M. Graham 8-Ounce Walnut/Alkyd Medium

Loved it . Use it for plei air painting.

Although I've spent many years working in a variety of art mediums, I am brand new to oil painting. Like every novice, I was completely confused as to which brand to go with. I'd heard great things about M. Graham's oil paints and although they were more expensive than I was hoping to pay, I went ahead and ordered this set here https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009AW48XE which also came with a tiny, 2oz bottle of walnut/alkyd oil.I quickly ran out of the 2oz mixing medium but just fell in love with oil painting! Although, I'll go into how wonderful I found M. Graham paints on that particular product review instead, I'll just say now that I found them a dream to work with and the walnut/alkyd medium is definitely a must have to use in tandem.I'm not used to waiting days for my work to dry so it's quite a learning curve, as is stopping yourself from over blending in an attempt to get more work done in one sitting but this product remedies those problems a lot.Whilst working in stages, I set up my palette with the colors I need (on a sheet of framed glass) and pour a little alkyd medium in the middle. I then go about mixing my colors while dragging a little of the alkyd into it. (On initial layers I also add odorless mineral spirit to thin the mix). I'm amazed to find that because the alkyd speeds up the drying time, each layer on the canvas will be ready in about 24 hours.Excess color mixes with alkyd in them that you also have on your glass pallette will also dry overnight and can be easily scraped off the next day, leaving your pure blobs of untouched color ready to go for day 2.I'm nit picking here but the only thing I wish was that the alkyd bottles (both small and large) had some kind of 'spout' to make decanting easier. Otherwise the product kind of leaks out, runs down the side of the bottle over time and leaves an oily mess.In conclusion I HIGHLY recommend this and other products made by M. Graham. I've since had chance to work with Gamblin and Windsor & Newton's Artist color and I much prefer MG. The paints are buttery soft, great quality and the range of mixing mediums compliment their paints perfectly. I will continue to repurchase this, just add my own spout top for easier use.By the way, if there are any fellow newbs like me, I recommend you check out Lena Danya on You Tube for helpful tutorials.

Great product for oil painting!

This is a great Gamsol alternative. Gamsol is NOT safe. Yes, you heard that right. I had blurred vision for a week straight when I opened a jar of Gamsol that I had. I hope M. Graham makes more mediums in the future. That being said, I don't know if it's just me, but mine ends up growing a thick, wrinkly, transparent film on the surface. I can easily scoop it aside with a brush but I don't know if this is a normal occurrence and is just one of the properties of the walnut alkyd substance.

This mix of walnut drying oil/alkyd resin is my preferred medium for painting now and has been for some time. It lowers drying time and helps with clean up. Typically, I don't have to worry about"'fat over lean" and can proceed at my normal pace without worry, but you can add drier to the underpainting or straight walnut oil to the painting's final stages if traction is a concern.Additionally. the manufacturer states that walnut oil is less prone to yellowing than the more commonly used alternative, linseed oil.

When it comes to oil painting I find that using this solution works best for me. And even at this quantity. theres enough to use when painting. I prefer this brand when it comes to the solvent and the oil paints. Although there is a slight downside to this product or rather oil painting in general which is the odor that will affect you if you dont work in a well ventilated area. With the brand name it can get a bit pricey but I feel that paying for the best quality a product can have is worth the money since you can get the most by using less.

Real good oil no odorless works good with oil painting colors and cold wax the shipping is a little to long to wait for so order in advance

I'll go back to Galkyd or Liquin.