HOW DOES LINSEED/FLAX OIL DRY? Science proves linseed oil does not dry by evaporation, but through oxidation. The following quoted excerpts are from an academic source: period of exposure to air. …. The term "drying" is actually somewhat of a misnomer …the oil does not harden through the evaporation of water or other solvents, but through a chemical reaction in which oxygen is absorbed from the environment …… The "drying", hardening, or, more properly, curing of oils is the result of an exothermic reaction ... One simple technique for monitoring the early stages of the drying process is to measure weight change in an oil film over time. Initially, the film becomes heavier, as it absorbs large amounts of oxygen. ……Then oxygen uptake ceases, and the weight of the film declines as volatile compounds are lost to the environment.… Moisture generally refers to the presence of water, often in trace amounts… Moisture is also sometimes used to refer to the liquid form of solvents other than water… http://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/Moisture … A solvent is a liquid that dissolves a solid, liquid, or gaseous solute, resulting in a solution. The most common solvent in everyday life is water. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solvent Mucilage is a thick gluey substance produced by most plants and some microorganisms…Mucilage in plants is thought to aid in water storage and seed germination …http://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/Mucilage [ end of academic source quotation] My tests show that exposing linseed oil OUTDOORS to HIGH heat and DRY ventilation of summer sun will create a FAST drying ( within 30 hours or less) viscous oil ( the moisture in the oil is evaporated by the heat). And, my tests show that exposing linseed oil INDOORS in the shade, to no HEAT of sun, and ventilation that is not dry, will result in a slow drying viscous oil ( the oil continues to retain its natural moisture). The article above describes the ABSORPTION of oxygen as the oil is ‘drying’. We know moisture has mass and WEIGHT. We know oxygen contains certain amounts of moisture, depending on the humidity ( the oil absorbs it and gains in weight). And, we know moisture will EVAPORATE from the oil ( causing the oil to lose weight). |
| 'WASHING' (or) 'CLEANSING' [ means the same] - ARTISTS LINSEED OIL/ FLAXSEED OIL OF ITS MUCILAGE 'THE REBIRTH OF THE OLD MASTERS' SUPERIOR OIL' THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT OF OIL PAINTING IS THE CLEANSING OF THE UNREFINED FLAX OIL of its MUCILAGE |
| LINSEED OIL and FLAX OIL are in our modern world, NOT ONE AND THE SAME, even though both are pressed from the same FLAX SEED. IT IS ABOUT "TRUTH-IN-LABELING" LAWS, HERE IS WHY: GROUP ONE IS LABELED: LINSEED OIL There are NO 'LIN' seeds in nature. Linseed oil is pressed from 'FLAX SEEDS." The oil with the word, 'LINSEED OIL", is sold for industrial purposes, such as for waterproofing wood, boats, etc, and for making artists tube paints and for making mediums. It is sold in hardware stores, and some is sold in art stores for artists to use. GROUP TWO IS LABELED " FLAX OIL" or " FLAX SEED OIL". The oil with the label, "FLAX OIL", is sold in health food stores and is traditionally intended for human consumption...now..ARTISTS have discovered its important SUPERIOR properties that are missing in the highly processed and refined art store 'Linseed oil". UNREFINED FLAX OIL is closest to the natural oil used by the Old Masters. This oil is UNREFINED and must be cleansed before it is used by artists. It is the "SUPERIOR /LINSEED/FLAX OIL" of the Old Masters, once it has been organically cleansed and slowly sun thickened. Flax Oil The label must say it is Unrefined, unfiltered Cold Pressed. Though I know this oil is subjected to up to 110 degrees F., by the machinery used during pressing of powerful machinery, I believe this low temperature for a few hours does not harm the oil. IN FACT, after it is cleansed at home, the oil will be placed in hot summer direct sun rays for 30 continuous days, with temperatures varying from 90 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. This HIGH QUALITY oil is much less expensive than ALL the industrial linseed oils. Like all unrefined oils, it MUST be cleansed before sun thickening. Flax- linseed oil sold comes in SEVERAL grades [ see note below] When the oil is pressed with high pressure, the seeds are ruptured causing the oil to be