From the article: Best 10 Brands of Oil Paints
Do you have a favorite brand of oil paints and, if so, what is it about it that makes it so special? Or do you use a mixture of oil paints, buying more by price than anything else? Share your experiences and reasons for using the oil paints you do. What Oil Paint Do You Use
Favorite Paints
- Grumbacher, W&N, Shiva, Holbein, Permelba White. I'm not a paint snob, but I do want quality paints with vibrant colors, strong saturation that blend beautifully. Painting should be enjoyable. I'm not reccomending these particular brands, these are just the paints I enjoy. Use the paints that work for you . All that matters is that YOU love painting. "Beauty I in the eye of the beholder."
- —Guest CEV
Grumbacher is a...
- ...good affordable artists' brand with good quality. I'm replacing my tubes with daVinci or LeFranc & Bourgeois oils. I find them economical for the quality of the paint. For a student grade, I use Winton by W&N. If my paintings sold for a lot, I'd use other quality artists' grade paints like those mentioned. The daVinci and LeFranc tubes are 40ml compared to other brands that come in 37ml tubes. I check the price per ml when making a choice among the three I mention. I also have tubes of Gamblin, Daniel Smith, and W&N's artists' paints. I use Permalba white and Grumbacher's MG Underpainting White primarily. I use Sheeva oil sticks but am switching to W&N's Oilbars. I also have a split primary palette, plus white, of W&N's Griffin alkyd oils.
- —rghirardi
Type of Oil Paint I Use
- I generally use Grumbacher, but will occasionally buy Winsor and Newton.
- —Guest Dianna Byrne
Holbein Oils
- I like Holbein. Heavy, dense quality of high intensity color.
- —Guest aliensea
Old Holland and R&F
- I love Old Holland for its concentration, R&F sticks for their softness.
- —Guest painter
My Preference in Oils
- My favorite choices of oil paint manufacturers are Gamblin and Pre-test Grumbacher, and Winsor and Newton...in that order. I subscribe to art supplies websites to be sure that I am notified when ever there is a sale. This way, I get my oil paint on sale--often at least 50% off or more.
- —Guest Laza
My Favorite Brand of Oil Paint
- I use William Alexander and Grumbacher, I have also used Winton and Shiva oil colors it just depends on my budget.
- —Guest Mrs. Simmers
Mission
- I am relatively new to this, having started over thirty five years ago for less than a year. Now using Daler-Rowney, and Grumbacher. The latter being stored for all those years and still working like new -- after removing the caps. 'Like them both.
- —Guest Tony
Preferred Oil Paints
- Agreed student grade paints are good for sketches and larger works. I use a variety of paints Old Holland, Dan Green, Williamsburg, Rembrandt, Winsor & Newton and more. I have done color charts and have found that colors differ from manufacturer to manufacturer. Example Cadmium Red Deep is different depending on the manufacturer. I find swatches, rather than color names, to be the best way to chose colors.
- —cwill128
Occhuzzie
- www.occhuzziepaintcompany.com makes the best handmade oil paints around.
- —carn22
Buy the Best You Can Afford
- If all you can afford is a Student Grade like Winton, then that is what you should use. I used to sweat that I was not painting with $40/tube paint until my mentor told me to buy the best I could afford and paint. Actually painting is more important than what brand you are using. So if I get hung up on not having the crème de la crème of brands and therefore paint less while spending more, I am doing my passion and my self a huge disservice. That said, I use what I can from Gamblin but since I paint very large canvases I also use Winton large tubes. I doubt I've lost a sale because I did not use Old Holland or Rembrandt but maybe I have. So what? At least I'm spreading paint with brushes, knives and sticks instead of sitting and wishing I had money to by the best brand. And, no, I will not paint smaller canvases just to use better paint...that is not the kind of art I create. My paintings fill up large spaces on walls.
- —Guest Popi
Old Holland / Williamsburg
- I'm suprised that the article glosses over two paints: Old Holland and Williamsburg. Old Holland I think is the best available. The amount of pigment in the paint is incredible. The colors are so vibrant. When you pick up a tube, the weight is noticible- cause its so pigment-heavy. And Williamsburg is always high quality. Some of the colors they make are gorgeous.. I love the Provence Violet Blueish.
- —Guest Lucy
Favorite Oils
- Winsor and Newton Artisan water soluble , also Grumbacher.
- —Guest Anne
Huge Variability Between Brands
- This is a meaningless list! I've found huge variability between paint brands and paints. For example, Gamblin's Sap Green oil paint is a flat, chalky, disappointing mess, while Winsor Newton's is brilliant, transparent, and blends wonderfully. So, there are two ways to know which oil paints to buy: (1) Stick with a top-notch reputable name like Winsor or Holbein or the always-excellent Utrecht brand. Or (2) spend a mad fortune on paints, and build your own comparison swatch charts.
- —Guest Kathy
Quality Oil Paint
- Creating 2000+ oil paintings, I've found the following are still holding true for me: most of my oil paints are Grumbacher-Pre-Test...for nice strong saturation, color choice, large tubes (150ml), & good price. Their French ultramarine blue is the best...most others don't hold the gorgeous saturation, when mixing. Winsor/Newton, I found most are too dense, and require too much work to get them to a working consistency ...but I do use their "student grade"Winton" Titanium White...in the 200 ml tubes ... because it's not as dense as the higher quality paint...and works easily when I am mixing+ good price! Some colors, are only made by certain companies: Daniel Smith's "Indian Yellow" is a wonderful yellow, fully saturated, that mixes well, and holds its strength when adding white!! I Use no tints, since all that is, is their adding white, which I can do! I use about two of each family of colors, + 2 earth tones: Burnt Sienna and Raw Sienna and no umbers which are just dirty colors.
- —Guest billupsfineart
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