Medium Quest

[Carol Norton]

Is there a medium that does what Gamblin's Neo Megilip does that doesn't dry as quickly or doesn't give off the fumes that Maroger Medium does? I am finding that the paints and Neo Megilip dry after 3 hours and it is hard to get paints and medium off of my wooden palette. I loved the Maroger until I equated the headaches that I got from it with the Marogee product. I don't have ventilation in my studio that others who use it must, so I have forgone its benefits. All advice is gratefully appreciated.
Carol Norton

[Linda Brandon]

Carol, I'm working on a painting right now where I'm using the oiling out technique (Michele Rushworth has gone on record here for using it). You rub a very thin film of linseed oil on your (dry) canvas and then blot it off with a paper towel; enough remains to give your paints some fluidity. I wanted to try this because I have big dark areas of the painting which I wanted to stay flat and ridge-free without texture. My paint usually dries by the next day, but I'm not using colors that dry slowly (such as the cads). So far I really like this technique.

[Carol Norton]

Thank you, Linda, for the suggestion. I will start my next painting with that process. Should I assume that the linseed should not be used on a painting that has Neo Megilp already on it?

[Michele Rushworth]

Should I assume that the linseed should not be used on a painting that has Neo Megilp already on it?

Email Gamblin at www.gamblincolors.com -- they are great at responding quickly to questions like this.

[Carol Norton]

Thank you, Michelle. I will do that.

[Leslie Bohoss]

@Linda

It means you do paint without any other medium? Similar to Virgil Elliott's advice? What about stiff paints e.g Old Hollandtse, your thin oil film is pretty good to paint ridge-free?
Thanks.