cloudy with much 'particulate' ( sediment, husks, mucilage) included in the oil. The oil is allowed to settle for a period ( the company does not say how long). The dark colored particulate eventually settles and the clear oil rises. Both are bottled and sold. The clear oil is the one to buy, but even this clear oil must be cleansed before sun thickening because like ALL UNREFINED, UNFILTERED COLD PRESSED FLAX-LINSEED OILS, it contains much particulate and much of it is microscopic in size and invisible to the unaided human eye. Do not buy the DARK OIL with added 'particulate', the label says, " HIGHEST LIGNAN" , as it is unnecessary work for you to cleanse. DO NOT BUY ANY OIL CONTAINING ANTIOXIDANTS SUCH AS: Vitamin E, tocopherols, Polypherols, Rosemary etc DO NOT BUY ANY OIL MADE FOR PET HEALTH. It contains antioxidants. |
| MUCILAGE : PROOF OF ITS DARKENING AND BROWNING The photo on your left shows the freshly gathered Mucilage. It is pale, white opaque that you see on the bottom of the jar. The next photo shows the same jar 45 days later and the Mucilage is becoming brown. Notice the oil is becoming lighter by exposure to a sunny room with sunlight -NOT due to direct SUN RAYS. The third photo shows the same jar. Now the oil has become almost colorless and the mucilage is brown. The last photo on your right was taken 12 months after the first photo. It shows the brown umber color of the mucilage. This is the proof of that mucilage will cause oil paint to darken and brown , if not removed. The Old Masters knew this. Notice the oil is very pale. Notice the very large PURE WHITE COLORLESS oil bubble. This bubble is the thinness used in oil painting layers. ( All Photos on this website are copyright protected, 2004-2008) |
| A BRIEF HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF CLEANSING THE LINSEED/FLAX OIL FOR OIL PAINTING: A.P. Laurie, in his book, “The Painter’s Methods and Materials”, Dover Publications, New York, 1967. This book has withstood the test of time, and is still available. A.P. Laurie was a scientist* with a special interest in Artist‘s materials and historical manuscripts. Mr. Laurie cites ancient manuscripts on the subject of how ‘drying’ oils were cleansed. He begins with a 5th century account by Aetius, and mentions the 8th century Lucca Manuscript, then mentions Theophilus in the 11th century , Eraclius in the 13th century, and Cennino Cennini in the 14th century, concluding that linseed, poppy and walnut oils were processed and used since ancient times. He relates that the extracted oil, by however means it is extracted, is NOT pure, that it contains impurities, mucilage, and other foreign matter. He states that fresh extracted oil dries very slowly and that artists made the oil dry faster by processing it in a variety of forms; boiling, exposure to air, and exposure to sun and air. He cites that the bleaching of oils by sun exposure was known in the time of Dioscorides, and that boiling oil with litharge was known in the time of Galen, A.D., 103-193. Mr. Laurie states that the method of mixing the oil with water came much later in history, that processing the oil by exposing it to air sun and water was a much more recent development that dates to Padre Gesuato of 1557 and even more recently in the De Mayerne manuscript of 1620. I note that the dates of these later developments - washing oil with water- coincide with following the Italian Renaissance of the early 1500’s when experimentation and seeking knowledge was the norm. The industrial revolution of the 19th century, raw materials of all kinds are processed for the market as efficiently and quickly as possible. The main force behind the market is to earn a profit. Under those conditions, the product frequently suffers, though technology has made modern life more convenient. Artist’s linseed oil is produced on a very large scale for a world wide market. Gone are the days of the Van Eycks and Rembrandt when the flax seeds were pressed with a hand manipulated screw press to extract the oil. Even today’s cold pressed linseed oil is extracted by machinery that inadvertently warms up the oil because of the friction of the high pressure machinery. I was assured by a USA manufacturer of flax oil ( which is the same oil as linseed oil) that the temperature of the oil never reaches the boiling point. I am aware of only one company that claims to use no electrical machinery in pressing the oil, and that is the “Old Holland” company in The Netherlands. They claim to use only windmill power as was done in the 17th century. Most linseed oil today is labeled as Alkali Refined Linseed Oil because it is treated with a caustic chemical called Sodium Hydroxide in their Alkali Refinement process to cleanse the oil. The Modern Industrial Alkali Refinement of Linseed/flax oil has removed important molecular components of the oil and caused it to become a very slow drying oil. Knowing this, I have sought out the pure cold pressed Unrefined, Unfiltered linseed oil. Unrefined linseed oil requires cleansing, but cleansing as the Old Masters did it…without caustic chemicals. