Useful Color Sets for the Oil Painter
This past week, I received three oil paint sets from Gamblin that I'm looking forward to experimenting with this summer. They are:
The Reclaimed Earth Colors Set is a sort of spin-off, if you will, of Torrit Grey. If you remember Torrit Grey, this color, released annually, consists of pigment reclaimed from Gamblin's air filtration system. In keeping with the idea that recycling is better than discarding, the company worked with artists, engineers and chemists to create a system for reclaiming pigment from contaminated water from mining operations. These colors—Brown Ochre, Rust Red and Iron Violet—expand upon the traditional earth colors that artists are used to, and they are beautiful. You can read more about the background behind this excellent project here.
The Artist Grade Greys Set contains Titanium Buff, Portland Grey Warm and Portland Grey Cool. The two greys sit in the middle of the value scale, so they can easily be brought up or taken down in value with the color they are mixed with. The warm version is a reddish grey, and the cool, a bluish grey. I think these are a good addition to the truly neutral Portland Greys because you don't have to fiddle so much with modifying temperature. As for Titanium Buff, it's another grey, although you wouldn't think that from the name. Also sitting in the middle of the value scale, it's a yellow grey, which you can use to push the warmth a bit more than is possible with the Portland Grey Warm alone. You can read about these colors in the "Blacks & Greys" section on this page.
The Artist Grade Whites Set contains Titanium-Zinc White, Warm White and Cool White. The warm and cool whites differ from the greys noted above in that they are, indeed, white and at the light end of the value scale. The warm white is a somewhat yellowy-orange tint; the cool, a blue tint. For painting in warm light situations, such as late evening, the warm white is perfect; for an overcast day, try the cool white. As for Titanium-Zinc White, it's an all-purpose white—it is what I use, always—and it tends to make color mixtures less chalky that Titanium White alone. You can read about these colors in the "Whites" section on this page.
Oh, and these sets come nicely bundled with an 8-by-8-inch cradled panel. Perfect to experiment on!
One last set I should mention, the Gamblin Introductory Set, which contains a basic palette from yellows to reds to blues and beyond. One really neat thing it also contains is a large color wheel with a magnetic back (you can stick it on your studio fridge!)—with EVERY color made by Gamblin placed on the wheel in its proper spot. This will be very useful for those of us who need to build a custom palette. Here’s a photo of the wheel, which was created by artist Todd Casey:
