My Wolfe black is sticky and clumpy? :(

Not sure why my Wolfe black is sticky and clumpy. And get's "clumpier" as I paint.
Did I do something to it? Get a bad batch? Or is that what I should expect from my black.
I LOVE all of my other Wolfe paints. And I have pretty much the complete line.

Hmmm.....mine doesn't get clumpy. It does get sticky when it starts to dry out some, but I just add another drop of water to it.

If it's clumpy it needs more water. Black tends to be sticky in any brand, and Wolfe is one of the worst IMO, but if you can make a "well" in the middle of the cake to dip from, it should help.

i agree that the "well" really helps, I go as far as to cut out half my black and leave half for the water well.
With black, I like it pretty thin so it works well for me.. I do the same for my snaz black and it helped alot

If you over saturate the paint across the top it'll get sticky & gloppy. The well fixed that for me. It works better w/ the 90 gram cake than the smaller 32 gram cake. The cake is just not deep enough to get a good well.

Are you a newish painter? If so, please know that I posted this very same problem when I first started (I think it is in my "lessons learned" post from July)... and now I know I just needed more time to get to know my paints! The problem will occur with your white and black first - because they are most used! It could be that you are adding too much water, *without* having a well in the middle. Try to make a nice well (small, but deep) in the center of your cake, just scoop some paint out and smoosh the scooped out parts elsewhere, don't worry about looks, you will get over it quickly when you see how it works. Also, consider that you are using TOO MUCH water. You want lots of water in the well (and you paint will be "inky" in there) and then the rest of your cake almost dry - keep the dry part for intensifying color on your brush, and for wiping off excess "ink" from your brush, and for twisting and shaping your brush into a nice point.

This is not how everyone does it, but something that really helped to solve this very problem for me! Good luck!!!
Barbie

LOL, 3 of us posted the same thing at the same time

Thank you!!! Did not think of adding a well. (especially since my white did it naturally and I love it) Should have posted here before I scraped out a ton of paint trying to get through the "goopy" part making a smooth surface. Now I am back to scraping but for my little well

Yes Barbie you got that right, I am a newbie definitely still in the learning phase.

The goopy parts will dry out nicely, just leave your paints exposed after every use. Goopiness may take 24 hours if it is really bad, but usually they only need an hour or three....

My well is usually made naturally. I just bought a Diamond FX white 45gm and at the end of my gig this week, I had already hit pan.

My well is in the center of the cake, but I've seen several other painters start on the side. I'm not sure which is better in the long run.

I think the difference ( for me ) with the well on the side or in the middle is with the well on the side, it's more controlled as to how much paint you saturate the water with... in the middle you have paint absorbing the water on all sides, which to me makes it tooo thick and gooping... but it might just be the way I paint/add water.

With the well on the side, I add water to my brush, get a good amount of paint on brush, and "wipe off" excess in the dry well... if just getting paint from the white is really goopy, I add water to the well to thin it down to the point where I like it.... does that make sense?

BUT - at last... it all depends on your preference.

and Yeah - I only have wells for black and white

Metina actually gave me this idea with her "dipping dots pots". I tried it and loved it... then realized I used the pots alot more because the consistence was always perfect for my teardrops and such... so I use the same water theory with my regular 90grm black and white.

Ok I didn't realize I should leave my paints exposed after use. Will definitely be doing this from now on.

On the subject of the wells I think it is fair to say; Center well or side well is better then no well at all.

Yes, I leave my paints open for at least an hour after I have a practice session with my kids. The gig I just had was for about 6hrs and I left my paints out over night to dry. You should also let your brushes air dry after you wash them.

Um... my "wells" form where they want too. I just add drops of water to my cakes when I set up... sometimes they are in the middle, sometimes to the side if the table isn't level, doesn't matter to me. I just want a gooey spot to load from as I work with dry sponges and brushes.

I always leave my palettes out overnight to dry when I get home, then put them back in the kit for the next job.

Last weekend I forgot to air out my paints after a 4-hour event. Mid-week I decided to try making a split-cake (the lovely purple and blue mix in my rose avatar) and my DFX white was more than gummy - it was like soft taffy! I did manage to smear enough of it into the empty pot (I was determined to make that split cake LOL!), but it was horrible to work with. I left them all uncovered overnight and everything seems fine now.

I've been using the well method lately, it's wonderful - I have learned so much from everyone here, thank you all so much!!