Water Mixable Oil Paints: My Experience, Brands, and Techniques

Water mixable oil paint is a great option for artists looking for a less toxic and more "user-friendly" alternative to traditional oil paints. It has been my go-to medium for about three years now. Water-mixable oils sound like a dream come true - they promise the same qualities as traditional oils, but without the need to use toxic solvents because, as the name suggests, they can be diluted with water. When I first got into oil painting, I chose water mixable oils because they seemed to have an easier workflow than traditional oils, and I’ve never looked back. Over the years, I’ve learned a lot about how to get the best out of them, so I would like to share my experience with you in this article.

By the way, if you’d like to see water mixable oils in action, I’ve made a video where I compare them to traditional oils and create the same still life painting using the two mediums. Feel free to check it out here:

What Are Water Mixable Oil Paints?

Let’s start with the basics. Water mixable oil paints are real oil paints made with a modified binder, usually linseed or safflower oil, which incorporates an emulsifier, allowing the oil to be diluted with water. This modification eliminates the need for solvents, making the painting process less hazardous.

How Water Mixable Oils Compare to Traditional Oil Paint

Aside from the ability to be dissolved in water, water mixable oils behave almost identically to traditional oil paints. They can be used with pretty much the same techniques as normal oils because they have very similar consistency, pigmentation and slow drying time. Water mixable oils dry through a process called oxidation, during which the emulsifier also evaporates, leaving a paint film that’s virtually indistinguishable from traditional oils. Water-mixable oils can even be mixed with traditional oils, but this defeats the purpose unless the ratio is at least 4:1, because they’ll lose their water solubility.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the pros and cons of both types of paint:

Water Mixable Oils	Traditional Oils
Can be thinned and cleaned with water	Requires solvents for thinning and cleaning
Lower odour and less toxicity	Stronger odour and potential health risks
Easier cleanup	More labour-intensive cleanup
Limited range of brands and colours	Great variety of brands and colours
Relatively new and less proven over time	Centuries of durability testing

Brands of Water Mixable Oil Paints

Here’s a quick overview of some popular water mixable oil paint brands I’ve tried:

• Winsor&Newton Artisan These paints are some of the most affordable and widely available out there, but the quality can be hit or miss. Some colours feel crumbly and less workable. These are more student-grade rather than professional quality oils, which makes them better suited for beginners on a budget.

• Royal Talens Cobra These paints are my personal favourite! They're slightly more expensive than Winsor & Newton, but you get a lot more bang for your buck with them. Cobra oil paints have nice buttery consistency, and, although I do sometimes see oil separating in some tubes, for the most part you get great quality and performance with them. They also have a bigger range of colours compared to Winsor&Newton, and they’re always releasing new colours and developing new mediums, so it’s nice to see this brand growing.

• Holbein Duo Aqua Holbein offers an incredible selection of unique pigments, like Anthraquinone Red and Indanthrene Blue, which all have a high pigment load. Many artists agree that these paints are the closest in consistency to traditional oils. They're ideal for advanced painters looking for variety.

• Other Options Schminke Norma Blue is another great affordable brand that explicitly states that their products are vegan and eco-friendly, although the colour range is quite limited. Daniel Smith previously offered excellent water mixable oils, but, sadly, they have since been discontinued, though you may still find some in stores. Their range of Quinaquidones is excellent.

These days there are a variety of brands to choose from when it comes to water mixable oils. My favourites are Cobra and Holbein Duo Aqua series.

Water Mixable Oil Painting Mediums

While you can use water as a thinner with water mixable, it should be used in moderation. Adding too much water can separate the pigment from the binder, leading to instability of the paint film. Acrylics work in the same way. That's why I recommend using specialised water mixable mediums.

Mediums designed for water mixable oils can be used to thin the paint, improve the flow, extend drying time, add gloss, etc. For any oil paint, you're mostly going to need two mediums: a thinner and an oil medium. I personally like to use Winsor&Newton's water mixable thinner and Cobra's 091 painting medium. For glazing and oiling out, I use Cobra's glazing medium. I also use Winsor&Newton's fast drying medium and Holbein's stand linseed oil along with some simple chalk powder to create an analogue of the Velazquez medium to alter the properties of my white paint. However, you won't need anything beyond the first two mediums if you're just starting out.

You can use traditional mediums with your water-mixable oils, but it will affect their ability to dissolve in water, which would defeat the whole purpose of using them in the first place. Also, I wouldn’t recommend using water mixable mediums, such as modified linseed oil, with traditional oil paints because it could lead to some inconsistencies with the drying time and paint texture, which can compromise the stability of the paint film. Besides, it wouldn’t make your traditional oils water mixable.

