Choosing between Winsor & Newton Artists’ Oil Colour and Artisan Water Mixable Oil Colour starts with how you like to work. Do you prefer a traditional oil-painting setup, or would you like water thinning and water-based cleanup during painting?
Both are oil paints. Artisan is not acrylic, and water mixability does not mean every accessory is interchangeable or hazard-free. Here is how to choose your colours, mediums and finishing products without confusing their jobs.
Artists’ Oil Colour vs Artisan: the main difference
Artists’ Oil Colour: traditional oils
Artists’ Oil Colour offers a rich, buttery consistency for colour mixing, expressive brushwork, impasto and glazing. It suits painters who prefer a conventional oil-painting workflow with compatible painting oils and mediums.
Water is not the thinner for conventional oil colour. You may work straight from the tube, add a suitable oil or medium, or use a compatible solvent where the product directions call for it. Solvent does not need to be added to every mixture.
Explore Winsor & Newton Artists’ Oil Colours.
Artisan: genuine oil paint with water mixability
Artisan is an oil colour range designed to mix with water. It offers an oil-painting approach for artists who want to reduce reliance on conventional painting solvents for thinning and routine brush cleanup.
Water mixable does not mean acrylic-like drying. Plan your work as an oil painting, and choose dedicated Artisan mediums when you want to adjust flow, texture or working time. Each accessory still has its own handling and cleanup instructions.
Explore Artisan Water Mixable Oil Paint.
Which range should you choose?
- Choose Artists’ Oil Colour if you enjoy a conventional oil-painting setup and want to use traditional oils and compatible mediums.
- Choose Artisan if water thinning and routine water-based cleanup are important to your workflow.
- For either range: compare individual pigment information, transparency and lightfastness ratings when choosing colours.
The best choice is the system that suits your working habits. Neither replaces good studio hygiene or the need to read product labels.
Painting mediums: change how your colours behave
A medium is added to paint while you work. Depending on the product, it can change flow, drying time, transparency, gloss or texture. Choose one for a specific effect rather than adding several automatically.
Mediums for Artists’ oils
- Liquin Original: a fast-drying medium for improved flow and layered painting.
- Liquin Fine Detail: a fluid option for fine lines, glazing and smoother brushwork.
- Linseed Stand Oil: a viscous painting oil for levelling brush marks and smooth glazing.
- Safflower Oil: a pale oil to consider for whites and light colours when more blending time is wanted.
- Artists’ Painting Medium: a slow-drying gloss medium for flow, detail and blending.
Use additions sparingly and follow each product’s mixing and layering directions. Liquin is a painting medium, not a final varnish.
Shop Winsor & Newton Oil Paint Mediums.
Mediums for Artisan
Start with the dedicated Artisan system if maintaining water mixability is your priority.
- Painting Medium: improves flow and blending for smoother application and glazing, with slower drying.
- Fast Drying Medium: improves fluidity while speeding drying for layering and fine detail.
- Impasto Medium: thickens colour to retain brush and palette-knife marks while helping it dry faster.
- Linseed Oil: increases flow, gloss and transparency while extending working time.
- Safflower Oil: a pale oil suited to whites and light colours, with slower drying and improved flow.
- Stand Oil: supports levelled applications and glazing with slower drying.
Shop Artisan Water Mixable Mediums.
Water, solvents and cleanup
Water can thin Artisan colour, while a dedicated medium adjusts properties beyond dilution. Conventional Artists’ oils require compatible oil-painting products rather than water for thinning.
Use dedicated Artisan mediums and check the manufacturer’s compatibility guidance before combining systems, especially if water cleanup is your goal.
Solvents, picture cleaners and varnish removers do different jobs. Do not use them interchangeably or assume that a tool-cleaning product can clean a painting. Follow each label and safety data sheet for ventilation, handling, storage and disposal.
Browse Winsor & Newton Solvents & Varnishes. Check individual listings for the intended use and delivery restrictions.
Varnish: a separate finishing step
A final varnish is applied after a painting has thoroughly dried. It is not a medium to mix into your colours. Choose your preferred sheen, then check compatibility and application directions.
- Gloss: a shiny finish.
- Matt: a low-sheen finish.
- Satin: a gentle sheen between gloss and matt.
Artisan varnishes and varnish remover
The Artisan finishing collection includes gloss, matt and satin varnishes, plus Artisan Varnish Remover. These varnishes help protect the surface and even out sheen. The listed varnishes recommend allowing 6–12 months before application; actual readiness depends on paint thickness and conditions. Touch-dry is not the same as ready for final varnishing.
Artisan Varnish Remover removes a compatible varnish layer before re-varnishing. It is not a painting medium or general-purpose thinner. Stop if pigment transfers from the painting or the surface changes. Seek a professional conservator’s advice before working on valuable, fragile or unfamiliar paintings.
Shop Artisan Varnishes & Painting Care.
Varnishes for conventional oils
Choose a compatible final varnish by finish and application requirements. Retouching varnish and final varnish serve different purposes, so select according to the painting’s stage and the product directions rather than treating them as substitutes.
Simple starting setups
Traditional oils: begin with a small selection of Artists’ Oil Colours, a suitable oil-painting surface, brushes and one compatible medium selected for your technique. Add solvent only where your workflow calls for it, with the required precautions.
Water mixable oils: begin with Artisan colours, a suitable oil-painting surface, brushes and water for thinning and routine cleanup. Add a dedicated Artisan medium when you need a specific change in flow, drying time or texture.
For both systems, leave final varnishing until the painting is ready. You do not need every medium to make a successful painting.
Frequently asked questions
Is Artisan acrylic paint?
No. It is an oil paint formulated to mix with water. Use oil-painting methods and suitable surfaces rather than treating it as acrylic.
Can Artisan be mixed with conventional oils?
Check the manufacturer’s compatibility guidance before mixing Artisan with conventional oil colours or accessories. For a straightforward water-mixable workflow, choose dedicated Artisan mediums.
Does water mixable mean non-toxic?
No. Water mixable describes how the paint mixes, not a safety classification. Pigments and accessories have individual handling requirements. Read every label.
Are medium and varnish the same thing?
No. A medium changes paint during painting; a final varnish is a separate finish applied after sufficient drying. A varnish remover has a third, separate purpose.
Find your oil-painting setup at King’s
Explore both systems at King’s Framing & Art Gallery in Corbeil, Nipissing District, Ontario. Choose the paint range that fits your working habits, a medium for your preferred technique and, once your painting is ready, a compatible varnish for your chosen finish.