<p>If water thinned oils behave like many acrylics there can be a slight but noticeable hue and/or tone shift to the color when the pigment fully dries. This can be more pronounced with less expensive product lines (eg student or hobby grade).</p>
<p>The trick these paints use is to add chemicals to the drying oil base that allow the pigments to emulsify. This allows the pigment to be 'picked up' by the water. It also adds complication to the drying behavior of the paint which is where the color change can come into play.</p>
<p>The Cobra paints specifically add drying compounds to the paint as well.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>&quot;With regards to drying, Cobra paints have a drier added to all
colours in the range, which is unusual for an Artists’ quality paint.&quot; <a href="https://www.artsupplies.co.uk/blog/what-are-water-mixable-oil-paints/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">-source</a></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Which can further affect how the paints behave when drying.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-09-19T16:38:51.563Z
2024-09-19T16:50:08.687Z
2024-09-19T16:50:08.687Z
rebusB
<p>I applied a thin layer of oil paint and left the painting for some time.<br />
I've been using water-mixable oil paints all the time. I had no problems with Lukas Berlin oils, which I've been using previously. This time I mixed in Cobra oils, which I've never used before. Also, I want to mention, that for this painting I didn't use any mediums, neither did I mix colors with water. Before painting, I applied two layers of gesso to the canvas.</p>
<p>After a couple of days, I noticed immediately that the color had shifted from light brown to greenish (see pictures below). At first I thought that this different appearance is caused by changes in ambient light conditions, but the changes are too noticeable. What is the cause for this and what can I do to prevent this from happening further on?</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/v8Dwti8o.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/v8Dwti8o.jpg" alt="Immediately after applying the layer" /></a>
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/AMFKdJ8J.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/AMFKdJ8J.jpg" alt="After a couple of days" /></a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-09-19T15:23:29.793Z
Hi @tomass. A few things could lead to this... from the pigments in the paint to the solvent you used, to how the canvas/board was primed (or not), to the lighting (which does look a little different) to just how the very thinned paint looks when wet v dry.
rebusB
<painting><oil-paint><color>
Why did the color of my painting change from brownish to greenish?
tomass
# Why did the color of my painting change from brownish to greenish?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2024-09-19)

I applied a thin layer of oil paint and left the painting for some time.  
I've been using water-mixable oil paints all the time. I had no problems with Lukas Berlin oils, which I've been using previously. This time I mixed in Cobra oils, which I've never used before. Also, I want to mention, that for this painting I didn't use any mediums, neither did I mix colors with water. Before painting, I applied two layers of gesso to the canvas.

After a couple of days, I noticed immediately that the color had shifted from light brown to greenish (see pictures below). At first I thought that this different appearance is caused by changes in ambient light conditions, but the changes are too noticeable. What is the cause for this and what can I do to prevent this from happening further on?

[![Immediately after applying the layer](https://i.sstatic.net/v8Dwti8o.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/v8Dwti8o.jpg)
[![After a couple of days](https://i.sstatic.net/AMFKdJ8J.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/AMFKdJ8J.jpg)

**Tags:** painting, oil-paint, color

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Hi @username_0. A few things could lead to this... from the pigments in the paint to the solvent you used, to how the canvas/board was primed (or not), to the lighting (which does look a little different) to just how the very thinned paint looks when wet v dry.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2024-09-19. Score: 4

If water thinned oils behave like many acrylics there can be a slight but noticeable hue and/or tone shift to the color when the pigment fully dries. This can be more pronounced with less expensive product lines (eg student or hobby grade).

The trick these paints use is to add chemicals to the drying oil base that allow the pigments to emulsify. This allows the pigment to be 'picked up' by the water. It also adds complication to the drying behavior of the paint which is where the color change can come into play.

The Cobra paints specifically add drying compounds to the paint as well.

> "With regards to drying, Cobra paints have a drier added to all
> colours in the range, which is unusual for an Artists’ quality paint." [-source](https://www.artsupplies.co.uk/blog/what-are-water-mixable-oil-paints/)

Which can further affect how the paints behave when drying.


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