The best paint is the one you use ^^ I tend to favor local brands simply because the high end local ones are more affordable (I live in France, Sennelier is the cheapest high end for me - my parents are in Germany, so Schmincke is also a good go to) I have tried a lot of high ends brands, and the differences are indeed minor.
Winsor and Newton are ooooold bro. JMW Turner used Winsor and Newton paints. The formulas of course have changed. They also claim to have invented watercolour pans. I would assume they were the first to sell them pre-panned, artists squeezed them out before.
I'm getting a bit ancient and something really interesting I found was when clearing out my parents house the oil paintings I'd done as a teenager with student grade W&N oil paints still looked perfect. They'd been on display in my parents house for 40+ years. I had mixed the paints with linseed oil and their mixing gel and varnished the paintings but I was amazed how they had lasted for student quality paint. So i guess I'm saying you can do amazing things even with cheaper paints but probably they also lasted as I prepared the paints well. It shows you dont need to spend a fortune to produce art that lasts.
I really like Windsor Newton. They might not be the highest quality brand but they're certainly good enough for me. I really like their water mixable oils, I find them nicer to use then some of the more expensive ones I've tried and they smell better.
I think there is a lot of variation in Watercolours too. Sminke and Sennelier are generally duller in colour but with higher luminosity . Sennelier is in itself really easy to work with due to the honey they add. But both produce organic colours. Winsor Newton is an all rounder kind of thing, but they can be expensive even in the UK. Mission Gold make super bright colour and a bunch of single pigments. Danniel Smith are very finely ground and very consistent. Maimeri Blu are super finely ground and pastel, they don't really do bright colours. Holbein have a ton of variety in colours but they don't really hold well, so they are made for sketching. Old Holland and White nights both have a super high pigment load, the White Nights are also chalkier and more matte. That is about it from my experience.
I have the white nights professional Russian watercolor set. My best set was originally my cotmans W&N student set, but I really wanted to upgrade. Especially because the colors were not very lightfast and just seemed like the vibrancy stopped at some point and they were a bit lackluster. no matter how much I packed on or layered it just wouldn’t get to where I wanted in the cotmans set. Anyways, I love my white nights set. They come in full pans so a ton of paint for your buck. I have the 24 pans set which at the time was $50 even. (But without a pallet) They have a lot of lightfastness (from the paintings I’ve had since I started with them.) They are Highly pigmented and bright. They rewet super quick and I more often then not have to be careful with how much I pick up otherwise I get way too much color in one go. But one of the biggest factors I love and something I couldn’t do with any other paint I’ve tried, is the lifting power of the paints. I use a lot of lifting techniques in my painting style and this was just key for me. It’s not enough to effect the layering of the paints at all. You can pile it on, and it won’t lift the paint below, but if you leave it a little wet for a few seconds and then start to scrub gently with a firmer brush it will lift like a charm. Hope this helps anyone in search of watercolors! Happy painting! 😊 Btw love you and your vids Mike! Your awesome!!
I STARTED WITH LUKAS 1862, WHICH MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR ME TO START OIL PAINTING. I FOUND THAT I REALLY LIKED THE LUKAS, THAT BEING SAID EACH TIME I PLACE AN ORDER FOR ART SUPPLIES IN GENERAL I MAKE IT A POINT TO ADD A NEW BRAND OF EACH WATERCOLOR & OIL PAINT TO MY ORDER, THAT WAY I CAN SEE & JUDGE THE DIFFERENCES (IF ANY) FOR MYSELF WITHOUT AN EXCEEDINGLY HIGH COMMITMENT OF LOTS OF TUBES AND $$$ JUST TO SEE. FOR THE MOST PART FOR OILS I STICK WITH LUKAS AND GAMBLIN, AND TRY OUT SOME DANIEL SMITH.
