That can be important. Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users. Paint swatch comparison of all three brands, you can see how different the MaimeriBlu looks compared to the other two brands. I’ve heard that Mr. Kremer goes out of his way to find interesting pigments. Their oil paint is now reorganized, and separated between Lefranc and Lefranc & Bourgeois Fine. If you see them, they are definitely worth trying. I would email Mission Gold and ask them for samples too. Though it was the company’s more economical offering, the paint I have used in this line is quite a bit better than today’s Winton. 5 out of 5. 4.5 out of 5. Thanks Jessica! Schmincke has been producing artists' colors since 1881. Based on what you say I think I might give Blockx I trial… thanks! but the main reason it is used in artist’s oil paint is to lower manufacturing costs. Ultramarine Blue, Burnt Sienna and Yellow […], […] mostly in 300 g m2. Really, because it is so fine and highly pigmented, the colour goes quite a bit farther than than it does with other paints. I might suggest Holbein or Gamblin. DeSerres (house brand) is run of the mill paint. My husband aka He-Man gave it to me. Although, I haven’t filled my own pans with tubes to make a further stickiness comparison. Pebeo Studio oil (now called Studio XL) are basic paints often sold in sets aimed at beginners. This improves the way in which the colours and bonding merge together, in turn bringing out the full beauty of the colours”. Do you make lovely things with watercolor and want to be featured in the next Guest Artist post?! But not too scary to try But, starting out, I could not find much useful advice on materials to get. The low price point is for a reason – these are basic quality paints no matter what the label says. Thank you for the great post Jessica, I feel like a crazy junky…wanting more! I have had only student grade paints until this last May when I received the 18 half pan set of Sennelier’s paints for a birthday present. These paints are the last individuals of a very good species of dinosaur. Their paint is ground in poppyseed oil on old-school style stone rollers. I love his section on pigments, and there are a lot of tips throughout the book. I liked your review. If you haven’t already joined the Facebook group for this first ever celebration of World Watercolor Month, come join us, we are having a lot of fun over there! The brush isn’t super useful, but I love this set. There was something satisfying about doing this. Perhaps most impactful to the consumer, in terms of the actual paint, is the artist oil paint manufacturer. I have also heard equally good things about Langridge paints from Australia – maybe one day! Some shops only stock the white and black colours, while the rest of the line seems far less popular. Check the pigments on the labels of your paint and make comparisons between brands/colours as you go along. Watercolor Chart with lightfast and opacity key. Yay- happy painting! Weber Permalba is made in Philadelphia PA. That was very satisfying, I agree. As an added note, these lead tubes came to me in a pretty thrashed state. They only sell online and out of a small, wonderful demonstration showroom in Chelsea. It’s good paint, but 3.5 out of 5 for me. Recently I bought a tube of Terre Verde (Italian) from there that is sadly a bit disappointing. Where do you buy most of your paints? Various Aid 60ml for The Oil Painting … Be aware that they have a lot of hues/mixes in their line, which may disappoint as you gain experience. I think it depends on your painting style- if you are going to use big brushes, little half pans might not be suitable, or maybe you like the type of palette MG comes with. 3 out of 5. Maybe could have put a little more oil or stabilizer in that one! I might throw up if I read “buttery” one more time. I’ve also tried Vasari, a very good paint but ridiculously priced and prone to color naming nonsense and poor access to pigment information. The ones I have are probably the most economically produced tubes of oil paint of all time. I Google-mapped their manufacturing facility and it’s adorably Belgian. They are milled ten times longer than regular paint, which results in intense colour, extremely smooth paint, and a sky-high price tag. Thank you so much for an excellent review based on direct experience! I suppose some artists can swallow the price on the regular, but it’s a special treat for me. I wanted to mention that they still make all their paint in New York State, in a small town called New Berlin. Have you ever tried this? Personally, I like a lot of the colours from Old Holland. What it comes down to, after everything is said, are ones own preferences and priorities. Even if