On Paint

"Use the best paint you can afford". So I did. Further, I was told to avoid student grade paint. I was also to avoid hues. I didn't know there was such a thing. Now I do. Many of my students show up for class with these. They are inexpensive, contain fillers and extenders, weak in colour and coverage. To minimize cost I was told to start with 4 tubes of paint. The primaries plus white. That worked out very well for a number of reasons.

Now I like to try out good paint. It is part of my education. Holed out here in New York I decided to evaluate a shipment of Blue Ridge oil paint. My evaluation considers pigment strength and vibrancy, consistency, value, and brushability.



Various brands in my paint box. Previously evaluated.

And now the Blue Ridge.




With a stray Old Holland tube.

So I squeezed out some white and an equal amount of red oxide. Then I drew the red oxide through the white to see how weak the tint became.




Powerful stuff.

Then I continued with the palette knife and a bristle brush feeling the consistency and smoothness. Very nice. Great wet into and on top of wet. Long compared to Old Holland, but similar to David Harding paint. Will have to see how it behaves in thick passages. Now this is a one man company, the paint hand made. So the price for this quality is good.

Did a quick block in of a simple scene. That went ok on a gessoed and thirsty board. I'll let that dry and get a feel for brushing over the oil block in.

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Location:Brooklyn NY