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| CALCITE SUN OIL |
CLEANSING UNREFINED FLAXSEED- LINSEED OIL OF DAMAGING MUCILAGE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT CONSIDERATION IN OIL PAINTING SCROLL DOWN TOLEARN ABOUT THE NEW CSO METHOD OF MUCILAGE REMOVAL THAT I DEVELOPED IN 2018 IT IS CALLED, " THE CSO PSYLLIUM HUSK-WATER METHOD" FIRST FACT: There are NO "lin" seeds in nature. Linseed oil is pressed from FLAXSEEDS SECOND FACT: WASHING THE OIL WITH EASTLAKE'S 19TH CENTURY METHOD IS INEFFECTIVE. WHETHER SHAKING THE OIL WITH WATER... OR WITH WATER AND SALT ... OR WITH WATER , SALT AND SAND...IT IS A WASTE OF TIME, A LOSS OF GOOD OIL , AND INEFFECTIVE. To test Eastlake’s method, place a jar of oil cleansed by his method in a refrigerator overnight at 40 degrees Fahrenheit. If the oil is truly cleansed of mucilage, it will remain fully transparent no matter how long it remains in the refrigerator . DO NOT judge oil cleanliness when the oil is at room temperature. Even oils full of mucilage are fully transparent at room temperature. But, oil containing mucilage becomes cloudy in the coldness of the refrigerator. |
| SEE MY HOME PAGE ON HOW TO RECEIVE A FREE DVD CSO OIL PAINTING |
| BEWARE OF THE OIL YOU BUY The photo shows three different oils in a cold refrigerator. 1. Barleans cold pressed unrefined FLAX oil [ USA].. 2. Leandro Casiano's home pressed FLAX seed oil [ Norway]. 3. Kremer's Swedish cold pressed LINSEED oil. PLEASE NOTE THIS IMPORTANT FACT All unrefined cold pressed flaxseed oil becomes CLOUDY when in a refrigerator. The same unrefined oils will be transparent in warm weather. DO NOT BE FOOLED just because the oil appears crystal clear and transparent in warm weather, it does not mean that the mucilasge has been removed!. Place your oil sample in a cold refrigerator to determine if it has MUCILAGE. PLEASE NOTE that the Kremers LINSEED OIL is very clear and transparent - see the bottom of the jar- while the other two oils are cloudy. THIS is an indication that while the Kremers oil is COLD PRESSED- it has been exposed to some type of yet unknown refinement. I have written a letter to Kremers and have not yet received a response. THE NEXT PHOTO is taken immediately when removed from the refrigerator. NOTICE how clear the Kremers LINSEED OIL is fully transparent, while the two FLAX SEED oil samples are cloudy |
THE NEXT TWO PHOTOS WERE TAKEN IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE OIL HAS BEEN REMOVED FROM THE REFRIGERATOR ONLY THE KREMERS OIL IS TRANSPARENT. THIS INDICATES IT APPEARS TO HAVE RECEIVED SOME TYPE OF CLEANSING REFINEMENT PROCESS It is NOT SOLD AS A " REFINED" OIL. |
| THIS PHOTO SHOWS HOW THE OILS WARMED UP AND BECAME TRANSPARENT THIS SHOWS HOW CLEAR THE LEANDRO AND THE BARLEANS UNREFINED COLD PRESSED OIL BECAME AS TRANSPARENT AS THE ...KREMERS OIL to test if your oil is mucilage free--place it in a cold refrigerator OVERNIGHT -clean oil remains transparent- unclean oil becomes cloudy |
SCROLL BELOW TO LEARN ABOUT THE NEW METHOD OF MUCILAGE REMOVAL, " THE CSO PSYLLIUM HUSK WATER METHOD", THE TWO CURRENT CSO METHODS OF MUCILAGE REMOVAL ARE DESCRIBED IN MY BOOKS 1. The 'CSO PSYLLIUM HUSK - ALCOHOL METHOD'- [NON AIR PUMP]. I based this method on Pacheco's method of 1649. It uses strong alcoholic liquor. I discovered and pioneered the use of Psyllium Husk for use of mucilage removal from unrefined flax-linseed oil. This method requires 10 days to remove the mucilage. FULL instructions are on page 38 of my book, VOLUME ONE : OIL PAINTING LESSONS WITH REMBRANDT AND CALCITE SUN OIL" 2. The 'CSO PSYLLIUM HUSK ( Velasquez-Tavenier ) AIR PUMP METHOD'. This method was created because of the prohibitive cost of liquor in some countries. This alcohol free method was created by myself and Daniel Tavenier of The Netherlands