Getting ordinary paint to the consistency of Geneva paint.

littlecake

hi guys hi there I am new to oil painting. I have a limited number of good quality artists paints. I love the look of marks creamy paints. How do I make mine like that? I would love to buy a set of Marks paints but Inlive in Nz and the freight is crazy. Also I want to use my paints up first.
looking forward to hearing from you guys.
thanks Maggie

tassieguy

Hi, @littlecake. Welcome to the forum. 

You just need to add medium to the paint. You can use a commercially available medium (W&N for example) or you can make Mark's slow dry medium for which there is a recipe here: 

Supply List | Draw Mix Paint

dencal

littlecake

Welcome to you.

Adjust the consistency of tube oil paint with progressively added drops of a drying oil such as linseed or walnut.

Stand oil creates a lovely smooth consistency too.

But to get levelling, creaminess, a long open time and a durable surface Mark’s slow dry medium is the go.

Denis 🇦🇺

littlecake

thanks so much you guys. Also can you recommend the best class of Marks for a beginner please?

tassieguy

There a many very useful videos that Mark provides for free. Here are three to start with that I highly recommend. In the first he draws a silver mug. In the second he paints the silver mug. In the third he paints a single pear. I watched these over and over when I first started.

how to draw in proportion - YouTube

how to paint in oil - YouTube  Mark paints a silver mug

Alla Prima Brushwork Demo & more – Ep.9 Oil Painting Q&A with Mark Carder YouTube   Mark paints a single pear

littlecake

Thanks guys I’m very grateful. Do you mix your paints with his slow dry medium? I love the creaminess of it?

tassieguy

I don't use slow dry medium (SDM). It's not a requirement, but if you want to have more time to keep working wet in wet over several sessions then the SDM helps.

adridri

it has toxic fumes, so I don't use it since I don't have a ventilation system.

littlecake

Can you tell me if Marks slow drying medium has toxic fumes? I know one of the members thinks it does.

dencal

littlecake

When mixed with paint and stored in airtight snap cap containers in a well ventilated work space I notice a trace of clove oil that I find quite pleasant. I use walnut and 2% clove as a brush dip which is probably the source of the aroma.

Try substituting the odourless solvent (the toxic component) in the SDM with a citrus solvent.

Denis

adridri

@dencal @littlecake just bought all the ingredients, missing the citrus. Will try another store TMW. Damn that sap is expansive, just paid 45 euros for 90mL at schmincke. More expansive than paint itself. The sennelier one was only 15 eur but I saw it contains solvent in it, despite the venetian turpentine name... Be careful @littlecake all venetian turp are not what they claim it is, look at the ingredients.
Did you actually try the citrus? I saw many posts where you recommend it, but I don't know if it's a tried and trusted solution.

dencal

adridi

VT is expensive, but a little goes a long way and the litre quantities I mix up lasts about a year, I only paint casually though.

Citrus: yes I use it occasionally to adjust the consistency of tubed paint. Works exactly the same as the petro-chemical solvents. I haven’t used citrus in an SDM mix as I always seem to have the standard DMP formula mix on hand.

Denis

TedB

I don't use "soft" Geneva-style paints often, but I mixed and tubed Titanium White, Ivory Black and Burnt Umber. Made some Munsell Neutral 2, 4, 5 and 6 as-well. I bought some empty 150ml tubes and bottled them myself for easy use. Next batch I'll make some Paynes Gray and Lead White. Due to their different mixing qualities I treat Titanium White and Lead White as two different colors on my palette.