So you’ve ventured in to your favourite art store for your regular painting supplies and glanced in their direction. You know what I’m talking about – the stand of alluring tubes of luscious oil paints tempting you with their vibrancy, quality and durability. But, instead of giving them more consideration you shuffle over and grab your usual and cheaper brand – after all you have a budget to stick to.
With unlimited financial restraint, I propose that all painters would opt for hand-made oils. They are exquisite! Made by using techniques that date back to the days of the Old Masters they are objects of beauty in their own right, formulated and crafted with uncompromising quality in mind. Did you know that the greater the pigment content, the greater the resistance the paint has to fading? And that nearly all manufacturers use fillers to extend the volume of their oils? Not to enhance them for better results with your masterpiece, nope it’s for increasing their profits and unfortunately it means that the overall quality and permanence is compromised.
If you love to paint, maybe even live to paint, in my opinion it’s wise not to compromise on the characteristics and worth of your materials. I choose to fork out the extra dollars for the quality and superiority of hand-made oils and find savings elsewhere because when it comes to oil paints you want colours that are true and vibrant and exquisite and of a standard that will allow your masterpiece to stand the test of time. As Aldo Gucci once said “the bitterness of poor quality is remembered long after the sweetness of low price has faded from memory”.
Image Credit: https://www.michaelharding.co.uk/