in April 2015. It is the simplest method of the three and removes the mucilage within 24 to 48 hours. Please see full instructions in my book: VOLUME TWO:OIL PAINTING LESSONS WITH REMBRANDT AND CALCITE SUN OIL" For many years I posted full instructions here on how to remove the mucilage from the oil. I have removed those recipes and the complete information is now to my 2 books: VOLUME ONE and VOLUME TWO " OIL PAINTING LESSONS WITH REMBRANDT AND CALCITE SUN OIL" Both are available on Amazon ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ COMING SOON--A NEW DVD [ posted on my website Jan. 1, 2019 ] THE NEW METHOD OF MUCILAGE REMOVAL, " THE CSO PSYLLIUM HUSK WATER METHOD", I created the new “ CSO Psyllium Husk -Water Method” in May 2018 ——————————- “THE CSO PSYLLIUM HUSK- WATER METHOD” THIS METHOD REQUIRES A CRUCIAL SECOND STEP , TO BE FULLY EFFECTIVE RECIPE: “ CSO Psyllium Husk - Water method”. PART ONE : PROCEDURE: PART TWO= CRUCIAL STEP PART THREE: TESTING THE CLEANLINESS To test that the oil is cleansed and contains no mucilage, place the lid tightly and place the jar in the refrigerator. Leave it there for 2 to 3 hours. Clean, mucilage-free oil will remain crystal clear and fully transparent in the cold refrigerator no matter how many hours it remains. HOWEVER, Do not leave the oil jar in the refrigerator longer than needed because moisture condenses inside the jar. A mucilage free oil will remain beautifully transparent over the years. One drop rubbed onto a white ceramic plate shows the oil has no yellow color. IMPORTANT: All jars of linseed oil, whether cleansed oil or oil containing mucilage, will be completely transparent in hot temperatures. Oil that has not been cleansed will become hazy and cloudy when it remains in the refrigerator for many hours. A cleansed mucilage-free oil will remain crystal clear , 100% transparent in the cold refrigerator. Different producers of unrefined, raw, flax/ linseed oil produce oil with varying amounts of mucilage. Some oils are more clear or more cloudy than others when in the cold. Their Quality control is a difficult issue. Posted on my website on January 1, 2019 In May , 2018 Initially , I shared it with a few friends with a CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT I created THE NEW “ CSO Psyllium Husk -Water Method”. in May 2018 it is copyright protected, to ascertain it is my creation I give all persons worldwide, permission to use and share this method at no cost. Best wishes Louis R. Velasquez San Diego, California, USA January 1, 2019 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ FRANCISCO PACHECO : VELAZQUEZ' TEACHER THE SEARCH FOR PERFECTION Even though an Old Master once wrote that it is not possible to remove 100% of the mucilage, I have never stopped seeking a method that will remove 100% of the mucilage from the Flax-Linseed oil. However, there are too many uncontrollable variable factors that interfere with this goal becoming a reality. Even my tests of modern Alkali Refined linseed oil bought at any Art supply store, have detected some degree of mucilage in that modern product. My original CSO method of removing the mucilage was based on the 17th century method of Francisco Pacheco ( published in 1649). As you know, Pacheco was the teacher of Spain's great painter Diego Velazquez. Here is Pacheco's method, word for word, as published and written in Spanish: LIBRO TERCERO, CAP. V: “Tomese una redoma de vidrio - y a una libra de aceite de linaza limpio y claro se le echan tres onzas de aguardiente fina, que llaman de cabeza, y dos onzas de alhucema, o espliego , en grano, y póngase al sol fuerte quience días, meneándolo dos veces cada dia, y de esta manera queda claro y purificado, y colándolo en otro vidrio …". ENGLISH TRANSLATION: BOOK THREE, CHAPTER FIVE “Take a glass flask – and to a pound of linseed oil that is clean and clear, add to it three ounces of fine quality liquor spirits, that is called ‘from the head’, and two ounces of Lavender, in seed, and place it in very strong hot sun for fifteen days, swirling it two times each day, and by this method, it will become clear and purified, and filter it into another glass..” PLEASE SEE MY FREE YOUTUBE VIDEOS ON HOW TO USE THE AIR PUMP TO THICKEN THE OIL. THICKENING THE OIL CREATES A FASTER DRYING OIL TO LOCATE THOSE VIDEOS ON YOUTUBE, TYPE IN 'CSO VELASQUEZ, AIR PUMP OIL' |
| ALL IMAGES AND TEXT ARE COPYRIGHT PROTECTED BY LOUIS R VELASQUEZ 2016 |
| END OF PAGE |