What is the Best Oil Paint?

(18 votes, average: 4.83 out of 5)
 Loading ... Today’s post was written by Jim Harris whom Cindy and I have virtually known for several years. He is an amazing resource of paint knowledge as you’ll see below, and when we were wondering “What’s the best paint?” there was no better person to ask. Enjoy! Thanks, Jim, for writing this!!

P.S. This post was edited on 7-27-10 per Jim’s requests and continuing tests.

Jim Harris' collection of paint

Lisa Gloria asked me if I’d like to share my views on the best paint, since I am sort of a self-made paint guru.

My claim to fame is having a large collection of paints (unfortunately, not everything made by every manufacturer), and having done a large number of paint comparisons and comparative mixes between the brands. This is often done on a small scale by just about every oil painter – I simply took it to the max.

I should say right from the start that I have no financial interest in any paint company, and almost all the paint was purchased by me personally. Lately I’ve requested paints from a few makers, but thus far it amounts to only a few tubes out of the hundreds I own.

So, any prejudice or bias is completely my own!

The change-up table

And that’s a good place to start – personal opinion, taste and artistic need. These are often the overriding factors in making paint choices and brand loyalty. Personally, I have no brand loyalty, beyond “what have you done for me lately?” But I’ve found people can get quite attached to the paints they use, even when not of top quality. We all have our reasons for the paints we own, but I try to find what I consider “the best” for all situations.

For the sake of this presentation, I’ll try to keep away from selecting a favorite, or trying to convince you of one that will fill all your needs. Such a brand does not exist, but there may be several that come close.

The first place to start is need: artistic and economic need.

Artistic need – what paint will do the job to be done, with an adequately high quality result. Artistic need can often be satisfied, at least partially, with lower quality paints. (Anyone who knows me is wondering who wrote that! J) For some painters, student grade paints will work, depending on subjects and final resting place. For professionals, better paints become more of an issue.

Economic need – we all have economic need! We all look for a bargain, and remember when paints cost less. Even I hedge my painting by using “adequate” brands for the more expensive pigments, even when I have deluxe paints sitting right next to them in the drawer! Why use up the expensive stuff, when the cheaper one will do? I know the thinking.

Burnt Sienna cross-brand comparisons

After working so much with paint comparisons, I’ve come more and more to use the most expensive paints, and force myself to distance my economic distress and produce the best made painting possible.

This opens the next question of debate: Do quality paints make the artist a better artist? My observations lead me to the opinion that yes, to an extent, better paints and better art materials lead to better paintings. Naturally the inherent genius (or lack of) is the most important factor, and I’m not saying using low quality paints will make any of you geniuses into dummies, or good quality paints make you dummies into artists. That’s on you. But better quality paint will assist in better control of paint, and better opacity or transparency, and paints more suited to the technique you like to employ. All of which result in more painting satisfaction for the artist.

Painting satisfaction is really what we are addressing by trying to determine the best brand of paint. What makes the painter feel better (pride of ownership should not be disregarded)? What assists the painter to produce brushstrokes that were what was intended? Let’s face it — most paintings are done to satisfy the criteria of the painter. So, if the painter is satisfied with the paint and how it handles, that is the final judgment.

Paint combinations

What has surprised me is the level of satisfaction with middle-of-the-road paints by otherwise fairly sophisticated painters. I see forum comments all the time about how a painter would never pay such ridiculously high prices for paints.

The average artist, according to what I’ve seen, is an amateur who is largely self-taught and uses the paints they can afford to pursue their hobby, which tend to be the middle-of-the-road brands. A recent survey on well known web forum found the “favorite paint” to be Winsor Newton Artist by more than 50% the respondents. That’s a big, fat bell curve in favor of the mid-grade paint – with approximately 25% feeling even lower quality are acceptable, and the same percentage feeling better quality paints are needed.

I joke about being a “paint snob”, but in a way it is true. Perhaps I know too much, of have been exposed to too many fine paints. Perhaps I am a born snob. But on the other hand, there are vigorous opponents to quality paints, and we might consider them “paint proletariats” – proud to get by with less.

Somewhere in the middle, likely, we find you, the reader.

You would like to use better paints, but it is terribly expensive to buy all sorts of paint (especially the top brands!) on speculation, or buying the same pigment by multiple manufacturers and then doing the comparisons yourself. Come on! Get serious – you want to paint, not test paint!!!

So how are you going to move up in quality, other than blindly throwing your money at the purported top brands? That’s where a guy like me comes in.

Jim Harris' "Munsell Rabbit Hole"

Personally, I love color. Go to my art website if you don’t believe me! Follow a few of my threads or paint arguments on forums. I love paint. I love color. And one of my missions in life is to convince people to use better paint, which means better color.

