After several orders from RGH, I downgraded my rating to Quality: B (from A-). I modified my initial rating on my Oil Brand Reference but neglected to update the review. The reason for the downgrade is the cheap jars RGH uses for some of their colors. Their jars render the fast-drying colors, like the all-important lead white, useless because the colors dry too fast. I lost half of a 250 ml jar even after spraying the paint with water. I will not buy any more lead white from RGH until they use tubes for all colors and sizes.
Art supplies are absurdly expensive. Artists have to pay Cadillac and boutique prices regardless of the quality of the goods, which varies widely. What’s worse is the cynicism of manufacturers. You can buy ‘genuine copal varnish’ that contains no copal–none. You can buy ‘genuine flake white’ that contains no lead–none. The list can go on and…
I gushed about my new easel last spring. It was my first new easel in a very long time. My other two easels are old and broken down. I’m always fighting them. The new easel–Utrecht Artist’s Convertible Easel, Vertical/Horizontal (51772-1001)–can support canvases up to 97″ high. It’s rugged but still mobile. I haven’t tested its limits, but…
What are they doing? What’s happening in this dark and mysterious scene? The full moon broods over several women holding lights or sparklers over their heads, much as revelers in the U.S. do on the 4th of July. In the distance, jets of fireworks illuminate the night sky. In the middle distance, pleasure seekers watch the fireworks from boats on…
I’ve bought brushes marketed as ‘Russian-made sables’ at different times and from different vendors. The actual manufacturer is obscure. Their only identifying marking is the distinctive logo, which you can see in the accompanying photo. In addition to the logo, the brushes have long, mahogany handles. They are excellent brushes for oil (I’ve never used…
I wrote about oil brushes before and it’s a good topic to expand. This post is a companion to my Oil Paint Brand reference and, like that post, I’ll update this one as I get new material. When I started out, my sole criteria for buying brushes was price. Like most in my position, I told myself that it didn’t matter that I…
RGH makes decent paint. Their affordable prices make them a good value. Not only that, you can select the oil type when ordering white (they have a nice variety of whites, including the all-important flake). For someone, like me, who prefers cold-pressed linseed, this is compelling. As far as I know, RGH is the only producer with this smart feature.
But some of their colors, including large-sized whites, are only available in jars. Cheap jars. Paint in jars (or cans) tends to form a skin. When the skin gets into the mass of paint, it ruins it. Removing the skin is tedious, time consuming, and wasteful. The only way to get rid of the skin is to remove a lot of paint. Knowing this, I spray water over the surface of the paint when sealing the jars. But a 250ml jar of cremnitz white formed a skin anyway. In spite of my best efforts, I didn’t get rid of all the skin and now it’s in the body of paint. Half the jar is useless–a $37 waste.
I won’t buy anymore colors available only in jars, which means I won’t buy large sizes of flake white from RGH until they change their policy.
By the way, the only producer of jar-ed paint I’ve had success with is Kremer and they use glass jars.