I have a wide (!) array of oil brands, e.g. Grumbacher, Lukas, Gamblin, Old Hollande, Harding, W&N, Schminke-Mussini, Sennelier, Utrecht, and, and, and. I agree with you that we should work with what we HAVE. But having said that, I also have to admit that I already have accumulated sooooo very many brands and colors, because over the years, I was drawn to certain colors and wanted to try them with my existing palette --- or somebody came out with a brand new color (I totally recommend Schminke-Mussini's Ruby Red, if you can still get it -- but it is indeed VERY specific and I don't think lends itself to mixing). The other dilemma is when x-number of instructors recommended Y- number of paints for their palettes, and if you wanted to get the "full benefit" of Z-courses, you inevitably end up with 7 brands of ultramarine blue, etc. LOL! But there are definitely worse problems to have than an embarassment of riches in your painting stash. OH! and for the environment-lovers out there: Gamblin recently came out with a limited edition set of 4 (5?) "Reclaimed Colors" that were gleaned from local industrial site/river clean-ups, letting them recover e.g. iron oxide, which makes a Rust Red that is wonderful in landscapes (ALL of them are terrific in landscapes - I've not found more natural browns & maroon/violets straight out of a tube anywhere.) Their new Torrit Grey is also very useful. The main thing! USE your paints and enjoy them!
Loved this video Mike, I need to learn so much more about paints for my channel. I’ve spent the last two years testing and demonstrating over 121 different colored pencils, pastels, watercolor pencils and alcohol markers. But I think I really need to start learning more about oils and acrylics in order to balance my channel and diversify a bit more. It would have been so easy for you to stand up there mate and tell people that the most expensive paint was the best, but you really explained the way that isn’t always necessarily the case. Excellent video as always mate.
Great Presentation for the length of time given. This video is packed with valuable information without overloading the audience with specific marketing BS. I would have liked to see a side by side comparison mixing some of these pigments, but there's a plethora of videos on RU-vid that demonstrate mixing already. The most effective way to experience how different paints mix is for the artist to make their own test panel in my opinion. Make the test panel with the canvas, paper, board or panel that you normally paint on so the results aren't skewed. This has been very helpful for me it the process of deciding which pigments to purchase. As for my personal favorite Oil paints, I don't have enough experience to give an educated analysis. I've only been painting seriously for three years with oils. That's not enough time for the paint to dry properly. Currently I have determined that the Lukas 1862 best fits my needs and budget. I also use Charvin, Gamblin, Weber, and Rembrandt. All are great oils. Talking to other artist around the world Lukas isn't as readily available as a Windsor or Rembranbt. But I encourage everyone to try it. The value and quality IMO is very impressive. Another factor thats worth mentioning with oils and acrylics is the mediums you choose to use. Thats a lengthy discussion as well. I haven't had the opportunity to experiment with as many different brands of mediums as I have paints. But the main ones I do have experience with are Chelsea Studio, Windsor Liqun, Various Gamblin, and Lukas. All work well with my style in oils. But the Chelsea Studio stand out as my favorite for mediums that thin or make pigments more fluid. As for adding body, the Gamblin Gels and ColdWax are good IMO. I really like Mike's approach to "What's the Best Paint?" It's the paint on your palette at the moment. Happy Painting!!
I paint with not-very expensive acrylics but have found that adding a medium gel gloss to them bumps up the appearance and quality on the canvas. I also use gesso as a medium and have cut way down on using just water with my acrylic paint and that has also shown to be an improvement, at least with acrylic paint.
Thanks for continuing to pass along the knowledge you guys have gained over the years about these materials, it really does help sort things out when standing in the aisle of the store not knowing what to grab or why there is a difference between one tube and the next.
Ok Mike I hear you about quality. Now where does Jerry's highest quality oil paint rate on the brands you gave me or does it even compare from Windsor and Newton all the way to Michel Harding
I use Reeve's paint...I bought these cheap sets years ago, just to get a feel for different mediums, and I'm finally using them. Even though it's student grade, I don't have any issues with them. For art classes though, the brand that most teachers make me buy is Winsor&Newton. They do recommend other brands, like Old Holland, but I suppose Winsor is a bit more economical and easier to find.
Very interesting! I’ve really been enjoying your channel. What do you think about companies like Natural Earth Paints? Their focus is on non toxic paints etc. I’ve not used their products (I’m working with pencils and pastels but acrylics look very tempting) but their philosophy is attractive.
I accidentally squeezed too much Winsor pro acrylic out of a tiny 20ml tube and my eyes burned for an hour. Their ammonia levels are a hazard. Same with Liquitex soft body. Something nobody mentions. Immediately switched to oils after that.
After one video, I"m now your raving fan. Please do another video going over all your acrylics, another video for watercolor, another for oils. I'm starting all over...I really want to make educated buying choices. I know myself, but I don't know your paints. Would love to buy from you...just want more deets on differences! GREAT VIDEO! Thanks!
