Art material prices

Can I add a peacemaking note Dermot, and say I'll be watching the rugby this afternoon, although maybe on hold. I'm English but my dad was a Hurling loving County Mayo man so I have a bit of a divided interest. I loved the Irish rugby side of the Bod, O'Gara and Steve Wood period, but the current lot haven't quite go that magic as yet. If we can't win the Six Nations I'll be rooting for Ireland. 😆.

If indeed these Camel colours are as good and cheap as stated, worry not. As soon as someone finds out and makes the fact generally known, in will step someone else and, before you know it the price will jump astronomically. It's the law of the jumgle and the way of the world. Sad, but true. 😆

I know nothing about these paints - but would just caution you to take a good look at what's actually in them, before going overboard. As most toxic materials are quite expensive, that shouldn't be a problem - but then, there are cheaper sources of toxic materials, especially lead. Now, I use lead-based oil paint whenever I can get it, but you need to be aware if it's in your paint. As a general guide, good oil paint should be ground in Linseed oil, and be free of Zinc White (PW4). Maybe hobby painters won't worry about that so much - though I'd hate to see some of the paintings we get shown on here fall off the canvas or crack too soon because of questionable materials - but there ARE well-priced oil paints available, eg Jackson's own brand, or Ken Bromley's ditto. This brand of oils may be fine, for all I know: but it would repay investigation. As for watercolour - Daniel Smith's are imported from the USA, is a huge range of colours I seriously doubt most of us will ever need, and is very expensive. I haven't used them yet - and I haven't used the Camel brand either. But in cheaper ranges, you're going to get more filler than colour - and as one of the things I hate is wishy-washy watercolour, I'd be looking out for pigment strength and lightfastness - will cheaper paints have been rigorously tested? Probably not, because the investment wouldn't be worth it. A more expensive brand will have been tested, is more likely to be lightfast, and you'll use less of it. Is it worth looking to save money on purchase price if you get a paint you have to use twice as much of to make a strong wash; and which might well fade to nothing? I realize we all need to save money, but a few top quality colours is always going to be a better investment than a huge collection of student quality paints. But to repeat: I know NOTHING about the cheaper brand under discussion here.