Thanks.

Louis,

I’d like to bring to your attention a point of internet etiquette—specifically, your habit of typing in ALL CAPS. All caps, besides being harder to read, is generally interpreted as yelling. I’m sure that’s not how you want to present yourself.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_caps

1. Sunflower oil production in Russia was started by Bokaryov in Alekseyevka, Belgogorod, Russia in 1828. In 1833 the first factory of making sunflower oil started and in a few years it became popular. The process was pressing. Today sunflower oil is produced by use of heat and pressure. While many of Russian painters used the sunflower oil it was made by pressure alone and not heated systems. Sunflower oil has a very high content of Oleic acid up to and around 40%, vs. Linseed (around 18–20%). Also sunflower has a high amount of Linoleic acid, around and up to 75% vs. Linseed oil (around and up to 24%). When heated this will produce oil that while works for painting it does cause a faster chemical reaction between pigment and oil. In case of some pigment this is more than others. Cold press linseed oil is much more available than cold press sunflower oil due to industry as well as the significant difference in the amount of oil that can be produced via heat from sunflower vs. cold press. While Russia is the largest producer of sunflower oil in the world the entire artist paint industry is NOT based on sunflower. If KURT WEHLTE says so that is great. Unfortunately I am from there, went to school there and know a thing or two about it. The largest manufacturer of artist oil paint in Soviet was Yarka (and is) and they use Cold pressed linseed oil.

I still think sunflower oil is more suitable for salads. Also note that flax oil that is sold under that name is suitable for salad. Mainly flax oil is not refined the way that it is cleaned for painting use and named linseed oil. (I am not saying linseed oil is made from anything but flax seeds.)

1. I have mentioned that Rembrandt used walnut oil. I did not say he used ONLY walnut oil. I am very well aware of the use of it in some of the paintings that we have in Hermitage. Hendrik van Balen was using it and his student Anthony van Dyck was also a very well known user of it as well as others. Also note that walnut oil dries slower but it works well in a medium with turpentine. The use of poppy and walnut for whites is due to its less yellowing color. The reason for recommending it for blues is the 3% Stearic acid of it, which helps to lower the separation of oil. Separation was not an issue in oil painting until the invention of tubes in 1841. Today the painters who do prepare their paints by rubbing it out after exit of the tube do not have this problem. It is only a problem for using the paint directly out of the tube.

2. Finally my real error! There are 2 products made from Lavender: Lavender oil and spike oil of Lavender. I have seen many painters thinking of the Lavender oil to be used for painting, as it is oil. That is the one that you may buy for use as lotion and cure for insomnia, alopecia (hair loss), anxiety, stress, postoperative pain and Aromatherapy. That is what I am warning you about. Spike oil of lavender is a distilled product and it is thin and a diluting substance. It should not replace the binding agent in oil paint: the oil. It is a thinner. While you can use the spike in place of turpentine for making medium for the smell factor, I would not due to the process that is used today in making spike oil vs. turpentine.
   The lower amount of medium is used the better it is for the paint durability and health. Paint that was made prior to 1900 by hand or before that by the apprentices or the painters themselves had a higher amount of oil as binder since it was not made by machinery. As it was going to be mixed with medium it did not have a thickness as it is made and sold today. Most painters today who prefer to mull their own pigment and oil do not make it that thick either.

Unfortunately I have no products that I could sell to you.

WELL IVAN, IMNOT SURE OF YOUR SOURCE, BUT LET ME GIVE YOU MINE ON WHY I DO MEAN ‘SUNFLOWER’, AND NOT SAFFLOWER. ‘THE MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUES OF PAINTING’ BY KURT WEHLTE.YOU CAN BUY IT AT SINOPIA.COM. THE BEST INVESTMENT YOU WILL MAKE FOR LEARNING OF TECHNICAL/CHEMICAL MATTERS ON PAINTING MATERIALS. MAKES RALPH MAYERS BOOK LOOK SIMPLE.(NO DISRESPECT TO RALPH).

