Founded in 1832 & receiving their first Royal Warrant in 1841, Winsor & Newton produce some of the finest quality & most desirable art materials available today.

Their oil colour range offers a broad spectrum of vivid, intermixable colours, hues and tones in several different varieties including Artists’, Winton & the water-mixable Artisan. Today, we’ll be covering the drying times across each of these different ranges, to help you to use these wonderful paints to their full potential.

However, before we move on to our topic of the day, when working in oils, there are 3 “rules” to keep in mind. So, let’s take a brief look, shall we?

Essentially, each layer of your work needs to be more flexible than the last to prevent cracking. This is achieved through adding more medium to each layer (such as Liquin Original).

When painting with heavy colours, its generally best practice to apply thick layers over thinner ones, as these thinner layers dry more quickly & are more likely to crack if placed on the surface of the work.

If a fast-drying colour is applied over a slow-drying colour (especially whilst drying), it can cause the layer to pull & twist, causing cracks to form. Basically, always use fast-drying colours as underlayers.

Artists' Oils

Pairing the purest pigments with the most suitable drying oils, the Artists’ Oil range has buttery, stiff consistency ideal for retaining brush or knife strokes & can even be thinned down to a very fine glaze.

Available in two sizes, this beautiul collection includes over 130 individual permanent or semi-permanent colours, 80 of which are made using “single pigment” formulas for cleaner, brighter mixing results.

Fast (approx. 2 days)
Permanent Mauve (manganese) - Cobalt Blue(s) - Prussian Blue – Raw Sienna – Umber(s) - Underpainting White

Medium (approx. 5 days)
Winsor Blue & Greens (phthalocyanines) - Burnt Sienna – Cobalt Violet & Greens – Ultramarine Blue(s) - Mars colours – Sap Green – Permanent Alizarin Crimson – Ochres – Cadmiums – Lamp Black – Ivory Black

Slow (5+ days)
Winsor Yellows & Oranges (arylides) - Quinacridones – Alizarin Crimson – Titanium White – Zinc White

Artist-Quality Oils

Available in 2 sizes

Over 130 colours

Buttery consistency

Winton Oils

Ideal for artists looking for large, affordable volumes of colour for widescale projects or colour mixing, the Winton Oil range has a stiff, uniform consistency & extensive covering power.

Available in over 50 highly pigmented colours across two sizes, this student-quality range includes 31 “single pigment” for clean mixes & infinite hues.

Fast (approx. 2 days)
Prussian Blue – Raw Sienna – Umbers

Medium (approx. 5 days)
Phthalo Blue & Viridian Hue (phthalocyanines) - Burnt Sienna – Ultramarine Blue(s) - Ochres – Titanium White – Zinc White – Lamp Black – Ivory Black

Slow (5+ days)
Cadmium Hues (arylamides) - Permanent Rose (quinacridone) - Alizarin Crimson Hue

Student-Quality Oils

Available in 2 sizes

50 vivid colours

Great covering power

Artisan Water-Mixable Oils

Specially formulated using modified linseed & safflower oil, the water-mixable Artisan range retains the characteristics of a conventional oil colour, without the need for potentially hazardous solvents.

Available in over 40 individual colours, they’re ideal for artists working at home, in school, or in smaller studio spaces.

Fast (approx. 2 days)
Prussian Blue - Umbers

Medium (approx. 5 days)
Cadmium Hues – Pthalo Blue (red shade) - Pthalo Greens – Siennas – French Ultramarine – Ochres – Titanium White – Zinc White – Lamp Black – Ivory Black

Slow (5+ days)
Cadmiums – Permanent Rose (quinacridone) - Permanent Alizarin Crimson