Yes and yes, the two work perfectly together...in fact that's what i did myself. The firmness is on a parr with Winsor and newtons "Winton" range which i used to use all the time and which were thick enough for wet on wet application.
I now use Winsor and Newton "Artisan" water mixables which i use in conjunction with Artisan linseed oil, if using Bobs liquid white the brush used to apply it will need to be cleaned with spirits....Hope this helps!
Brush Cleaning
tel Thank you so much Tel. Those questions, with no one to ask, have been to only thing holding me back from switching. I am so excited to get rid of mineral spirits now!
I am forced to paint in the house and so that was my main reason for changing as the smell was becoming intolerable. The question of "is the firmness the same as standard oils?" is of course subjective as i don't know what you are used to using but as stated i personally find them of a thick enough consistency to paint wet on wet, Price wise the Winsor and Newton Artisan range cost about the same as the standard oils
tel I use a mix of Winsor Newton and Gamblin 1980 so I think it should be fine. Thanks again.
tel Just thought of another question. Do you use standard liquid white/clear, or, make your own with the water mixable linseed oil?
On the rare occasion that i use liquid white i use Bob ross formulation amd i have one brush that i use to apply it , unfortunately it does mean breaking out the white spirits . I did try my own formula for LW but prefer Bobs
tel OK. So that answer forms another question. If you're not using liquid white, what do you use?
indicationofart I use the Gamblin Solvent-free gel. But I thought you were too... no?
I really like to diversify when it comes to subject matter and not all paintings require LW as a base coat. I usually use LW if doing a land/seascape with a big sky or expanse of greenery. I occasionally add a little oil to the tip of the brush if i am struggling to move the paint around. :
NTZArt I do Nancy. I want to change to water mixable and was wondering how Tel uses liquids but keeps water clean up.
The name "Water mixables" is a bit misleading as the paints are NOT mixed with water at all, it simply means that your brushes can be cleaned using just water. Bobs liquid white is not of course water mixable and requires spirit cleaning
tel I bought a small set of W&N water mixable and tried them out. I admit I had a hard time working them over liquid white. They seemed very sticky to me. Great for breaking but not so good for smoothness and blending. Added a little thinner and they worked much better.
Really i am surprised you had problems blending as i always thought this to be one of the better features, stick with it (no pun intended) and i'm sure you will get used to using them. Kudos for giving them a try