Oil Paints & Mediums

Dala Oil Paint is described by Dala as highly pigmented, buttery and long lasting, suited to layering and blending. It comes in 22 colours in 38ml, plus a titanium white in 200ml, and in 12 × 12ml boxed sets. Dala notes it can be used straight from the tube or modified with mediums, following the fat over lean rule — each layer containing slightly more oil than the one beneath it, so the surface dries evenly rather than cracking.

Linseed Oil increases gloss, transparency and flow, and slows drying — useful for glazing and for keeping paint workable across a long session.

Turpenoid thins paint and speeds drying. Dala advises using it in a well-ventilated area.

Odourless Turpenoid does the same job without the solvent. Dala describes it as solvent-free, with no odour, and not harmful when inhaled — a different proposition entirely for a classroom.

The range also includes Liquin, Cold Wax Medium, Impasto Medium, Standoil, Sun Thickened Oil, Refined Poppy Oil and paint thinners.

Use Odourless Turpenoid, not standard Turpenoid. Dala rates the standard version as requiring good ventilation and the odourless version as not harmful when inhaled. In a classroom that is not a preference, it is the decision.

Oils are a senior-phase medium. Slow drying means work must be stored flat and undisturbed for days rather than hours — a real constraint on a shared classroom, and the main reason oils suit older, timetabled art classes.

Buy the sets for a class, singles for a studio. The 12 × 12ml boxes cover a class starting out; the 38ml tubes suit an art room working through specific colours.

Budget for mediums. With oils they are not optional extras — thinning, drying time and finish are all controlled by them.