Ok, so I did a *very* quick painting to study the new medium mix I am using. It's an 11:1 mixture of Galkyd/Refined linseed oil. The paint doesn't dry too quickly for me, and it is nicely and easily spread around the canvas. I didn't think the painting would stay as wet as long as it did, but it is now almost three days later and there is still wet paint around the edges, though I am too chicken to test anywhere on the painting for fear of screwing it up.
I chose very intense hues (bright colors) to compose the painting, because I wanted to test the capacity of the medium to really allow the color of the paint to shine through the surface. Many of my paintings appear somewhat dull compared to the bright fruits I selected to paint, and it was always a struggle to get the painting to be true to the still life I'd set up. I knew that it was due to the surface properties of the paint, and light reflecting off those surfaces, obscuring the viewer from the true color of the paint.
To escape that, around five years ago, I'd painted with Liquin as a medium. I had a teacher recommend it, but it has fallen out of popularity with painters and professionals because it is not easily removed (cleaned) from the canvas once its been dried. Also, it dries a little too quickly for my taste. After I stopped using Liquin, I used.. nothing. I took classes with Don Sondag at Crealde in Winter Park, and he used nothing, so I used nothing. To increase the flow of the paint, I just thinned it with odorless mineral spirits (OMS). Don's paintings looked great! Mine looked flat.
Here is the painting:
