My work today on Spring was all blues: ultramarine blue-violet on the blouses of the outer-most figures; cerulean blue and black on the pants of the middle woman. Magnesium blue and Veronese green on the Bug. All cut with cool grays, of course. I love Old Holland paint; they’re my favorite, but they’ve priced themselves out of my…
In my Oil Paint Brand reference I ignore Lukas oils, assigning them to the student-grade category. Recently I purchased an assortment of their 1862 line, which is their premier line. The prices for the 1862 line is inline with affordable professional brands such as Blue Ridge, RHG, and Winsor Newton. After I put them through their paces,…
I am really glad that Blue Ridge Paints is taking orders again. I learned last month about their fire when I went to their web site to place an order. I was concerned that they might not be able to recover. Their paints are very good and are offered at a reasonable price. More and…
I didn’t rate Grumbacher Pre-tested paints when I created its entry in my Oil Paint Brand reference. I associate Grumbacher with my impoverished student days and hadn’t used their paints in years, so I couldn’t rate the brand. I recently bought several tubes and tried them. My memory proved to be right. Grumbacher is a high-end…
I prepared today’s medium and took yesterday’s palette out of the butcher’s tray where I store it. (The rectangular palette is my workaday palette; I only use the traditional oval one to mix certain tones.) I use my workaday palette 2- or sometimes 3-days running before cleaning it. Even stored in the covered tray the colors…
I bought some cerulean blue from Charvin. Actually, Charvin doesn’t produce a true cerulean blue but something they call ‘cerulean blue hue.’ Charvin produces two lines of paints: Fine, and Extra Fine. This review is about the ‘Fine’ line. I don’t know what Charvin thinks cerulean blue is, but their cerulean blue hue is nothing like…
I’ve whined before about the jars RGH uses for its paint. They’re useless–worse than useless. They don’t seal properly so unless you use the paint straightaway, it’s wasted. I lost one half of a 250ml jar this way. Even spraying water over the paint failed to preserve it.
The jars nullify an otherwise brilliant strategy. RGH offers the all-import lead white in a variety of sizes and binders. As far as I know, RGH is the only supplier that allows customers to select the binder–cold-press linseed, walnut, refined linseed, and others. Their prices are good too. But the jars make it moot and transform an instant buy into an avoid.
I notice that RGH now offers a 125ml tube of white, but the tube is priced at the same price as a 250ml jar! At this price, the tubbed white is not a bargin.
Linseed oil or walnut oil? Linseed oil has always been more widely used, but walnut oil has its defenders–sometimes passionate defenders. Leonardo was one such. Walnut oil yellows less than linseed oil, but it’s relative. I suspect the difference affects poor quality versions of the oils, with low quality linseed yellowing more than poor quality walnut.…