Home Forums Explore Media Oil Painting The Technical Forum Rembrandt oils disappointing?

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  • #479282
    dustlilac
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        Anyone here uses Rembrandt and can weigh in their opinion on the brand, especially if you purchased tubes recently.

        I purchased some tubes (ochre, naples,) and was going to buy more as it’s on sale but when I went to use them I realized that every one of the colors has basically no tinting power and a slippery feel of.. a bunch of silicone.. is the best way I can describe it. Half a tube can vanish in to a mix like nothing.

        I also noticed that mixes that usually have titanium (going by labels on the website) all have zinc instead?

        #896398
        Richard P
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            I think as always it depends on the particular colour. I can get W&N cheaper here than Rembrandt and so use that.

            There are some mixes / pigments you can’t get in W&N or vice versa.

            #896395
            dustlilac
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                Yeah, I usually get W&N as well, but Rembrandt is 50% off so I couldn’t resist. The colors I got was Ochre, Ochre Light, Naples Yellow Deep, Manganese Hue, Kings Blue.

                Come to think of it, 3 out of 5 have zinc, so maybe that’s it.. I’m not used to using paint with huge amounts of zinc? That doesn’t explain the disappearing ochres. I went though 1/3 of a tube for a basic small study.

                #896399
                Richard P
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                    The Ochre is PY42, so not sure why that didn’t have tinting power?

                    Ochre Light (PBr24) is rubbish compared to the W&N Naples Yellow Deep (PBr24) version which is opaque where as the Rembrandt one is semi-transparent.

                    #896404
                    ilya K
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                        Can it be because Rembrandt are quite fluid? Me, I bought them to try exactly because of that (no thinning needed).

                        But in any case, why buy earth pigments from them? If you buy more costly brand, then isn’t it better to get pigments that cheaper brands do not offer? For example, they have PY184 or PY128 – those cost much more with other manufacturers.

                        Ilya K
                        C&C always welcome

                        #896400
                        Richard P
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                            Rembrandts and Van Goghs are pretty fluid compared to other Brands.

                            I agree about the earths. I tested a lot of different student and artist grades and concluded that the Van Goghs were just as good as the Rembrandts (or other brands).

                            For more expensive pigments, you have to look at different artist quality brands and compare.

                            #896389
                            Gigalot
                            Default

                                Royal Talens paints have lower shrinkage and superior fluidity than many other brand. And they have low cost here. And they have the best, trusted tube caps.

                                #896401
                                Richard P
                                Default

                                    I agree about the caps :)

                                    #896386
                                    Anonymous

                                        I don’t have any Rembrandts, but I am stunned by how awesome Vladimir Volegov paints and he uses Rembrandt paint, so IDK about how fluid they are but he works magic with them.

                                        #896394

                                        I prefer Williamsburg Earth colors, many colors not offered by other brands. The pigments are excellent high quaility and the pigment load is the best of any brand I have used in 30+ years. Because of these 2 factors I use less paint and that turns into savings. 2 online retailers have discounted prices year round. I made the switch and have never regretted it. Their price range is less than some of the “high” price brands I have used and certainly better. I have the majority of the colors they offer and am very happy with all of them.
                                        :thumbsup:

                                        Angel :angel:
                                        Website Makeover Coming! This is available now.
                                        http://www.artist-bythesea.com/

                                        #896405
                                        ilya K
                                        Default

                                            I don’t have any Rembrandts, but I am stunned by how awesome Vladimir Volegov paints and he uses Rembrandt paint, so IDK about how fluid they are but he works magic with them.

                                            Sid,you know Georgian. So, that, and even a bit softer. Talens paints are quite oily, and glossy when dry.

                                            Ilya K
                                            C&C always welcome

                                            #896387
                                            wal_t
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                                                You describe that the Rembrandt paints have no tinting power but that is not my experience at all with that brand. I use Rembrandt and van Gogh paints from Talens a lot as I like their flow and can paint without medium. I also have stiffer paints like Old Holland that must be thinned with medium before it flows.

                                                The yellow ocre from van Gogh apprars the same as the more expensive Rembrandt paint so I use that more these days.

                                                Maybe you have a bad sample or maybe they put someting else in the tubes on sale ?

                                                #896396
                                                dustlilac
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                                                    Yeah, maybe I just somehow inadvertently got all the bad mixes.. I don’t know. Richard, how you describe PBr24 to be, all my tubes ended up being like that. Semi-transparent when they are labeled as opaque, with added pearlecence.

                                                    I use their oxide red in all my paintings and I love it, but I guess everything else from them is just not for me, even at $5 a tube it’s silly to have paint sitting around unused. Because it’s already fluid there is no way to change it, so far all mediums I’ve tried made things worse or just weird. I will stick with W&N and Williamsburg et al.

                                                    #896402
                                                    Richard P
                                                    Default

                                                        The Yellow Ochre, Red Iron Oxide, Black Iron Oxides I tested are as opaque as other brands. Pyrrol Red is also as opaque as W&N but more expensive (depending on shop prices / sales).

                                                        I recommend their Titanium White in Safflower Oil though. It’s slower drying than the one in W&N (which has a small amount of solvents), but it has a slightly higher opacity and yellows the least out of the whites I’ve tested.

                                                        #896384

                                                        I remember twenty years ago I had bought a Talens Rembrandt cobalt violet tube. There was so little pigment in this paint that it definitely made me avoid this brand. The paint was incredibly dull and weak. I cannot accept a paint which contains so much filler and so little genuine pigment. I hope they have since changed their formulation. One or two years later, I began grinding my own colors. I discovered then how beautiful a real cobalt violet could be. The Talens grade could not compete…
                                                        Another example, you can see on this pic three different genuine viridian oil paints. The bottom is Lefranc, middle paint is Sennelier pure viridian pigment ground in linseed oil by myself, and top is Rembrandt Talens.
                                                        Just compare my paint and the Talens paint! The striking difference comes from the amount of pure pigment in the formula…

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