I was a first year student I would look elsewhere. For the artists’ oil colour, it’s about a 3 out of 5. It works out to be cheaper to buy full sheets and tear them to the size you want, these are approximately 5.5″x 7.5″. I have some tubes which have been around for quite a while (10 years?) I haven’t used these “new” lines, so I can’t comment on them specifically. ( Log Out /  Schmincke from Germany, Sennelier from France and MaimeriBlu from Italy. GUEST ARTIST: “It’s Never Too Late!” by Kathy Lee, GUEST ARTIST: “Wonderful World Of Watercolors” by Vishal Jain, GUEST ARTIST: “Give An Ear To Your Inner Voice… It Ushers You!” by Ashwini Rudrakshi. Sennelier also sells their own brand of paper. With a quick Wikipedia search, I can see that Permanent Pigments was founded in 1933 by Henry Levinson (in Cincinnati it seems). Had I stumbled upon your advise earlier, I probably would have spared myself of many a disappointment. Of their mixed pigment paints, I like their Sap Green (Pthalo Green and Isoindolinone Yellow). I so appreciate you taking the time to do these comparisons, it helps so much. I’m almost relieved to know that changing paper will likely help with some of the issues I’ve been struggling with. I’m not exactly sure of the reason why. What you already have is also great. These paints were connected with the old Walter Foster books on all aspects of painting and drawing. great book though I haven’t really looked at it properly yet!!! I have so many reviews because I use all of these brands- picking a favorite is not easy. It’s kind of a limited palette “system” which you either use or don’t. It has been added to speed up the drying time. I’m waiting to squeeze the samples into pans, it’s a lot of paint and I need to decide some stuff before I open them. The Primary Yellow (PY97) of MB is bright and transparent. Holbein recognizes this, and explains how to use this paint with others in it’s literature. This line remains good quality and within my price range. I do however have a ton of older tubes in this paint, because a store I frequented was clearing them out. It probably has a lot of fillers, but it behaves like true zinc white. Someone often compared to Michael Harding in the U.S. is Blue Ridge paints, a lone colourman who keeps his prices very reasonable. I’m taking marks off for paint I can’t even get out of the tube. It looks like you can still buy this stuff at places like Michael’s craft store or Walmart. Presented below- the Schmincke Half Pan Watercolor Pocket Set, it came with a size 5 Da Vinci Cosmotop Spin travel brush. I have not used it yet for some reason. For example, digging in long abandoned quarries in order to find remnants of pigments used by the Old Masters. You’re the first person who’s talked about the old Grumbacher oils – I inherited my great-aunt’s paints, some of which must be at least 50 years old now. Hilariously bad. They are made in China and have almost no information on the tubes as to what is inside. Great review Jessica,the difference in paper was amazing. I repair old brushes and use them until they should long be retired, so my paint bucket looks a bit rag-tag unfortunately. I came across some tubes of this paint randomly and it’s the one and only time I’ve ever seen them. The Mussini Paint line is manufactured in Germany by the Schmincke Paint Factory, very well known as the producers of the finest pastels and watercolors. Luckily, the gurus on YouTube and elsewhere […], […] I use are Schmincke paints, Saunders Waterford 300g ROUGH paper and various brushes. They sold mainly Permanent Pigments oil paint in small tubes. I’m warming up to them…. For whatever reason, these old paints are fantastic. Good thing I have Amazon Prime. Schmincke Mussini Oil Colors The high-quality artificial resin oil paint for the highest demands contains only the best-quality artist pigments and a binder composition of premium flax, poppy or sunflower oil … The paints are made with honey, the pans aren’t as sticky as M. Graham or White Nights. I tend toward other brands. or     Like Winsor and Newton London, they are better than their contemporary counterparts. The price of their individual tubes is also great. This is an ongoing Saturday series of watercolor and art supply reviews. Consequent to this viewpoint, I use paints which sometime have a massive price point difference side by side. The colors in the 12 + 6 set are marvelous for a first set of paints. Ordered some to try – I’m in love with Turkish Blue, but that’s me. That’s all I have to say about them besides what I’ve said about Van Gogh above. I encourage you to go with your gut, check in and see what appeals most. Aqua-mini– this is a cute little travel set that comes with a tiny little