Holbein's Duo Aqua Oils are genuine oil color for the professional artist, with the same qualities and characteristics as the traditional Holbein Artist Oil Color. Unlike most other water-mixable oils, each Duo Aqua color carries a full pigment load and has the mixing and tinting characteristics of a professional paint.

Duo handles like a professional oil color, yet it can be thinned or cleaned up with water. To make Duo identical in every respect to its traditional professional grade, Holbein developed a unique additive which works as a surface active agent. Any residue of this additive loses its effectiveness once the oil color is dry.

Mix Duo Aqua Oils with other media, such as watercolor, gouache, or acrylic paints. Experiment with mixing media for a variety of effects. For example, Duo can be mixed with waterbased metallic, pearl, and interference colors that are unavailable in a traditional oil palette.

Duo can also be mixed with traditional oil colors. It retains its water soluble characteristics with an oil mixture up to 30%. When thinned with water, a blend of Duo and traditional oil color permits delicate and fine hatching detail not easily accomplished with an oil color alone.

Duo dries much faster than traditional oil colors — in as little as 24 hours — and the colors dry uniformly. This makes it easier to plan for overcoating, texturing, and correcting. It dries without the solvent odor of a conventional oil paint. A cold environment does not affect its drying capabilities.

Duo can be used with the same brush and knife techniques as a conventional oil paint, and it preserves textures and brush strokes the same way that a traditional oil does. Clean brushes thoroughly after use, because paint left in the brush hardens permanently and cannot be removed with any solvent. Use only rustproof knives, because steel knives will rust. Use a plastic or aluminum palette, because a wood palette will warp.

Colors are packaged in 40 ml (1.35 oz) tubes, except Titanium White and Permanent White, which are available in larger sizes.

Note — Holbein's five "Luminous" colors should not be considered permanent. They will degrade with exposure to ultraviolet light. The lifespan of such works can be expanded greatly if they are shielded from ultraviolet light.