What are the drying times for Winsor & Newton Oil colours?

As a general rule, oil colours become touch-dry in thin films within two to 12 days, but there are varying reactions when it comes to different pigments. Familiarising yourself with oil colour drying rates will help you achieve the best results and avoid cracking and other mishaps.

We’ve rounded up some essential pointers about each of our key oil colour ranges and their drying rates, so that you can use these as a reference when choosing your oil colours.

Artists’ Oil Colour drying times

Artists’ Oil Colour presents the purest pigments with the most suitable drying oils. The buttery, stiff consistency of these oil colours is ideal for retaining brush or palette knife strokes and can be thinned to a very fine glaze.

Fast drying Artists' Oil colours (around two days):

Medium drying Artists' Oil colours (around five days):

Slow drying Artists' Oil colours (more than five days):

Winton Oil Colour drying times

Winton Oil Colour is ideal for artists requiring large volumes of colour and looking for affordable quality. The high level of pigmentation provides good covering power and tinting strength with stiff, uniform consistency. The 31 single pigments in the range allow cleaner, brighter mixes and infinite hues.

Fast drying Winton Oil colours (around two days):

Medium drying Winton Oil colours (around five days):

Slow drying Winton Oil colours (more than five days):

Artisan Water Mixable Oil Colour drying times

Developed to look and work like traditional oil colour, without requiring hazardous solvents. When Artisan is thinned with water, the water evaporates from the paint film quite rapidly, leaving behind a conventional film of oil that air dries. You may notice that the surface is very slightly tacky, but this is normal.

Fast drying Artisan Water Mixable Oil colours (around two days):

Medium drying Artisan Water Mixable Oil colours (around five days):

Slow drying Artisan Water Mixable Oil colours (more than five days):

Additional Winsor & Newton Oil Colour ranges:

Griffin Alkyd Fast Drying Oil Colour 

Griffin Alkyd Fast Drying Oil Colour has a high proportion of single pigments for brilliance of colour and clean colour mixing, with exceptional drying qualities. You can work with all colours in the range on your palette for between four and eight hours. These become touch-dry in 18 to 24 hours. Be aware that the thickness of the paint and the temperature of the room will also affect the drying times of your work.

More top tips

1. Try to avoid the temptation to varnish your work as soon as you have finished. The colour needs to be completely dry, so we recommend waiting at least three months before varnishing.
2. Avoid drying your paintings in continuous darkness or high humidity, as it may cause yellowing.
3. Adopt the rule: slow-drying over fast-drying. Fast-drying colours should be used continuously as under layers to avoid cracking.
4. Explore altering drying times of various colours. Winsor & Newton Artists’ Painting Medium changes the rate of drying and influences gloss and texture. Using Winsor & Newton Liquin Original increases the drying rate by approximately 50 per cent.