brush. Royal Talens Rembrandt is one of my “go to” paints. A pack of ten 22”x 30” sheets is about $35 at Jerry’s Artarama, about $3.50 a sheet. The family-run business offers paints that are intense and creamy. I usually paints Anime and Manga most of the time and some Architectural Paintings. I’ve edited my entry on these paints. I do have some of the other two brands. A little price comparison of the tubes between brands. One thing to note is that Holbein paint seems to stand the test of time. M Graham is an interesting paint. Mind blown. but no longer. Josh, Hi Josh. Very cool. Don’t let the blah-blah on the website fool you. Great for students and Christmas gifts for amateur painters. It was a set put together by Roz Stentahl. An interesting and informative article! Official WORLD WATERCOLOR MONTH Giveaways! That might bother you (the not listing the pigments on all their tubes) but their attitude is that it’s the best and they don’t want their formulas copied. Amazing. I have read that they put solvent into their paint, and also that quality has dropped somewhat in recent years, but I cannot verify either of these things personally. Awesome! It’s worth doing if you are interested in the process and are willing to commit the time and effort. I have tried a couple of sennelier half pans and they are wonderful. Hi Peirs, hi five on the book, it’s so much fun! The lead tube? There are many hues in the line which should probably be avoided unless you are banging out practice paintings like a first year. Happy to share with you that today I got my first fabriano artistico cp block. They come in small 20ml tubes, each in it’s own fancy little box. The contemporary paints are decent, well priced paints which are good but not overflowing with attributes. MEH. Any idea when they stopped? The Horadam pans have no info other than the brand on the bottom of the pan, I wrote the paint name on with a Sharpie. To start, the calcium keeps the film matrix open, allowing more oxygen into the film and more solvent to escape early in the drying process, speeding up drying time. It’s super lively, creative, and fun. I think fine portraitists appreciate these qualities. Michael Harding is a UK brand of paint. The lead, being so soft, has torn on a number of tubes, and are creating a mess. They have a good pigment load, and are consistently well ground (in linseed), but I like a bit more muscle and individual personality from my colours. Since 4 generations the traditional Schmincke-goal is making and providing the very best finest artists' colours for demanding artists. and the paint is still coming out of the tubes smoothly. Ground with safflower, this paint is otherwise pretty straightforward. No bullshit! Sold in 15 ml tubes and half pans. The second half of the post from last week had a price comparison of sets from different brands- here it is if you would like to check it out. So it was scary! I also have some old tubes (1980’s) of this economical paint line from Grumbacher, which they no longer offer. It is pretty liquid-y out of the tube. They have an English language website and had sales rooms in both London and New York. I have been paying a lot of attention to […], […] shapes such as branches, leaves and foliage. This paint should appeal most to a painter with a patient style, as opposed to someone using vast amounts of paint and making a big mess. They are great quality paints which are very hard to find in Canada – I don’t remember seeing them anywhere here in fact. The pigments are finely ground, and the pure vegetable oil … (For good reason; DS is awesome, obviously.). The tubes say “huile fine” on them but that is taking some liberties I think. Interestingly, they are the only manufacturer of genuine rose madder (besides Kremer). I’ve been using their oil colours for a long time mainly because they contain no fillers or extenders. They recommended that I try Kama. I like highly pigmented, fairly thick paint milled (primarily) with linseed oil that shows personality from one colour to the next, and no bullshit. | disclosure Powered by Wordpress.com throughout the book, very inspiring, thanks for this brand much, that! Older tubes in impeccable condition – classy extenders that are intense and.! Entry on these paints come the closest to replicating the deeply time-consuming process of producing paints by.... And tear them to their full potential be small tubes which are very vivid with brighteners/dyes and I this. M super happy that my schmincke oil paint review have been using Schmincke and Josef Horadam a soft. 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Out and encouraging each other somewhat little travel set that comes with a Gum Arabic and honey combination offers quality...