Cobra Water-Mixable Oil Paints by Royal Talens -An Artist's Review.

Bruce Black's art studio and palette. 2022

Cobra water-mixable oil paints by Royal Talens are a game-changer in the world of painting. As an art teacher, I was skeptical when I first heard about these paints, but now that I have been using them for two years, I am a believer. I am excited to share my thoughts on Cobra paints and why I think they are a fantastic choice for artists of all levels, and especially for art teachers.

One of the best things about Cobra paints is that no solvents are necessary. This means that you can work with these paints in a solvent-free studio, which is great for both your health and the environment. You can clean your brushes with just soap and water, and you can thin your paint with water instead of using harsh chemicals like mineral spirits. This makes Cobra paints an excellent choice for high school art students, as well as artists who are sensitive to solvents. 

Another benefit of Cobra paints is that they come out of clothing remarkably well. If you get paint on your clothing, assuming that you catch it before it dries, it washes out without much trouble. This is even better than acrylic paints, which tend to be more permanent on clothing. As a teacher, I appreciate this feature because it means my students can experiment without worrying about ruining their clothes.

Cobra paints also operate just like traditional oils. You can apply them using the usual fat over lean methods, and you can use a variety of water-mixable mediums to work with fatter (slower drying) layers of paint. This means that if you are already comfortable with traditional oils, you can easily switch to Cobra paints without having to relearn a new system.

In addition to their ease of use, Cobra paints dry fast for oil paints, but much slower than acrylics. If you thin your paint with a little water, it will be mostly dry in one day, and tacky within a few hours. This is great if you are working on a time-sensitive project, but it can be frustrating if you leave your paint out overnight and find that the thin layers have hardened and the thicker layers have developed a skin. However, there are mediums available that can slow the drying time if you need it. The nice thing, is that they stay open much longer than acrylic paints, which allows you to blend and move colors around with greater ease. 

As with any product, there are a few downsides to Cobra paints. For example, they are dense coming out of the tube, which can make them a bit stiff to work with, especially if you prefer to paint with softer brushes. However, you can loosen them up with a medium or by adding water. Additionally, there are a few tubes that seem to lack saturation, like King's Blue, Permanent Green-Light, and Permanent Yellow-Light. It takes a lot of paint to shift their color when mixing them with another, which can be frustrating.

Another concern some artists have is the archival nature of these paints. While Royal Talens has been around long enough to figure out how to make paint, some people are still skeptical about the long-term stability of Cobra paints. However, I believe that with proper care and storage, these paints will hold up just as well as traditional oils.
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Overall, I highly recommend Cobra water-mixable oil paints by Royal Talens. They are a great choice for artists who want to work with oils but are sensitive to solvents or have limited space for a traditional oil painting setup. They are also a great choice for teachers who want to introduce oil painting to their students in a safe and environmentally friendly way. With their ease of use, quick drying time, and traditional oil paint properties, Cobra paints are a great addition to any artist's toolkit.

They have tons of great information on how to get started with Cobra paint. COBRA PAINTS INFORMATION HERE.

Bruce Black's Art studio with a small painting of Sedona Arizona. 2022

Cobra water-mixable oils by Royal Talons (From the studio of Bruce Black)

Check out more of my paintings done with water-mixable oils HERE.