Resisting the Oilbar-Review of Winsor Newton Oilbar

A while back Winsor  Newton gave away freebie samples of one of their Artist Oilbars(offer now closed).  I received a French Ultramarine. 

Unfortunately, just at that time my hubby had eye surgery, and I was applying goop to them and so avoiding anything that might get on my fingers and into his eyes.  Along the way, the oilbar slipped into hiding and out of mind.

I found it the other day, and remembered-I wanted to try using it as a resist for watercolor.  I'd read about clear oilbars being used this way, and decided to give it a try.

I'm not unhappy with the result.

I smeared random strokes of the oilbar on a page in my moleskine, then used some Duochrome watercolors (which don't show up well in the scan. *sigh*). They went over the oil paint with no problem.  But the oil didn't really work as a resist.  The watercolor just covered over the oil paint, softening it's color.  I can think of other ways to achieve a similar effect with something less messy and cheaper than an oilbar.

That said, the Winsor Newton oilbar is a nifty little item.  If I were planning to oil paint en plein air or wanted to oil paint without cleaning brushes, I'd definitely go this route.  The color goes on smoothly, and you can easily get impasto effects. 

The bar is bit large for small detail or working on small canvases, but pick up pigment from the bar with a brush, or cut off bits to put on a palette, or even use your finger.  

A skin forms on the bar keeping the oil paint moist.  When you want to use the bar, you wipe it away. The skin reforms within an hour or so, once you stop using the bar.  Drying time seemed to be about the same as regular oil, but I've read things that indicate the paint may never totally cure when used heavily.  I'd recommend some more research into that if you are interested in this product.

It's been a while since I used oils, largely because of the mess.  I'm into other mediums right now, but the oilbar has piqued my interest.  Sooner or later, I'll be buying some of them and researching the best way I know--experimenting with the product!