PAGE 382:.( REFERENCE SUNFLOWER OIL) ..CLOSELY RESEMBLES POPPY OIL..THE ENTIRE RUSSIAN PRODUCTION OF ARTISTS’S OIL PAINTS IS BASED ON THIS MATERIAL, AND THE PICTURES PAINTED WITH IT ARE WELL PRESERVED’. SO WHELTE PROVIDES PROVEN FACTS ON SUNFLOWER SEED OIL. YES IVAN MAY WISH TO USE IT ON SALADS BUT WE DO THE SAME WITH FLAX OIL AND WALNUT OIL. ALL ARE NUTRICIOUS AND TASTY.

IVAN S LETTER HAS OTHER ERRORS; (IVAN SAYS): …… Walnut oil is also used by old masters, van Dyck, Rubens, Rembrandt to name a few.
THE SCIENTIFIC STUDIES MOST RECENTLY SHOW REMBRANDT USED WALNUT OIL HAPHAZARDLY..AS IF HE WAS POSSIBLY OUT OF LINSEED OIL AT THE MOMENT, OR QUITE FRANKLY JUST GRABBED WHAT HE HAD ON HAND. I SAY THIS BECAUSE ART ‘EXPERTS’ ON THE WEB, AND IN BOOKS WILL INSTRUCT ARTISTS TO USE WALNUT OR POPPY OIL WITH WHITE AND BLUE PAINTS; THE WALNUT OIL IN REMBRANDTS PAINTINGS…AND THERE WAS VERY LITTLE FOUND.. WAS IN SOME DARK PAINT. THE SOURCE IS FROM THE NATIONAL GALLERY / LONDON. “BOOK ART IN THE MAKING; REMBRANDT “TWO EDITIONS, 1988 AND REVISED 2006.

AND FINALLY IVANS REAL ERROR: (IVAN SAYS): There are other oils that are used by some but none are proven in a test of time such as lavender, etc.
LAVENDER OIL IS NOT AN OIL, IT IS A SOLVENT. ONCE EXTRACTED FROM THE LAVENDER FLOWERS, IT IS CALLED ‘SPIKE’. LIKE TURPENTINE, IT IS NOT A BINDER AND EVAPORATES WHEN EXPOSED TO AIR.

MY WEBSITE, RECENTLY WAS UPDATED WITH MY RESERACH ON HOW FRANCISCO PACHECO ( VELAZQUERZ TEACHER) CLEANSED HIS OIL. THE MAGIC INGREDIENTS WERE ‘AGUA ARDIENTE, LA QUE SE LLAMA DE CABEZA’ AND” LA FLOE DE ALHUCEMA”. TO THOSE WHO DO NOT UNDERSTAND SPANISH, THEY ARE: ALCOHOLIC LIQUOR AND THE LAVENDER FLOWER. THE PROCESS TO CLEANSE THE OIL IS ON MY WEBSITE.

SORRY TO GET TO IVANS LETTER SO LATE- I WAS UNAWARE OF IT RESPECTFULLY, LOUIS

Thanks for the comments. I personally avoid safflower and poppy oils, because I am concerned about their limited binding strength and use a tiny bit of clove oil if I need to retard drying time.

Your URL doesn’t appear to work, by the way.

As far as safety, a great source is Mark D. Gottsegen’s book, The Painter’s Handbook. If you paint with acrylics another great place to get info from the horses mouth is Mark Golden’s blog. You can ask him questions there (via a comment) and he’s extremely responsive).

OILS MUCH LESS PURE than todays? I think you will enjoy reading the full essay on my website, as it will clear up misconceptions of today’s linseed oils..refined or other.

My current experiments show SUNFLOWER SEED OIL to be COMPLETELY free of any yellowing. Even when kept in the dark for weeks.

sincerely=louis