Brayer painting with water-soluble oil paint

This is what I've been doing the past year and a half -- painting with brayers instead of brushes, using Cobra water-soluble oil paint and Gamblin Solvent-Free Gel and Fluid. It's usually a two-sitting process, first for developing under-painting, and second sitting (about a week later) for layering glazes. I also use squeegees, silicon scrapers, Q-tips, fingers, and paper towels to scrape and wipe paint off to show the white of the panel surface for lighter areas of a composition.

I recently tried using Weber Res-N-Gel instead of Gamblin's Solvent-Free Gel and Fluid for the same process. Since RNG contains modified resin that doesn't give me headaches or sore throat, it works well for small spaces. But! It has a really slippery feeling when applying with brayers: brayers slide on the panel surface instead of rolling. I know it's really a specific problem for me just because I paint with brayers, but it's a huge enough issue that I'm sticking with Solvent-Free Gel and Fluid!

Transparent Oxide Red/Yellow under-painting

Ultramarine Blue glaze layer
(before wiping and scraping light areas)

Tailin'
oil on panel, 24"x18"

There are about 6 soft brayers in different widths in my rotation. Squeegee is about 12" wide. It is amazing what these simple but versatile tools can do, and how easy it is to obtain soft edges and transparency. Cleaning is fun with just soap and water. Yay!

Learning the Hard Way pt.3

My search for the best alternative paint thinner is coming to a close pretty soon. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

The latest non-toxic solvent of choice is... Art Treehouse's Biobased Artist's Thinner.

This soy-based thinner doesn't really make the traditional oil paint 'glide' like Gamsol does, but hey I've been able to paint with my windows closed. No headache, no sore throat, no need to listen to Nick Cave or Leonard Cohen. Plus, it doesn't make the paint oily or glossy. The drying time doesn't change either. It's a bit more expensive than Gamsol but I'd be happy to pay extra! 

(note: I use this thinner by itself to thin the paint for the initial layer of alla prima painting process & cleaning - probably not suitable for glazing, etc., or I have no idea how this will act with other mediums since I don't use any)

Yeah baby