Can I use Zest-it for......? This is quite a common question from the Zest-it web site, so this guide will give hints and tips for using the Zest-it Brush Cleaner and also the Zest-it Pencil Blend. J and T's Art & Calligraphy

Using Zest-it for Oil Painting.

If you use 'turps' or 'white spirit' in your oil painting and are looking for a safe, non-toxic, non-flammable and environmentally friendly alternative, then Zest-it could be your best choice. Here are a few facts, hints and tips that may help.

Remove the oil paint from your brushes with kitchen towel, before washing them in Zest-it, dry your cleaned brushes on towel and leave to dry - the citrus oil in the Zest-it helps to keep the hairs supple.

For dried oil paint in your brushes, wash the brush in Zest-it but do not dry, leave to stand for 24 hours. Again wash the brush, some of the dried paint will have been removed, do this as many times as is necessary to breathe life back into the brush head.

After washing brushes, leave the dirty Zest-it to settle out over night or longer. The paint pigment will settle to the bottom of the container, carefully decant off the clear liquid and reuse. The pigment 'sludge' can be disposed of on soil or sand before disgarding.

If Zest-it has been used 100's of times - as in workshops - the Zest-it liquid will look more like a painting medium due to the linseed oil from the paint disolving into it. Some of our customers use this, mixing it with their oil paint, just the same as ready made painting medium.

Zest-it has a life span of well over 5 years, I've used it in workshops for many years and have never thrown any away! It mainly gets 'used up' by brushes being dried on kitchen towel.

Zest-it can be used to thin oil paint 'as thin as ink' for use on a coloured 'ground'. If for instance you wish your canvas to be dark brown, thin Burnt Umber oil paint with Zest-it and brush onto the canvas and allow to dry before starting your painting. If you need small amounts of 'fine detail' towards the end of a painting, thin your paint as above.

Zest-it can be mixed with Linseed Oil or Linseed Stand Oil to make a painting medium. When mixed with Linseed Stand Oil your work will generally dry faster.

Use a small amount of Zest-it on a cloth/towel to remove wet area's of paint from the canvas. If you do the same to remove it from you hands, wash after with soap and water. We developed the Zest-it Artists Hand Cleaner so you wouldn't need to do that, the hand cleaner 'does what it says on the pot' and leaves the skin conditioned.

Using the Zest-it Pencil Blend.

The Pencil Blend is the same liquid as the Brush Cleaner, so it works whichever name you choose to purchase it by! Zest-it evaporates without leaving any residue, so is ideal for use on paper and similar.

It works best with graphite or coloured pencil that have a 'waxy' stripe, it is far least effective for pencils that are designed for use with water. Be aware that once applied with Zest-it Coloured Pencil, Oil Pastel and Soft Pastels are very hard to remove from an untreated paper surface.

Lay your coloured pencil underpainting down, then using a cotton wool bud or a stiff soft haired brush dampened with Zest-it, blend the pencil as desired. It will look slightly darker in colour, but will return to normal as the Zest-it dries off. If you use pencils (with pressure) whilst it is still damp there is a risk of brusing/damage to the paper. Work small area's at a time.

  You can find Zest-it products at J and T's Art & Calligraphy

If you find you have build up/shine to a worked area, take a brush very slightly dampened with Zest-it and carefully brush over the surface, it will smooth the pencil colours and give you 'surface' back.

Zest-it with Oil Pastels.

Again you can use either the Brush Cleaner or Pencil Blend, they are both the same liquid. You can use in the same ways as described above when using Oil Pastels on untreated paper. Many layers can be built-up this way, the amount of Zest-it used being less with each subsequent layer.

If you use Oil Pastels on Canvas, the Zest-it will facilitate blending of the Pastels, especially where smooth and rough textured areas are used.

Using Oil Pastels on treated paper can give an almost oil painting look to the finished work, especially where fine details are needed. It also allows for the manipulation of texture within the work. I treat my paper with two to three coats of Gelatine - allowing to dry in-between - then apply my Oil Pastels to this surface, it gives a smoother finish and less 'drag' when the pastels are applied, the Oil Pastels can also be removed from the surface without detriment.

For use in Parchment work.

Where Oil Pastel or similar is used on the reverse of parchment work, all of the above method can be tried, but one of the best ways, is to apply the pastel, then using just a tiny amount of Zest-it on kitchen towel, blend the pastel to the required finish. Using too much Zest-it will remove the pastel, as will pressing too hard.

General things Zest-it can be used for.

Zest-it will remove those 'sticky sticky' labels (and their residue) that you often find on paint brushes and the like. It will also remove many other labels and sticky papers. It can also slowly remove dried 'art masking fluid' from brushes. You can also use Zest-it with oil based inks, Markel paint sticks and wax.

I hope you find this insight into using Zest-it helpful in your painting and artistic endeavours.

Copyright Jacqui Blackman 2004