Today we’re reviewing the Williamsburg Artist Oil Colors. I've used this paint for a long time and have really appreciated their oil paint research.

Williamsburg colors vary a lot in consistency, and yet many have a soft, workable impasto, and are highly pigmented. It's customary to modify oil paints, however we’re looking at the qualities of the paint before it gets changed on the palette right out of the tube. So we won’t be taking a look at mediums— just the addition of a tiny drop of linseed oil to see how it changes the paint.

To find out more you can check out our review on paintlist.com. On Paint List, you can search for your favorite paints, save them, and discover new ones.

Read the indepth review article on Paint List:
https://www.paintlist.com/articles/wi...

Browse the line of Williamsburg Artist Oil Colors on Paint List:
https://www.paintlist.com/search/oil/...



Links Mentioned in this Video:

The Golden/Williamsburg Articles can be found at Just Paint: https://justpaint.org/

__

Recent Lightfastness Testing Research and Mixing Whites

Sarah Sands' presentation slides on lightfastness and why more research is needed: http://www.isccarchive.org/Munsell20...

The 2023 Golden Research on Lightfastness and Mixing Whites from Just Paint: https://justpaint.org/astmlightfastn...

Natural Pigments' article on lightfastness and mixing whites: https://www.naturalpigments.com/artis...

Also Natural Pigments' video on lightfastness and mixing whites does a great job of explaining the issues involved: https://www.youtube.com/live/xFn74zda...

A video about lightfastness testing at Golden (this explains some of the background information):
   • GOLDEN on GOLDEN  The Lightfast Live...  



Paint and Pigment Discontinuations:

Golden's 2021 presentation:    • What Happened To My Favorite Color?  

Golden's 2023 presentation:    • GOLDEN on GOLDEN  Disco Brawl   This covers the recent discontinuations due to changes in the pigment industry.



Earth Colors

Golden’s notes on their earth colors: https://justpaint.org/naturalearthc...

Golden’s video on their French and Italian Earth Colors:    • Go deep into the earth [colors] with ...  

A separate video focusing on just the French Earths:    • Williamsburg Whites   and Italian Earths:    • Unbox & Mix with the Selected Native ...  

Just Paint Article with the smoothness vs. coarseness pigment grind chart: https://justpaint.org/apaletteofte... with the Palette of Textures (smoothness vs. grittiness)

Safflower Colors:

Just Paint on the Williamsburg Safflower colors: https://justpaint.org/williamsburgsn...



Zinc White:

Golden on the Removal of Zinc White (many links contain additional resources and citations)

Zinc Oxide: Warnings, Cautions, and Best Practices: https://justpaint.org/zincoxidewarn...
Zinc Oxide Reviewing the Research: https://justpaint.org/zincoxidefaq/
Zinc Oxide Reviewing the Research: https://justpaint.org/zincoxiderevi...
Update on Zinc White Search for the Dividing Line: https://justpaint.org/updateonzinc/

Key Moments:

00:00 Intro
01:02 Williamsburg Highlights
01:45 Consistency
03:56 Research
06:06 Cadmiums
07:16 Neutrals
07:54 Safflower Oil Colors
08:53 Phthalos
09:10 Convenience Colors
09:35 Earths
11:13 Formulation Changes and Discontinuations
12:18 Thanks for Watching



For more reviews of artist’s paints visit https://www.paintlist.com. You can search for paints by brand, by pigment, or by paint name.



Some quick caveats:

The colors on the screen differs from the color of the paint. Everyone’s screen differs a bit and some paint colors are out of gamut. Many important fine art materials are toxic, so please do your research and take the proper precautions these colors are for professional use. Please keep in mind, this is just our opinion on the paints, and it is offered for education, entertainment, and a spirit of sharing our love of artist paints (in other words, we make no warranties or guarantees and your mileage may vary).

Let us know about your experiences we want to hear them.

Have you used this paint? Let us know in the comments!