it well enough but when I first used oil it was a revelation. The stiffer consistency, the malleable characteristics even the smell. It turned painting into a real sensory experience. Acrylic never did that, it’s a softer, weaker animal. And the Griffin paint was more acrylic than oil to me. It smelled almost right but not quite and handled badly, blending almost instantly on the canvas. It was very wet; soft and limp like melting butter. I had to almost learn an entirely new technique to paint successfully. I like to build the paint on the canvas, moulding it overlaying colours and blending them as and when I want. The Griffin required more careful handling. Each colour had to be used separately lest they combine into an unwanted mix.

Now I freely admit that perhaps I am too rigid in my own style though I consider myself quite carefree and cavalier. Maybe I never realised I am just stuck in my own rut but the Griffin paint just does not do it for me. Would I recommend alkyd paints?

That’s a hard one. For that commission they worked well despite my having to get to grips with them and it not being an instinctive process but would I choose to use them?

In a word… No!

I hadn’t planned on this turning into a review…

…but since it did leave me a comment and rate this review! Thanks.