Home Forums The Learning Center Color Theory and Mixing Palette suggestions for M. Graham oil paint

Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 70 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #993498
    MookieKat
    Default

        Hi, everyone! I am a newbie and having to switch from W&N Artisan to M. Graham due to the odor.

        Their intro set consists of:

        Azo Yellow
        Naphthol Red
        Ultramarine Blue
        Phthalocyanine Green
        Titanium White

        In my limited experience, I do not think that these colors will give me the ability to mix any color….especially the red and the yellow. The red looks quite dull. I could be wrong. But, if I am correct in my assumption, I would appreciate limited palette suggestions which would give me complete flexibility to mix any color that I need and I will buy individual tubes instead.

        Thanks in advance for your help!

        #1240679
        Crystal1
        Default

            What colors did you work with in the WN Artisans? Once you’ve learned how to mix some of your colors that you’re happy with, it’s probably best to stick with those colors. Did you have a problem with the colors in the WN Artisan palette that you used?

            #1240705
            Nanana
            Default

                A good palette includes a quinacridone, you need it if you want a large pink-violet gamut.

                A phthalo blue wouldn’t hurt either.

                Naphthol red should not be dull, if it is, it’s the manufacturer’s fault, it should not be dull at all.

                Pyrrole is a superior red to Naphthol, almost every manufacturer except MGraham sells this pigment.

                Personally I’m not a big fan of MGraham paint. They advertise “solvent free painting”, but you can paint without solvents with any paint. I find MGraham low quality, walnut oil makes for substandard paint , it creates a very fragile paint film (no other manufacturer wants to use walnut oil, for good reason) and their pigment selection is plain terrible (sue me).

                #1240664
                Patrick1
                Default

                    I don’t like the artificial smell of Artisans either. Was that intro set Artisan or M. Graham? That’s basically a red-yellow-blue plus green palette and IMO it’s a very good minimal palette.

                    The only major weakness in terms of color range is that it won’t mix particularly chromatic colors in the violet-to-magenta range as Nanana mentions. A lot of artists don’t need bright purples, so this might not be a problem. Phthalo Green + Naphthol Red should make great blacks. Try applying your Naphthol Red thinly over white (if you haven’t already) …it might be a tad dark and dull in masstone since it’s likely slightly transparent, but in undertone it’ll be more brilliant.

                    #1240682
                    MookieKat
                    Default

                        I have not purchased the M. Graham paints yet. I have not used my Artisan paints enough to have settled into a mixing routine. Oil painting is new to me, so I don’t care what colors I buy, as long as I can mix any color I want from them.

                        I cut my teeth on cyan, magenta, and yellow (gouache) in color theory class, eons ago in college for color theory class, so I am not new to color mixing. We were told exactly what colors and which brand to buy in school, so it was not confusing.

                        However, there are so many different reds, blues, yellows….and most palettes I have researched use a red, blue, yellow, instead of what I was trained on, so it is very confusing…especially with all the different brands having different colors and even the colors with the same name are slightly different, I hear…

                        #1240674
                        Gigalot
                        Default

                            You can add Ultramarine Red. It helps both in portraits and in landscape painting. :) Good, inorganic Rose-magenta paint, looks natural and dries well.

                            #1240680
                            Crystal1
                            Default

                                If you want to use the CMY colors with M. Graham artist oils, I would buy:
                                Phthalo Blue (for Cyan), Quinacridone Rose (for Magenta), and Hanza Yellow, plus Titanium white. It can be a little difficult to work with because of the color saturation of Phthalo Blue. When I try to mix a color that is saturated equally with all the colors, I figure 2 pea sizes of yellow, 1 pea size for Magenta, and for Phthalo Blue I used the size of the head of a sewing pin. The phthalo is so very strong. Everyone here pretty much has their own favorite colors, and we all have different tastes, so in the end you will need to be the one that chooses your colors. Good luck and happy painting.

                                #1240722
                                Michael Lion
                                Default

                                    Personally I’m not a big fan of MGraham paint. They advertise “solvent free painting”, but you can paint without solvents with any paint. I find MGraham low quality, walnut oil makes for substandard paint , it creates a very fragile paint film (no other manufacturer wants to use walnut oil, for good reason) and their pigment selection is plain terrible (sue me).

                                    “Very fragile paint film” is misleading. It’s a perfectly acceptable drying oil for use in painting. I promise you that the paintings are not going to shatter into a million pieces.

                                    Probably the reason why no one else is using it is because walnut oil is twice as expensive as safflower or linseed oil, yet doesn’t offer any obvious advantage. Walnut oil is very similar to what you would get if you mixed 1 part linseed with 3 parts safflower.

                                    For the sake of the OP, it’s perfectly acceptable to mix paints from different brands and using different drying oils. If you can’t find what you are looking for in M.Graham, and you are looking for paints that use lighter-bodied less-yellowing oils, Blick Arists Oils and Sennelier use only safflower oil and many Winsor & Newton colors use safflower or a blend of safflower and linseed. I don’t see a particularly good reason to stick to only M.Graham if they don’t offer the colors you want.

                                    #1240683
                                    MookieKat
                                    Default

                                        I don’t like the artificial smell of Artisans either. Was that intro set Artisan or M. Graham? That’s basically a red-yellow-blue plus green palette and IMO it’s a very good minimal palette.

                                        The only major weakness in terms of color range is that it won’t mix particularly chromatic colors in the violet-to-magenta range as Nanana mentions. A lot of artists don’t need bright purples, so this might not be a problem. Phthalo Green + Naphthol Red should make great blacks. Try applying your Naphthol Red thinly over white (if you haven’t already) …it might be a tad dark and dull in masstone since it’s likely slightly transparent, but in undertone it’ll be more brilliant.

