Recycling oil paint and recipes for unique mélanges

Recycling oil paint and recipes for unique mélanges February, 2009


If you have been painting for a while you probably have many “end of the tube” paints left. I keep mine in two boxes for both warm and cool colors. When the boxes recently overflowed, I decided it was time to recycle paint and came up with some amazing mixtures.

To do this you’ll need scissors to cut the tubes because some will be too difficult to unscrew as they have become seasoned. I have found that squeezing paint out of a cut tube when the tube is nearly empty is easier and more efficient. You’ll need small to medium glass jars with metal lids; they are available at most art supplies stores, vinyl gloves and something to stir your mixture. You will also need some linseed oil which will make your mixture easier to blend and more malleable. It will add renewed viscosity and body to your paint. The amount of linseed oil will depend upon how dry your paint is. I like my paint to feel like soft butter so I tend to add more rather than less. In addition to the linseed oil I suggest you add some oderless Thin-X.

In general I keep the vibrant colors together, separate the earth tones from the dark colors and also keep the more opaque tones together. Here are some mixtures that have blended themselves into beautiful hues for me and you might want to try them.

Hot Rouge
Every red except flesh tones, pinks, alizarin crimson, red earth tones and some cadmium orange.
Sunshine Yellow
All yellows except ochres and Naples’s yellow light.
Deep Green
All greens including some turquoise except terre verte, olive, chromium green and sap green.
Cool Blue
All blues except indigo.
Bright Black
Alizarin crimson, indigo, some viridian, some purple and olive green.
Terra Dolce
Yellow ochre, flesh tone, Naples’s yellow light, red earth and siennas.
Umbria
Browns, orange earth, some cadmium orange, sap green, some purple
Ivory
All whites
Clay

Whatever colors are left. At times the results are great but this mixture can also turn into a horrendous sludge.

You can recycle acrylic paints the same way. You’ll need to add water and some gel medium for acrylic paints. Have some fun experimenting with your own mélanges. You’ll find it is a creative way to recycle and use up every bit of paint while discovering new hues.