| Author | Message | ||
  drollere |
i think i can shed a tear for the passing of the grumbacher finest line ... wait ... wait ... heck, no, i can't. i don't have the experience of m.graham paints "globbing up" on the brush -- but i never dip a dry brush into paint (moisten it first), and i always dissolve the paint in some water first. actually, my preferred way of working with any brand is to squeeze out the entire tube into a small porcelain condiment dish and let it dry completely. then i moisten and lift paint as needed. works fine for all brands, and i'm not always screwing and unscrewing those fussy caps. i use tubes only when i need a large quantity of fairly concentrated paint, right now. that happens rarely. | ||
Robert |
And wow is it expensive! Seems like they'd charge less to introduce it. Earths colors at 8 bucks plus a tube is not exactly inticing. | ||
Robert |
Here's the line that has replaced Grumbacher Finest. Cheap Joe's is now selling Prismacolor: http://www.cheapjoes.com/catalog/products.asp?id=3554&pid=209&ppid=24 | ||
Sid |
Robert: You are right about M. Graham paints being sticky and globbing up on your brush. With other paints you probably squeeze out fresh paint and immediately begin painting.. With M Graham, you have to squeeze it out and leave it a day or so until it solidifies a bit. Then, I find it easily re- wets and produces rich paint without the sticky globs. You have to get used to it's odd behavior in order to capitalize on the excellent paint quality. This waiting a day or so for the MG paint to solidify is particularly important if you are putting it in a field palette. Otherwise, you will have sticky paint all over the paint box and everything else nearby!! | ||
Zoe |
Thanks Robert - it will be interesting to see what the "new" Grumbacher's look like when they come out. | ||
Robert |
Read this on the grumbacher discussion board: Thank you for your support of our product. At the end of this year our Finest Watercolor line will be discontinued and replaced with our new Prismacolor Watercolor. We are excited about this new line, which builds on our tradition of offering artists quality fine art products. The Prismacolor watercolor line offers 54 brilliant colors. | ||
Robert |
Well I wrestled with the "should I order a gazillion tubes of the grumbacher finest while still available ( and run up a big charge on my cc card) or should I find the best alternative." I thought about Eric's dilemma with the pthalo green and must say that since the grumbacher earths are coarse grind, they tend to preciptate out that as well, at least on the butcher tray. However, I don't use pthalos in big washes as does Eric. So I looked at some old paintings I did with Maimeriblu siennas and they indeed are wonderful hues and handle perfectly. So I ordered a few Maimeriblu raw siennas and burnt siennas. At under $4 a tube too! As much as I love M. Graham's hues and concentration, the honey vehicle is a real "sticker" for me (pun intended). The paint goo sometimes globs onto the brush in massive amounts and makes handling of the paint sometimes more of a chore than fun. Most of it ends up in the brush water pail. I can't find anything at all negative to say about MaimerBlu paint. | ||
Robert |
Thnaks Zoe--that test was indeed helpful. | ||
Zoe |
Well, John's pointer pays off. I did a test piece of Grumbacher and Graham, W&N and MaimeriBlu. Not an exact match the Grumbacher and Graham but lots closer than I had thought. The Graham appears a little darker but not by much. The W&N & Mb are much more orange and don't appear as "rich." PS - but I did order a tube of the Grumbacher this morning, just in case! | ||
Zoe |
John - I have Graham's BS and I'm laying it down next to Grumbacher's to see how they compare. Results to follow post-drying time for Robert's edification. And thanks for the info! | ||
John Preston |
For what it's worth, M.Graham was formerly in Grumbacher's employ. His vehicle is apparently different than Grumbacher Finest but his pigment choices may be similar. This is bad news indeed. | ||
Zoe |
Nostalgia! Robert, Daniel Smith's Quin series might have a possible substitute, but can't recommend one. | ||
jdaneman |
I started out using Weber and Grumbacher as a kid, but moved to W&N as soon as I could afford them. However, good old Hilary Page actually likes quite a few of them. I remember the reds are good--Grumbacher Red, Indian Red, I liked the umbers and ochres. I have a few paintings back in very sunny New Mexico at my parents that were painted with many of these years and years ago and they are still unfaded. | ||
Robert |
1. Raw Sienna--pure tan, not yellow--my raw sienna. It may be that Daniel Smith makes a raw sienna that is pure tan with no yellow--they make several but I hate to have to spend a fortune to sample them. DS makes one called Amita Morte or something--perhaps that one is tanish. 2. Ultramarine --Not french--pre bright permanent blue. M. Graham's is similar so I have a replacement. The academy colors are totally different and inferior to the above. 3. Thalo Blue--Brilliant --nothing like it in the other brands' pthalos. Closest might be Maimeriblu's Turquoise Green (PB 16). The academy is the same but less concentrated. Uses a different pigment than other brands--PB 15:6 Darn--I really like Grumbacher's Finest in these colors. They have a great philosophy. Make the paint as concentrated with pigment as possible. They're in my palette. Bad news indeed. | ||
Zoe |
Just found a note in my mailbox from Cheapjoes that Grumbacher Finest is going belly under. Wonder which colours we'd try to salvage in this line of paint before they leave the shelves. Any ideas? |
