Who knew there is more to art than just wine and cheese exhibitions! Click here to learn more or read an excerpt below.
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Artists who add alcohol should use a clear liquid like grain alcohol, vodka or gin. Liquor that’s 64 proof freezes at 10 below zero, and 84-proof liquor freezes at 30 below zero. Artists sometimes add up to 20 percent of 84-proof liquor to their watercolors with decent success.
Not all pigments behave alike when in contact with alcohol. Consequently, if a color is composed of two pigments, one of those pigments may bleed into the alcohol while the other may not, resulting in a separation effect. Also, you may notice difficulty in lifting colors whose dyes are more soluble in alcohol because the alcohol enhances those dyes’ staining properties.
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That led us to ask if watercolorists get to have all the fun, so we inquired whether you can also mix vodka with water-mixable oils.
Answer: Manufacturers do not explicitly recommend adding alcohol to their paints. But, if you are solvent-sensitive to mineral spirits and the like, experiment with the alcohol, but don’t add more than 20% or so. It may help water-mixable oils to “flow” to a point, but the paint does not always dissolve well into ethanol. The paint appears to soften, which may be enough for your purpose, but can become a bit gummy.
When using water-mixable oils in very cold temperatures, best to use turpentine or mineral spirits as your “antifreeze”, not alcohol. Additionally, 84 proof liquor freezes at -34.44°C (-30°F), whereas Turpentine freezes at -59.15°C (-74.47°F), and Mineral Spirits at -70°C (-94°F). Also, don’t use any acrylic-based mediums in freezing temperatures. Alkyd mediums may be functional, but traditional oil-solvent mixtures are likely easier to work with.
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Things I have learned... 