mixing own oil paints

mHallee wrote

on 4 Feb 2013 6:54 PM

I am wanting to start mixing my own paints. Has any one done this before and has a suggestion of a pigment brand to use?

Paul Sullivan wrote

on 5 Feb 2013 9:03 AM

mHallee—

I guess making your own paint makes as much sense as playing golf. However, I can't help asking why you would want to do this.

You asked if anyone has done this before. Everybody did, at least until the 19th century. That's when paint became available in tubes. Earlier this year, someone in this Forum was trying to figure out how to get mixed paint into empty tubes. You might want to look that posting up. 

If you are serious about this, it would be good to excerise a bit of caution. Some of the pigments are poisonous and can be danerous—especially in powder form.

nick-ynysmon wrote

on 15 Feb 2013 2:16 PM

I spent so e time making my own whites and yellows. Ultramarine is almost impossible to make for me at least. White lack the consistency of tube paints unless you add Stearates and aluminium hydroxide  believe to stabilize it etc. so, I am making my on cadmium as the tubes are very expensive. as for white I am not sure yet. I am using tube white which is affordable, and most of my paints are tubes now, Old Holland to be exact. and a few others.

peterrsergen wrote

on 29 Mar 2013 2:43 AM

Moreover, I am used to use acrylic colors for painting and I found that mixing this colors is eventually good which makes innovative colors and also helps to give an attractive view towards our paintings. I have tried same process in oil painting as well but, it can't work properly and I faced mass-up with my painting colors.