                                        The intro set is M. Graham. I don’t own these yet. I am considering buying individual colors if there are better colors for a limited palette.

                                        #1240684
                                        MookieKat
                                        Default

                                            I went on the W&N website and this is what it said:

                                            “The list below outlines primary colours for 3 and 6 colour mixing systems in the Winsor & Newton oil colour ranges. As a guide, we recommend that you choose transparent colours for colour mixing to ensure clean mixes.

                                            Artists’ Oil Colour 3 colour system
                                            • Transparent Yellow
                                            • Winsor Blue [Red Shade]
                                            • Permanent Rose”

                                            What would these colors translate to in the M. Graham line?

                                            #1240665
                                            WFMartin
                                            Default

                                                Sorry, double-post. Wet Canvas posting function is giving problems, for me.

                                                wfmartin. My Blog "Creative Realism"...
                                                https://williamfmartin.blogspot.com

                                                #1240706
                                                Nanana
                                                Default

                                                    ”Very fragile paint film” is misleading. It’s a perfectly acceptable drying oil for use in painting. I promise you that the paintings are not going to shatter into a million pieces.

                                                    Well, at the end of the day, walnut oil is the weaker paint film. If MGraham was cheap, it would make sense, but it’s very expensive paint with a binder that isn’t as good as what everyone else is using.

                                                    #1240666
                                                    WFMartin
                                                    Default

                                                        Not only do I work with M. Graham Artist Oil Paints routinely, but I also recommend a limited palette of colors to my students for the oil painting class that I teach at a local recreation center.

                                                        In class, I recommend a palette consisting of the following colors, for painting landscapes, and most still-life subects:

                                                        Ivory Black
                                                        Ultramarine Blue
                                                        Burnt Umber
                                                        Cadmium Red
                                                        Cadmium Yellow Light
                                                        Titanium White

                                                        There hasn’t been a single landscape that we couldn’t accomplish, almost color-for-color, matching to the reference photo, since using this palette of M. Graham Oil Paints.

                                                        M. Graham oils have, as their binder, Walnut Oil, giving a nice, slippery application, as well as a bit slower-drying, and less yellowing than experienced with Linseed Oil. They tend to be quite “juicy”, and “fluid”, and there often is an excess of oil when squeezed out on the palette. I just wick up the excess oil with the corner of a paper towel.

                                                        Very little medium is needed for M. Graham paints, because of their fluidity, so that is a “plus” for those who avoid using mediums containing solvents. Believe me when I say that if I were concerned in the slightest about Walnut Oil providing a noticeable weak paint film, I certainly would not be using it, nor would I recommend it to others.

                                                        ‘Tis very good paint! I recommend it highly.:thumbsup:

                                                        Those primary colors recommended by Winsor & Newton are quite truly very close to being scientific primary colors, Yellow, Magenta, Cyan.

                                                        That particular Yellow (Transparent Yellow 653 …PY128) is not available in M. Graham Paints, or many other brands, as far as I know. The only other manufacturer I’ve found who offers that is Rembrandt.

                                                        The Magenta recommended by Winsor & Newton is Permanent Rose 502…PV19. I do believe M. Graham offers a paint that is nearly identical to this, although I have not used it, as yet. I believe its name may be “Quinacridone Magenta”, but I’m not positive about that. While there may be other paints with the word, “Magenta” in the name on the label, that will probably plot closer to an actual Magenta hue (spoke on the color wheel), they usually do so at the cost of lower chroma (they are a bit grayer), so this is the reason I’ve been favoring PV19 as my primary, Magenta color.

                                                        The Cyan that Winsor & Newton recommended is a bit better represented by M. Graham’s Thalocyanine Blue (Thalo Blue), which has a pigment ID of PB15.

                                                        wfmartin. My Blog "Creative Realism"...
                                                        https://williamfmartin.blogspot.com

                                                        #1240681
                                                        jaka44
                                                        Default

                                                            I think the starter set would be a good start if you want a limited palette. You could substitute the red and yellow for cadmium’s if you prefer. From there you could add some earth colors, black, and Quin Rose. I personally like the Fast-Dry Titanium white.

                                                            #1240723
                                                            Michael Lion
                                                            Default

                                                                Well, at the end of the day, walnut oil is the weaker paint film. If MGraham was cheap, it would make sense, but it’s very expensive paint with a binder that isn’t as good as what everyone else is using.

                                                                The difference in film strength isn’t enough of a difference that it makes much of a difference. Paintings on large stretched canvases are going to crack regardless of whether you use linseed oil paints or walnut oil paints or safflower oil paints.

                                                                The best way to prevent cracking is to paint on panels and not stretched canvas. The second best way is to add a medium that adds strength and flexibility to the paint film, which is alkyd or stand oil.

                                                                The benefit of safflower oil (and to a lesser extent walnut oil) is that it makes for softer paints out of the tube, and it yellows less.

                                                                * *

                                                                Additionally, it’s false that “everyone else” is using something allegedly better, which I presume is supposed to mean linseed oil.

                                                                In fact:

                                                                1. Just about every brand of paint offers white based on safflower, poppy, or other lighter oil.
                                                                2. Several brands of paint use safflower or poppy oil throughout the line of paints, including: Holbein, Winsor & Newton, Sennelier, Maimeri, Blockx.

                                                                Only about half the paint makers subscribe to the all-linseed-oil theory. (Those brands include: Rembrandt, Grumbacher, Old Holland, Gamblin.)

                                                              Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 70 total)
                                                              • The topic ‘Palette suggestions for M. Graham oil paint’ is closed to new replies.