Hi Everyone,

Today i wanted to start my second painting after having watched winters grey multiple times. I don't own a liquid white yet so i made my own with odorless turpentine. I started by covering the canvas with a thin layer (as i did on my previous one) and immediately there were problems.

  • As soon as i put a little red in the middle the liquid white starts blending in way to much.

  • The Sky (pink white and black) becomes an almost even color of grey, and you can see exactly the way the brush was pointed.

  • None of the clouds stay visible after i blend everything together.

So i tried one without the liquid white but then the colors don't blend at all. So i kinda wasted 2 good canvases.
I clean the brushes in turpentine and after in water as well but i dry them before i start blending or painting again.

Any Tips?

How much liquid white did you apply to your canvas?

A rule of thumb is to apply the liquid white and then touch the canvas with your index finger. You should be able to see the individual lines of your fingertips on your finger in white. If the whole tip is white you give it a wipe-down with your two inch brush and check again.

Sander02 You did not waste canvas - wipe used canvas with rag till you have grey mud equally distributed and let it dry.
In 2 weeks you can paint over that greyish thing WITHOUT doing anything extra. Paints have enough covering ability to hide that gray underlayer. Also many of the artists suggest to new painters to stain canvas in neutral grey as value can be controlled better.

Dont forget that you always can mix nice sky blue on a pallet having TW+Phtalo Blue.

    I mix liquid white same way Sunny does...works fine, but applying in the right amount is paramount, too little will present as many problems as too much does.

      I've found a recipe online [https://www.jacksonsart.com/blog/2012/03/16/liquid-white-oil-colour-recipes/] for 1:1:1 (1x Titanium White, 1x Linseed Oil, 1x Turpenoid) which worked well when I tried it the other day. I add a coat with a large house painting brush, then take an oversized painting knife and scrape the whole canvas down, and finally blend what's left out with the house brush or a clean brush. Seems to leave just enough to work with. Remember, you never waste a canvas as long as you learn something from it. Besides, you can always paint over it.

        Thank you for the tips everyone. I went for the easiest option 😅.
        I bought the Bob Ross liquid white and that works perfectly.

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