Cobra offers a good variety of water mixable oil painting mediums. In addition to these, I use some mediums from W&N and Holbein.

Making Traditional Oils Water Mixable?

Schmincke’s Medium W is marketed as a way to make traditional oils water mixable, which sounds promising in theory. It's supposed to be used by mixing one part Medium W with two parts traditional oil paint, which will allow it to be thinned and cleaned with water. However, in my experience, the results were underwhelming. While the medium does allow you to mix the paint with water, it drastically changes the paint’s consistency. It becomes extremely runny and difficult to control. This might work for glazing, but not so much for opaque painting. Additionally, using water to clean your brushes doesn't work nearly as well as it does with actual water mixable oil paints. In my own experiments, there was a noticeable residue of oil paint on the brush after swirling it in a jar of water.

For these reasons, I personally don’t recommend Medium W as a replacement for water mixable oil paints. If you’ve had a different experience, I’d love to hear about it, but for now, I’ll be sticking with my trusty water soluble paints.

Schminke's Medium W sounds good in theory but won't replace actual water mixable oils. Here you can see how much residue is left on the brush when you use it with traditional oils.

Toxicity of Water Mixable Oils

One of the biggest advantages of water mixable oil paints is that they produce a lot less odour compared to traditional oils, which makes them ideal for indoor use. In addition, they don't require any solvents, such as turpentine and mineral spirits, which are not only hazardous to health but also harmful to the environment.

However, it’s important to remember that these paints still use the same pigments as traditional oils, which means they’re not completely non-toxic. Toxic pigments like Cadmium, Cobalt, and Naples Yellow are still present in some colours, so you should handle them with care, avoid skin contact with the paint, and make sure that the room you're painting in has good ventilation. In addition, linseed oil still retains its combustible qualities even when it's been modified to be water mixable. Therefore, rags or paper towels soaked in linseed oil should be disposed of properly.

Performance and Personal Experience

Drying Time

Water mixable oils dry in the same way as traditional oils—through oxidation, a chemical process where oil paint reacts with oxygen in the air, which causes it to dry and form a stable, durable paint film over time. Despite many people claiming that water mixable oils dry faster, in my experience, their drying time is typically comparable to that of traditional oils. On average, water mixable oils take about 5–7 days to become touch-dry, depending on factors like paint thickness, brand, pigments, and environmental conditions. For instance, Schminke Norma Blue paints dry significantly slower than Cobra oil paints.

If you’re painting alla prima, i.e. wet-on-wet, you’ll find that the paints remain workable for a couple of days, giving you time to blend the edges and refine the details. If you need to speed up the drying process, I recommend using a fast-drying medium or a thinner. Personally, I use a fast-drying formula for my titanium white, which consists of chalk and fast-drying medium and allows the opaque areas of my paintings to dry within 1–2 days.

Durability and Archival Quality

One concern often raised about water mixable oils is their long-term performance and archival qualities. Since they were first introduced in the 1980s, they lack the centuries-long track record that traditional oil paints boast. However, once dry, the emulsifiers in water mixable oils evaporate completely, and they behave like any other oil paint. While these paints are relatively new, there’s no evidence to suggest they are less stable or durable. Sticking to best practices, such as avoiding thinning your paint with water and approaching layered painting with care, will ensure your paintings stand the test of time.

Water mixable oils perform just as well as traditional oils and can be used for professional painting practice.

Painting Experience

Water mixable oils offer a slightly different experience compared to traditional oils. One noticeable difference is the consistency and flow of the paint. I find it’s more about familiarity with the medium than an inherent advantage or disadvantage as such. For instance, I find the texture of water mixable oils easier to handle, though many artists claim they feel sticky or gummy. I’ve also found that certain techniques, like glazing and impasto, work just as well with water mixable oils, particularly when using mediums designed specifically for these paints.

As for the final result, water mixable oils deliver a finish that’s virtually identical to traditional oils. Unlike acrylic paint, they retain their richness, vibrancy, and texture. At the same time, they can dry somewhat stickier than traditional oils, but that can be resolved with varnishing.

Conclusion

For me, water mixable oils have been a game-changer. Their convenience, low odour, and easier cleanup make them ideal for my workflow, especially when painting indoors. Most of the works in my portfolio were created with water mixable oils, so you can judge their performance for yourself.

While they may have a slight learning curve and a different workflow compared traditional oil paints, the benefits far outweigh the minor adjustments required to adapt to their unique properties. These paints are less intimidating and generally easier to start with, they're a great option for beginner artists, but they're also perfectly suitable for professional grade art as well.