Schmincke Norma Blue Water-mixable Oil Colours is the latest of their range of oil paints, following Norma Professional, an 84 colour professional oil paint range bound with high quality plant oils, and Mussini, which is a range of 108 colours bound in a blend of plant oils and dammar resin. Norma Blue is vegan, low odour, allergy friendly, and does not contain any heavy metal pigments. And of course it’s water-mixable, so it can be thinned with water and washed away without need for turpentine, white spirit or any other kind of solvent for conventional oil painting.
First Impressions of Norma Blue Water-mixable Oil Paint
Norma Blue Water-mixable Oil Paints have a text heavy, retro looking label that is almost identical to the non water-mixable Norma range, save for the addition of the word ‘Blue’ in the name, and a vegan logo, but it would be easy to mix them up if you have paints from both ranges in your possession, so it’s well worth keeping organised and keeping your water-mixable paints and conventional oil paints separate. The literature that Schmincke sent with the paint states that all colours are highly pigmented and lightfast, low yellowing and have good water absorption. I received the following colours from the range, which I requested as they represent a good general primary palette range of colours, comprising warm and cool blues and reds, a warm yellow and an earthy yellow, and some whites, a Natural Umber (the equivalent of Raw Umber in other paint ranges) and a Mineral Black (a very opaque, cool black).
Titanium White | Mixing White | Indian Yellow | Yellow Ochre | Magenta | Vermilion Light | Cerulean Blue | Ultramarine Blue Light | Natural Umber | Mineral Black
Before I squeezed any paint out I was keen to pay attention to the low odour claims. Indeed I would say they were very low in odour, but with the blues having a slightly stronger oily smell than the other colours. They don’t have any scent of solvent. I compared the odour to the tubes of Holbein Duo-Aqua Water-mixable Oil Paint that I have in the studio and found them to have even less of a scent to those, which I also consider to have very little scent; the differences are marginal.
I then squeezed some of the paint out onto a sheet of Jackson’s Oil Paper. Some colours, as is true of all oil paint ranges, have a greater propensity to separate out than others. The Titanium White had a significant amount of oil separated out from the pigment, while the Mixing White was very even in its consistency. It can be helpful to stir the inside of an oil paint tube with a straightened paper clip if the oil separates out from the pigment like this. It’s a natural occurrence if the pigments in the paint are fairly heavy and susceptible to sinking, and could be considered proof that these are indeed organic materials, blended thoroughly yet still with a bit of a mind of their own!
As you might expect with all professional grade oil paints, real variation of character was evident from colour to colour. Titanium White was significantly more fluid than Mixing White, which was buttery and paste-like as it oozed from the tube. Vermillion also had some excess oil and was a little more liquid, while Magenta was particularly stiff and thick in its consistency.
The other colours: Indian Yellow, Yellow Ochre, Cerulean, Ultramarine, Natural Umber and Mineral Black were similar in body, and typical of any other regular professional grade oil. No separating of oil from pigment, and a firm buttery consistency.
High Pigment Load Informs The Character Of The Paint
Having squeezed a small amount of colour onto the sheet of Jackson’s Oil Paper and observing its behaviour, I was keen to see if moving the paint around with a palette knife would offer further insight into how the paint behaves. I was impressed by how each colour had its own set of characteristics; proof that there is a high concentration of pigment in the recipe for Norma Blue paints. While Mixing White appeared smooth and glossy, Titanium White had an almost gritty and more matte appearance. Indian Yellow possessed a high translucency and almost lemony undertone which contrasted beautifully with the opacity of Yellow Ochre, Mineral Black and Yellow Ochre. The high matt qualities of the Yellow Ochre and Natural Umber are another indication of the high concentration of pigment; as earth pigments only have a moderate absorbency level, they soak up less linseed oil in the milling process and consequently the glossy properties that oil can offer are less evident.
Brushing Out Norma Blue Colours With Water
The colours were then thinned out with a brush that had been soaked in water. This is where the difference between regular oils and water-mixable oils is most evident. It’s worth noting that all water-mixable oil paints are oil paints that have been modified so that they can be diluted with water (but can also be diluted with turpentine, white spirit or any other oil painting solvent). However my experience with water-mixable paints has been that water does not dilute the paint as easily as solvent does, and that there is a resistance to the paint being thinned with water that may surprise you if working with water-mixable oil paints for the first time. This was most noticeable with Natural Umber, which appeared to form little lumps and lost its smooth consistency when thinned with water.
Comparing Schmincke Norma Blue With Other Water-mixable Oil Brands
I compared Norma Blue Cerulean Blue with the same colour in other water-mixable oil ranges. While the results cannot give us a definitive indication of how a whole range will perform, a sample colour can give us a glimpse into the quality of the brand. The Norma Blue was the most buttery and paste-like in body, and bore the closest similarity to regular professional oil paint. The colour was deep and intense. Duo Aqua Cerulean Blue was even stiffer but had a more violet hue, and was lighter in tone, and less like a conventional Cerulean Blue. Cobra had the most ‘Cerulean Blue’ like appearance, but was more liquid than the other ranges. Daniel Smith’s was similar but with a darker tone to its hue. When brushed out with water the various Cerulean Blues brought out their distinct characters; the Norma had a slightly green tint when thinned out that contrasted with a vivid deep body tone of the colour.
Painting With Schmincke Norma Blue Oil Paints
To begin with, I tried using the paints without a painting medium, only using water to thin the colours and found it difficult to control the flow of the paint. Admittedly it has been a while since I have worked exclusively with water-mixable oil paints, and I had expected I could thin them with water and use them to apply watercolour like washes to my oil painting paper before using the paint more thickly. There may be painters that can work with these paints without a medium but personally, it’s not an option. Use of a medium helps to bring out translucent qualities in the paint, improve flow and really bring out some satisfying contrasts between transparent and opaque, glossy and matt passages of paint. Painting a flower study on a sheet of Jackson’s Oil Paper, I was impressed with the vibrancy of the reds and yellows, and the ease of using the medium to thin the colour to apply some highly saturated yet thin layers of colour, upon which I could apply thicker passages of paint.
Drying Time
I have found Norma Blue to be rather slow drying – my flower painting which has a considerably low application of paint is still wet to touch two weeks after painting, using the Schmincke Mussini Oil Medium 3 Fast Dry Gloss with it, which accelerates drying.
Norma Blue In A Nutshell
For those who are used to working with water-mixable oil paints: I’m fairly sure you’ll love Norma Blue and will be impressed by their colour saturation and performance. Combined with the workability of the tailor made mediums, they are the latest reliably impressive range of colours from Schmincke. They’re especially recommended to those who enjoy blending techniques and value a longer open time for working with your oils.
For those who are looking to try water-mixable oil paints for the first time and perhaps have experience with regular oil paints, be sure to invest in a medium as thinning only with water does not offer a satisfying painting experience. And if you want to accelerate drying make sure you try the Schmincke Mussini Oil Medium 3 Fast Dry Gloss, which will help speed the drying process.
Further Reading
Mediums Are the Key to Water-mixable Oil Paints
Oil Painting for Beginners: What You Need to Get Started
Gold Gilding Process With Tuesday Riddell
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