I like to do comparisons, to show with photos how the paints look compared to each other, and give descriptions that reflect what I experienced in use.

Here’s how I have come to break down the types of paint by their level of quality:

• Student grade
• Artist grade
• Premium grade

Most writers concentrate on dividing paint quality into Student and Artist grades. I find those two categories too limiting with today’s vast global distribution of paint brands. So I’ve shifted the break-points and added a top level – Premium grade.

Medium comparison

Each grade I am suggesting is actually a range of paint. Even if something is listed as “Artist Grade” there is a wide range of quality from top to bottom of the class. As the brands get better on the scale, there are less “hues” or imitation colors, and more genuine pigments used – also better care in the milling process.

Student Grade describes acceptable paints of lower quality – not real dogs that you wouldn’t give a blind man to experiment with. These paints usually have less pigment and more “filler”, so the opaque paints are not quite so opaque and the transparent paints tend to be waxy and weak. Some student paint lines are fairly decent, such as the Maimeri Classico brand (my recommendation – no fillers) or Winsor Newton Winton brand.

Artist Grade takes in a broad range of paints of that can be used to produce professional results. This is the bulk of paint brands on the market, and they are fairly economical choices, but a step up in quality from the student brands. Artist paints feature higher pigment loads, with better pigment quality and more single pigment choices.

Premium Grade paints is the category I have coined to include all the best. The best pigments, the best production oversight, the best tubes, the best – best! These paints have the highest pigment load, the best opacity, the cleanest transparencies, even when diluted with mediums. These are usually the most expensive, but you get more for your money in most cases. Consistency of the paint is another area where the premium paints shine – they spread well from the tube, or they are so laden with pigment that slight additional oil might be desired to blend to suit the artist.

Other criteria within every category for determining the standings are lot-to-lot consistency over the years, and the breadth of the product line (how many different tubes of paint are offered).

Here is a general breakdown of currently available paints I am personally familiar with. Each category shows the weakest entry on the top of the list and the best at the bottom.

Student grade paints

• DR Georgian
• Van Gogh
• Permalba/Bob Ross
• Winton
• Classico (best of the student)

Artist grade paints

• Grumbacher
• Zecchi
• Da Vinci
• Art Spectrum (Australia)
• Lefranc et Bourgeois
• Richeson Shiva (edited 7-10)
• Gamblin
• Holbein
• Sennelier
• M. Graham
• Rembrandt
• Daniel Smith
• Winsor Newton
• Robert Doak (edited 7-10)
• Natural Pigments (edited 7-10)

Premium grade paints

• Studio Products
• Blue Ridge (edited 7-10)
• Williamsburg
• Maimeri Puro
• Michael Harding
• Mussini
• Blockx
• Vasari
• Old Holland

The four entries at the bottom of the premium list are my candidates for “best paint”. I could be satisfied (theoretically, at least) using any one of these lines exclusively. Thankfully, I have the option of using all of them, and more.

Schmincke’s Mussini (Germany) is the only paint made with a resin additive as an ingredient in every tube. This brand has the best “from the tube” consistency for brushing. It has the overall best color (especially in the transparent colors) and a wide range of tubes. Oil type and blend is tailored to specific pigments.

Blockx (Belgium) is an all-around powerhouse brand with outstanding smooth consistency and color fidelity. Blockx uses linseed oil for all dark colors and earths, but switches to poppy oil for all light and bright colors.

Vasari (United States) would be my top choice, if it had a slightly fuller product line. A downside is poor worldwide availability (direct sales in the US) unless you place a $500 order overseas (Jackson’s UK is carrying Vasari). As it is, the line is excellent in scope, and the colors are magnificent. These are the most fluid of the paints in any category of this list, but have the best color concentration and excellent opacity and tinting strength. Vasari is certainly my favorite paint to work with.

My choice of Best Paint would have to go to Old Holland (Netherlands) for its wonderful thick consistency of extreme pigment load (which responds well to thinning with mediums), outstanding colors, and extremely broad product line of tubes. Lot-to-lot consistency is impressive.

The final judge is you, the paint user. I am sure you will use the best paint you can afford.

My advice to economy-minded painters looking to improve their paint collections is to buy the lower series paints from the very top brands. These Series A and B, or Series 1 & 2, are usually the most useful earth colors and blacks and whites. Build with these to try out the best brands. You will always use up the paint, even if you buy duplicates for comparison. Buy a tube of OH Burnt Sienna and one of Vasari and see the difference. Other representative pigment choices are Yellow Ochre, lead white, Mars Black, Ultramarine Blue, . . . you can get quite a lot of painting done with these, and not have to take out a loan.

I hope this information makes it somewhat easier for you to choose better paints for your collection.

Jim Harris' "Corner Key"

Jim Harris' "Grey Collaboration"

Jim Harris at a recent gallery opening