The colour of the paint derives from small particles of coloured pigments mixed with a carrier. It is the powder that makes up the colour of a paint. Manufacturers give their colours different trade names, so if you're buying a new brand and are unsure whether you've got the right colour, you can check by looking at on the tube label what pigment(s) that colour is made from.
Pigments also vary in price. Paints are usually classified into series, indicated by a number on the tube, which cost increasingly more as the pigment becomes more expensive. So, for example, in Winsor & Newton oils, bright red is series one, cadmium red is series four, and carmine is series 6.
Linseed oil has been the most popular drying oil whole of the oil painting history. It dries slowly, and a layer on a canvas by this oil has good endurance. The only weak point of Linseed oil is yellowing. The film tends to change its colour into yellow or dark. Therefore almost painters avoid this oil for bright colours like white or yellow.
Poppy oil or Poppy seed oil is becoming less popular as a binder nowadays due to its cost. The advantage of this oil is that a layer by poppy doesn't change its colour easily different from linseed oil. Therefore many painters used poppy since Impressionists (they painted thick layers of bright colour) instead of linseed. But Poppy oil dries very slowly and a layer by poppy is inferior in endurance.
Safflower oil is similar to Poppy oil in that it is has a much slower drying time than linseed oil. The film by safflower oil hardly change its colour into dark. Recently this oil is frequently used as binder of tube oil paint instead of poppy because its cost is cheaper than poppy oil.
The use of Walnut oil in paint can be traced back even further than that of linseed. Walnut oil was preferred as a binder for whites because it has the reputation for yellowing slightly less than linseed, and so paler and cooler colours bound with it underwent less change in drying. The film of dry walnut-bound paint is not quite as strong as that bound with linseed, but it is stronger than that of poppy or Safflower oil.
- Highly pigmented means high quality
- Vibrant colours due to this.
- Larger spectrum of colours
- Better Lightfastness and tinting qualities.
- Less expensive (allows you to experiment more)
- No series means one price for every colour.
- Great practice for beginners.
You can explore our full oil paint range here.
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