Artistic Use
Walnut oil was one of the most important oils used by Renaissance painters. Its short drying time and lack of yellow tint make it a good oil paint base thinner and brush cleaner. However, some practitioners consider walnut oil paint film to be inferior to linseed oil paint film.
Commercially, walnut oil has become hard to find; demand often is low, and stock readily becomes rancid if stored in transparent, warm or ventilated containers. Instead of walnut oil, many artists and stores sell linseed oil, poppyseed oil, and safflower oil as replacements. Recently, the problem of rancidity has been solved with the introduction of commercial alkali refined walnut oil paints and media.
Some woodworkers favour walnut oil as a finish for implements that will come in contact with food, such as cutting boards and wooden bowls. People who mix oil & wax to formulate wood finishes value walnut oil as an ingredient because of its edibility and resistance to oxidation (going rancid). The oil typically is combined with beeswax in a mixture of 1/3 oil to 2/3 beeswax.
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Famous quotes containing the word artistic:
“Few artists can afford artistic temperament.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“Persons grouped around a fire or candle for warmth or light are less able to pursue independent thoughts, or even tasks, than people supplied with electric light. In the same way, the social and educational patterns latent in automation are those of self- employment and artistic autonomy.”
—Marshall McLuhan (1911–1980)