An oil medium with greater freedom and depth of expression.  A medium strong enough to evolve new styles.  A medium made from the highest quality materials for the serious artist and craftsman.

Artists Paintstiks perform beautifully with all conventional oil paints.  All of the same techniques that you are accustomed to using in oil painting and more can be successfully performed using Artists Paintstiks.

Features of the Artists Paintstik
Artists Paintstiks have a protective film that prevents the Paintstik body from drying.  This protective film must be removed before they are used and begins reforming after use.

The Paintstik protective sleeve
The cardboard sleeve surrounding the Artist Paintstik protects the stick from breaking and contamination from other Paintstiks while also acting as a holder for the stick.  As the stick is worn down, simply loosed the sleeve from the Paintstik and push the stick forward.  This allows greater use of each stick while keeping your hands cleaner.

Thinning and clean-up procedures
Turpentine or mineral spirits are solvents for the oil medium of the Artists Paintstik.  Cleanup of surfaces can be done with a little solvent.  Hands can be cleaned with just soap and water or if preferred with solvent and then followed by washing with soap and water.

Workability
Artists Paintstik drying time allows the colours to stay workable for extended periods without using retarders.  Many colours will stay workable for several hours.  The blues and greens tend to dry more quickly than the reds and yellows.  Most of the colours dry to a non-smear state overnight and are usually fully dry in three days.  Actual drying time depends on temperature, humidity, thickness of paint application and the type of surface being painted.

Safe to use
Artists Paintstiks are non-toxic and safe to use, when used properly.  We of course recommend safe conventional practices when using them.  You should avoid breathing solvents or thinners used with Artists Paintstiks or direct exposure of them to cuts or contact with the mouth or eyes.  Prolonged contact with skin should be avoided.

Painting Techniques with Artists Paintstik Preparing to paint using Artists Paintstiks Use a small knife, razor blade or just your fingernail to remove the protective film from the tip of the Artists Paintstik.  The film only needs to be removed from the tip of the stick.
Direct sketching Artists Paintstiks are easy to draw or sketch with on any surface.  Use them in a similar fashion to the way you use chalk or charcoal to accomplish your basic drawing.  they may be used on primed or unprimed stretched canvas and canvas boards, sized or unsized paper, primed masonite, fabrics or many other surfaces.  The sketch can be erased or partially erased with small amounts of standard solvents and a rag when working on non-absorbing surfaces.  Artists Paintstik's broad range of colour allows many colours to be applied without the need for pre-blending on a pallet surface, but the may also be pre-blended on a pallet or blended on the surface to which they are applied.
Applying washes of colour Washes of colour can be created in many ways using turpentine, mineral spirits or other solvents.  When applied to a non-absorbing surface Artist Paintstiks remain moist for hours and the colour applied to the surface can be spread with a broad brush or solvent dampened rag.  The Artist Paintstik colour can also be first applied to a pallet or bottom of a low container, diluted with solvent and then applied to the painting surface using a broad brush or painting rag.
Direct colour blending and build-up of paint on the painting surface Primed canvas or hard paper surfaces work best to deposit large amounts of paint from Artist Paintstiks.  The blending and build-up of colours directly on the surface and blending and moulding of those colours with only the Artists Paintstik allows controlled rendering of colours with surprising ease.  Impasto thickness can be created and can be enhanced with the use of a pallet knife.
Colour blending on a pallet A slightly abrasive pallet such as varnished wood or removable paper pallet performs best with Artists Paintstiks.  Glass or enamel finished pallets tend to be too smooth and remove less colour from the end of the stick.  Colours from the sticks can be deposited in two or three areas and moved together with the use of a brush or the colours can be blended in one spot on the pallet and deposited from there onto the painting surface with brush, pallet knife, finger or tip of an Artists Paintstik.
Using Glitterati colours The colour of a Glitterati is carried by the bright shiny flecks of colour.  These flecks if combined with standard Artists Paintstiks can be covered by the finer pigment of standard sticks, and they lose their reflectance.  For best results do not combine them with other wet paints or Paintstik pigments.  These colours work very well on a dark background over dry painted surfaces.
Using Iridescent Paintstik colours Iridescent colours also lose their iridescent quality if combined with other ground pigments.  It is recommended that they be used in much the same way as Glitterati's.
Using mediums and varnish Thinners, turpentine and linseed oil all work much as they do with conventional tube oil paints.  When they are on a surface to which the Paintstik is applied they also act to dissolve the Artist Paintstik at the point of contact.  Dryers are really not necessary when using Artists Paintstiks, but they may be used with the same results as conventional tube paints.  varnishes may be applied to finished paintings after  they are completely dry.
Stencilling Techniques with Artists Paintstiks Artists Paintstiks are a popular and ideal stencilling medium for several reasons. Artists Paintstik make it easy to apply just the right amount of paint to the pallet with a consistency that is ideal for stencilling. The broad range of colours can complement nearly any exiting colour scheme.  Artists Paintstiks are a very economical way to acquire a large pallet of colours that is easy to transport and store. Although only one Artist Paintstik has a great supply of paint for stencilling nearly any size project, the very nature of stencilling does not use large amounts of painting medium.  The self-sealing character of Artists Paintstik means less waste of paint on the pallet and in damaged dried out tubes. Finally, Artists Paintstiks eliminate the mess and cleanup associated with traditional tube paints.
Basic stencilling techniques Always make sure the surface that you are stencilling is clean and properly prepared for stencilling. Either hand cut or commercially cut stencils work well with Artists Paintstiks.  You may use them on many surfaces including paper, cloth, painted surfaces, glass or ceramics.   Prepare the stencil by lightly spraying the back with repositionable adhesive.  Allow the adhesive to set a moment, then press the stencil evenly onto the surface to be stencilled.  Since the adhesive is repositionable, there is no need to repay the stencil for several hours.
Stencilling on paper, matte painted surface or cloth A wooden disposable paper pallet or any paper surface works well as a pallet.  Rub the Artists Paintstik on the pallet surface to deposit the amount of paint desired.  Then pick up the paint from the pallet using a stencil brush.   When applying more than one colour into a stencil area it is recommended that the lighter colour be applied first. Hold the stencil brush at a 90 degree angle and with a circular motion apply the colour onto the surface to be stencilled.
Stencilling on high gloss surfaces High gloss enamel surfaces should be sprayed lightly with matte varnish before stencilling.  On non-porous surfaces such as glass, glazed ceramics, polished metal or plastics use an up and down stippling motion to apply the paint to the surface.

Preparing fabric for stencilling and precautions when laundering stencilled fabrics
Before applying Artists Paintstiks to fabrics wash to remove sizing.  Use masking tape around the outer edges of the stencil to avoid accidental colour marking of the fabric.  Do not use a fabric conditioner of bleach when laundering.

Wait at least 48 hours before you heatset both sides of the painted fabric.  Then heatset for 10 seconds on the highest safe heat for the fabric.  For exceptional colour fastness, heatset with a fabric fixative.  Launder on a gentle cycle and avoid high drying temperatures.