Hannah Ivory Baker urges you to try Jackson’s Artist Oil Colour and Professional Oil Colour.
About Jackson's oil paints
Top features:
- High quality pigments
- Lightfast
- Value for money
- Vivid colours
- Smooth, even texture
- No fillers
The more I paint the more I realise how important it is to invest in a good quality tube, as this really makes a difference to the ease with which you can achieve the effects you want and, ultimately, the overall look and feel of a finished piece.
Jackson’s Artist and Professional Oil Colours contain only pigments and oil binder, without fillers. The main difference between these ranges is the amount of pigment in the tube; the rest of the ingredients remain the same.
What struck me immediately was how strong and vibrant the colours are and, when mixed, they are incredibly true and clear. Like many artists I often find myself reusing boards and working over old paintings, so it is important I can cover up an old painting well.
The feel and handling of the paint is superb and the texture is loose enough to work with straight from the tube and apply on top of wet paint.
As I work wet-in-wet it is crucial that I am able to build up the underneath, but still allowing for blending of colour without looking muddy or overworked.
Where to buy
Jackson's Artist and professional Oil Colour can be purchased by
Vivid colours
This was painted using Jackson’s Shiro hog brushes, Jackson’s palette knives and Artist Oil Colours.
The colours are vivid with great contrast and have been preserved throughout drying, reducing the need to oil out or apply a varnish.
The paint is evenly toned, not chalky, or over glossy; equally the paint is not thin or grainy, which is something I have come across in a number of cheaper brands of paint.
These findings were consistent amongst all the tubes I used, in both the Artist and Professional ranges.
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Cost, tubes & labelling
I tend to use paint very liberally so whether painting en plein air or in the studio, a good-sized tube is important.
The 60ml tubes are easy enough to carry around with you and allow lots of paint to be put out on the palette. I always feel restricted when using 37ml or 40ml tubes, as I am aware that I haven’t got much paint to play around with and, as a result, the work I produce suffers. The larger 225ml tubes are great for use in the studio and both are very reasonably priced.
Arguably, one of the biggest factors in deciding which brand to use is cost.
I compared prices of Jackson’s Artist and Professional ranges with Michael Harding, Winsor & Newton Artist oils and Vasari and concluded that Jackson’s Artist paints give you far more paint for your money.
Colours
The availability of colours is a consideration for many artists.
Jackson’s Artist oil range currently offers 51 colours, which is more than enough to be getting on with. No doubt this list will grow over time.
Jackson’s have recently repackaged their products to great effect. The labels are clear and refined and provide all the information I require.
The tubes are robust enough to be squeezed and manhandled without splitting, which is important for me, as no matter how delicate my intentions are, all my painting paraphernalia is given a rather hard time and must be robust enough to cope with that.
Creating texture
Texture and interesting marks were built up to test the handling of the paint and its ability to be used liberally whilst still achieving clearly defined colour and tone.
Permanence
Permanence is important in painting because the length of time a pigment retains its original colour value determines the life expectancy of the work.
Whilst I have not had years in which to test the Artist range out I am confident that the Jackson’s Artist Oil Colours are both permanent and lightfast, as there have been no changes in the paint so far.
Final thoughts
To conclude, I found Jackson’s Artist Oil Colour to be fantastic value for money.
It has a thick, rich buttery consistency that I preferred to some of the more expensive brands. I would urge you to try a tube or two – you might be pleasantly surprised.
Based on the qualities that I look for in paint the Artist range leaves no box unticked and without a doubt I will continue to use them.
Over the last few years I have used many of Jackson’s own brand products from oil mediums to brushes, grounds and primers and have always been impressed with the consistent quality of product.
Jackson’s is a brand I have come to trust and love and they have proved to me over time that using great materials doesn’t have to cost the earth.
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Hannah Ivory Baker has been painting since childhood.
She took over Highgate Contemporary Art, 26 Highgate St, London N6 in April 2016 and her work can be seen in their summer exhibition until September 11, 2016. www.highgateart.com, telephone 020 8340 7564. www.hannahivorybaker.com