Best oil paint to me so far has been williamsburg. Their paints just checks all the boxes for me and more; its highly pigmented, buttery smooth, and has paints with some texture due to its grind coarseness. Many might prefer paints with a uniform consistency, but I personally love the variety in texture in the paints. The only con I can think of is that it can be unjustifiably expensive.
Hey Mike, since you were an intern at Lukas, maybe you can reveal why their Burnt Umber is a mixed pigment paint? Seems like everyone else is using PBr7, which seems like it would be plentiful and cheap being an earth color. So why make a mixed pigment Burnt Umber if cost isn’t really a factor? Or is it???
Hi Mike! I really enjoy your videos! You look like Superman, very handsome 🙂 Moreover I also stick to Lukas paints now for watercolor and acrylic paint, since they are very easy to manage, very good quality and the cheapest decent brand for art supplies in Germany. Schmincke might be even better, but it is as expensive as golden, about 15 to 20 euros for 60 ml of paint. Since I use different media in my work, from acrylic paint to watercolor, india ink, markers, colored pencils to airbrushing and living on a very tight budget, I can't afford those high end brands. Nevertheless I think you don't have to use golden paints or arches watercolor paper to get good results, just buy decent qualty you can afford and be happy producing art.
Since you're name dropping can you call M Graham and tell them to fix the issue with the caps of their watercolor paints? They leak. I have a few tubes and I have to keep them in ziplock bags away from my other paints. Also, if you try to keep them in a palette they don't firm up and if not kept upright they migrate into the other colors. I hadn't bought any in awhile but recently purchased a tube of Hansa Yellow and they still have same problem. It's sort of a known issue so tell them to fix it. Yeesh. Glad to get that off my chest. Thanks. Also, there is not a problem with Winsor Newton watercolors re-wetting. You have to spritz them with water a few minutes before you start painting. I like the Holbein Spritzer! I use Winsor Newton for my basic color wheel type colors because of prettiness and consistency. I have the Billy Showell Sennelier watercolor set for flower painting and it layers beautifully. I have some Daniel Smith quinacridone colors and some of their Prima Tek colors for interesting colors and effects. I have Schmincke's transparent orange because it's soooo beautiful.
hi i hoard art supplies because i hoard art supplies...help. no. don't help. i like them. (the supplies) now,,d' you know what i do? MIXED MEDIA! yeah. i use all the supplies TOGETHER! michele ps: love uyour vids. xx
I'm still experimenting. Right now I've been using winton since I was just starting, but recently bought some Gamblin Artist grade and some M.Graham, love that M.Graham keeps saturation so good.
I use the Bob Ross brand from Jerry's. I'm not a fine art painter; I only do lanscapes and old buildings so these are plenty good enough for me. The people who buy my paintings don't complain that I don't use a particular brand of more expensive paint. I mean, it was good enough for Bob, right?
Daniel Smith tube watercolors. Some American Journey for the earth tones, which I prefer to the DS colors. I tried out M. Graham, but do not like them as much.
To me the most important feature in a paint is lightfastness, the texture can be easily manipulated. I also have a limit price a would pay for it. I spend over a thousand a year on your store because the great sales you make on high quality paint. I do have some favorite brands however I like to have some unique colors on different brands
I have abolished the whole pyramid scheme of “Best” or “Greatest” or “Only”. Things apply themselves to particular needs....when needed for that need. I KNOW what “I” like however! (It’s only Rock-n-Roll but I like it).
I use Grumbacher Academy Acrylics because they are very nice paints and I have been using them for years and I have used alot of different kinds of Acrylics paints over the years and I mix different brands together to get different effects. As far as Oil colors go I use the Bob Ross line of paints because that is what i am used to and accustom to using. I have seen artists mix Bob Ross paints with other brands and it works out just fine.
I have been enjoying the videos, thank you for making them. I've been an online customer for years too. Please open a store in northern Arizona! We have a lot of artsy types up here so I think you could get some good business. Sedona is kinda famous for being an artists town but there's other places too like Jerome. Really just the whole area.
I use a brand called my art scape and it’s not bad. It came in a set but I am interested in using the Lukas. I have the oil impasto butter from them and I love it. It makes paints go farther and gives a good buttery consistency to paints.
There are subtle differences in paint brands, nothing too major however I was thoroughly shocked by the difference between the oil paint that I got from Walmart and the slightly more expensive brand from Michael's. as for acrylic,I would like to use golden acrylics but their a bit out of my price range lol
