Oil Painting Pt.1 -Cleanup

Korean artist-Rim Lee-acrylic paint

Before we start anything and get the paints, palettes, canvas out. It is a fairly messy medium so the most basic fundamental thing is how to clean it up whether it's your hands, furniture etc.

This information is obvious but then elusive. I didn't think much about this topic until some real damage was done.

One cannot use regular soap and water. It will smear the mess. It is oil and oil and water just don't mix nor cooperate together. Basic concept and common sense overlooked.

My first oil painting was an assignment for a highschool summer program correspondence course I was taking I watched a 1 1/2 hr tutorial of basic execution.

I thought I was prepared. Mentally at first I was.

Dead wrong. It was a black and white value painting. Keep it simple just black and white paint is used.

Too tubes of paint and what I did was utter chaos.

It was 4 in the morning after painting for more than a few hours and I looked at myself in the mirror saw black paint all over my hands arms and my face was smeared, I panicked and trying to rub it off made it worse. I looked like one of the ladies from Rim Lee's paintings except there was no gracefullness to it. If you have seen the movie Ex-Machina (My favorite movie of the year by the way. suspenseful and I could not predict the ending.) Anyways there is a scene in the movie where the main character freaks out in a bathroom and there is blood every where. In my case just paint in the sink and anything I touched. I had to take a bath to somewhat remove the paint on myself. Not something one wants to do at 4am and you've been up all night.

My main point is one does not need to take a bath to just remove oil paint off of themselves. There is an easier way. :)

Certain things one cannot go without brand loyalty. There are some products I haven't tried so I cannot give honest opinions about them. These are things I have tried that have worked.

So Masterson's brush soap or lava soap will do

Double take they are paintings not photos.

Murphy's oil soap.
It oddly smells like gummy bears.
And it is some powerful stuff.
I mean if you put your back into it and scrubbing ability old paint stains come off in seconds and or minutes at times.

Adds a gloss sheen.

Use this on furniture, floor and a dab on your clothes if needed. I practically have paint on pretty much most of my clothes so I don't really care anymore.

Masterson's brush soap After looking it up I've been convinced it was called that until now. My life is ruined and I may have confused numerous people I have talked to about this product.
Ahem...* The Master's Brush soap.

Use on brushes for any medium to help keep the brush form and springyness, Also they have a line of their bar soap which I also carry with me if I'm painting outside of home. Minimizes mess and doesn't suds up. Most of my art teachers had this around and I do too. I have different canisters all over the place.

Nothing fancy you can find in a hardware store of the likes. Cuts out grease and has a kinda sand paper consistensy grain to help clean up grooves. Mechanics and such use this with oil too.