Artisan Painting Medium is a stand oil based medium, ready made from the bottle. Because of the complex chemistry of water mixable oils, it has been possible for us to formulate a superior medium from a selection of raw materials. This medium thins the consistency of Artisan oil colours and aids fine detail work. It also improves the flow and wetting of the colour. It dries slowly to a flexible film and is good for "oiling out". Oiling out is the application of an oil medium to a painting which has sunk, or lost its oil to the layer underneath.
I use this all the time instead of stand oil, and it really is a very good product. It is far better than Linseed oil for me as it acts the same for application/glazing, but dries a little quicker, and it is lovely to work with, not overly runny. It also imparts a really attractive lustre to the paint film. David Molloy (Rossendale,, United Kingdom) on 16 Apr 2012
I was disappointed with this medium, as on use the smell was so strong that I needed to air my house and shut the drying canvas in the toilet! While it did not trigger any asthma, the smell was unpleasant and overpowering :(
Sarah Willard (Skegness, United Kingdom) on 26 Jun 2015
Ken Bromley's replies:
Artisan mediums are less pungent that normal oil painting mediums, but it is always advisable to use the paint mediums in a ventilated room.
Been using Artisan for many years now and find this medium invaluable Terence Preen (South Norwood, United Kingdom) on 30 Jan 2013