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Jackson's oil paints
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Message
Posted
Hello, can anyone tell me what they think of the own-make Jackson's oil paints? I'm not keen on their own-brand watercolour paints, but a friend of mine has tried comparing the cheaper range of Jackson's own oils with W&N etc and she likes them a lot. She said she also tried their own-brand, more expensive range but thought it was no better so she sticks with the cheaper line.
Posted
I suppose the answer is to find out who really makes them - I don't think it's Jacksons, or that Ken Bromley makes his own, and I know that Michael Willcox doesn't make his (in that particular case, they're made by Da Vinci). I'm not sure how helpful anyone else can be here - I DO like their watercolours, so far as I've tried them, for instance. My acquaintance with their oils is slight, but positive so far. If you want the highest grade of oil paint, there's Michael Harding, Old Holland, Winsor and Newton Artists' range, Daler Rowney Artists' Range; next down the line might be Gamblin, although there's plenty of room for disagreement about the relative placement of some of them.
Then there's the rest ... it's likely to be down to personal preference when you come down to the cheaper brands; there's certainly nothing wrong with Jackson's own .... but it would be hard to say whether they're right for you or not by comparison with, say, D-R Georgian or even Artisan. The only way to find out is to try them.
http://www.isleofwightlandscapes.net
http://www.wightpaint.blogspot.co.uk
Posted
I haven't tried Gamblin enough to form an opinion - I do find them pricey: this wouldn't matter quite so much if I were sure of the quality, but the fact they're imported may add to their cost and be the reason for it being so high, if you see what I mean.... I'm prepared to pay for quality, but am not so keen on paying for the cost of import.
http://www.isleofwightlandscapes.net
http://www.wightpaint.blogspot.co.uk
Posted
W&N are very good quality. I liked Old Holland for some reason (not cheapest). However, if oil is your main medium, you might consider mixing your own. I tried that, but find I lack patience of looking up which pigment to mix with what (different oil for some due to drying time and also for transparency). Anywho, after some 20 tubes, my arm was hurting, my hand cramping and I just bought the good old holland instead again :-D. I do not do oils much, last time was like 5 years back when painting my dog Arciboldo style, so I have little knowledge of what is going on in oil paint World, but asked a friend what she uses for her oils and she laughed at me regards Old Holland- apparently I pay double for what I can get for half or something like that. She uses Sannelier and Talens Rembrant.
I wonder if anybody uses Van Gogh as those are super cheap. It doesn´t always mean low quality though.
Posted
<div>Van Gogh oil paints are being used in preparation for the film "Loving Vincent" - well of course they can't use any other can they? They have to produce 62,450 frames of paintings - 12 oil paintings are going to be used for 1 second of footage. 4,500 litres of the paint will need to be used. At first I thought that the oils would have to be really good, but if they are using them for the film, perhaps it is not necessary for them to have a lasting quality. I wonder what will happen to all those paintings afterwards?</div>
Posted
Van Gogh are OK, Talens Rembrandt better in my experience. In fact, the Rembrandt paints are rather good, as are their watercolours - clean and generally lightfast. But there's bound to be someone who doesn't get on with them...
Maimeri, an Italian make, is worth a try, too. And Rublev, if you can get them - trouble is they're imported from the USA, and the Department of Trade and Industry has just clobbered the only UK supplier by telling them they can't sell lead whites in the EU zone - at least, not in conventional tubes, which is going to make importing them very expensive.
I get irritated with these rules - yes, lead is toxic: so is bleach; so are most household products - but if we manage not to roll in it, drink it, use it as eyeshadow, why on earth shouldn't we have the right to use it if we want to? I voted for Remain, as it happens, but there are aspects of the EU that I loathe.
http://www.isleofwightlandscapes.net
http://www.wightpaint.blogspot.co.uk
Posted
Back on subject, I use some Jacksons Artist Oil Colour alongside mostly W&N Artist Quality, some Gamblins and an occasional Sennelier and DR. Can't say I have noticed much difference in quality but have noticed that new tubes of the W&N seem to ooze a lot of clear oil with no pigment when first opened. One of the reasons I have been experimenting with the Jacksons but like Robert I don't know who makes the Jacksons paints. Would be interested in finding out if anyone can point me in the right direction.