I’m getting these for my friend’s birthday, but I don’t want to get a rubbish set that she’ll have no use for.
She’s a serious Artist, and has been going to art classes, so I need professional paints.
I’ve seen these on Ebay….
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/REEVES-21-PIECE-OIL-PAINT-PAINTS-ART-ARTISTS-BOX-SET_W0QQitemZ180233101214QQihZ008QQcategoryZ31401QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
To any Artists: do they seem worth getting? From what she said, I always got the idea the paints would be outrageously expensive – like £6 for just one tube, so £20 for the whole set seems to suggest they’ll be cheap paints.
I know she wants oil paints, but are there different types? Is Reeves a good make? I vaguely remember the word acrylic floating around somewhere? Is that a type of oil?
I don’t want to end up buying something that’d you buy a child who wanted to mess around with a few paints.
Cheers for any help. 
Good quaity paint are usually expensive. Some colours are more expensive than others (usually reds and blues),as pigments (colour powder) used to make the paint might be very expensive too. Naturally we are talking about good quality paint here. The top quality paint even have serial numbers on tubes, because paint might differt slightly each time they are made, even though you will have the same name, same coulour on the tube.
I would suggest you Windsore & Newton brand. They are good quality and still have ok price. If you want to buy oil be sure "oil" is written on the tube, not acryl. Acryl is a different kind of paint and it is not oil.
I would not suggest to buy a set, because sets are usually made for amateaurs. Professional artists know exactly which shades an dwhich colours they like and need, and they simplly buy separate tubes.
If you do not have money to buy many colours, because they are very expensive, I am also sure your friend will be happy if you get her only few basic tubes and then she would be able to add other she needs later on. White, oker, burn umbra and any dark shade of blue are maybe colours used the most…especially Titan white and Zink white (I sugest Titan one). Then you might add: lemon yellow, one shade of light red of your chice, one shade of dark red of your choice, ultramarine blue, cobalt blue and/or burnt siena. I would not sugest to buy black as many artists do not use it. Greens can be mixed from the blue and yellows from the list, so there is no need to buy them too. I sugest to buy a small tubes as you do not know exactly which paint you friend needs more. But if you want to buy a big tube, then buy a big tube of white…as that is colour you use a lot when painting. If you ask for these colours in the art suply store they will know what you need.
I suggest to better buy few tubes of better quaity paint than a set ofcheep, bad quality ones. Cheep paint sometimes are not usable. Unfortunatley good quality paint are expensive.
If you go to art suply store they will be happy to help you…still be sure that you are not buying a set of paint and that the quality is good. (Some art supply stores are more about selling you expensive things and less about meeting your needs, so be careful).
I hope my answer helped.
If Reeves say they are oil paints then they are oil paints and sounds like a good buy. Winsor and Newton also make them.
Acrylic is a different format of paint and is not oil though are very popular among professional artisits.
Oil paints are NOT for children!
References :
Reeves isn’t terrible but is still more suited to amatuer than serious artists. She could still use them, they work fine, but they won’t be ideal.
Acrylic is not a type of oil paint. Oil is very slow drying, acrylic is fast-drying and used with water. Oil paint is mixed with turpentine or mineral spirits, not water, so you may want to buy her some if she doesn’t have any already.
References :
Artisan Oil paints by winsor newton are very good paints. I use them myself. If you would like some tips on oil painting, visit the website link below.
References :
http://juanpab2.quotaless.com
I got a set similar to that, which came with an easel I purchased. I have yet to open those tubes of paints (except for one, to check it out).
I paint with Bob Ross or Windsor Newton oils.
If those were the only paints I had, I would use them, but some of them (i.e. white) would be used up after, maybe, 4 small paintings.
.
References :
Hi,
Now since you’re talking pounds sterling, here are two stores :
http://www.gerstaecker.co.uk and http://www.jacksonart.co.uk.
I have to say that I being the Euro so strong against the dollar, I often send for stuff from USA.
However oil paints are flamable and more problematic.
Now, here in Europe we don’t have as many brands as in USA, but brands like Winsor & Newton, Rembrandt, Schmincke and Sennelier are among the best.
Now, a set will contain the basic colours. Cadmiums (if genuine are quite expensive), cobalts, vermillion and others are not usually available in sets (at least on starter sets).
If she’s already painting at home, she’ll probably already have the colours that one usually finds in a set.
So, you may probaly buy a couple of loose tubes.
For insteance : Terra Rosa (W&N), Indian Yellow (Van Gogh), Naples Yellow (W&N), Cobalt Blue.
Mind that Naples and Cobalt are very expensive when genuine, so you can buy their hues.
If you have any doubt, don’t hesitate to contact me.
Kind regards,
Joséhttp://www.hushcolours.com
References :
Good quaity paint are usually expensive. Some colours are more expensive than others (usually reds and blues),as pigments (colour powder) used to make the paint might be very expensive too. Naturally we are talking about good quality paint here. The top quality paint even have serial numbers on tubes, because paint might differt slightly each time they are made, even though you will have the same name, same coulour on the tube.
I would suggest you Windsore & Newton brand. They are good quality and still have ok price. If you want to buy oil be sure "oil" is written on the tube, not acryl. Acryl is a different kind of paint and it is not oil.
I would not suggest to buy a set, because sets are usually made for amateaurs. Professional artists know exactly which shades an dwhich colours they like and need, and they simplly buy separate tubes.
If you do not have money to buy many colours, because they are very expensive, I am also sure your friend will be happy if you get her only few basic tubes and then she would be able to add other she needs later on. White, oker, burn umbra and any dark shade of blue are maybe colours used the most…especially Titan white and Zink white (I sugest Titan one). Then you might add: lemon yellow, one shade of light red of your chice, one shade of dark red of your choice, ultramarine blue, cobalt blue and/or burnt siena. I would not sugest to buy black as many artists do not use it. Greens can be mixed from the blue and yellows from the list, so there is no need to buy them too. I sugest to buy a small tubes as you do not know exactly which paint you friend needs more. But if you want to buy a big tube, then buy a big tube of white…as that is colour you use a lot when painting. If you ask for these colours in the art suply store they will know what you need.
I suggest to better buy few tubes of better quaity paint than a set ofcheep, bad quality ones. Cheep paint sometimes are not usable. Unfortunatley good quality paint are expensive.
If you go to art suply store they will be happy to help you…still be sure that you are not buying a set of paint and that the quality is good. (Some art supply stores are more about selling you expensive things and less about meeting your needs, so be careful).
I hope my answer helped.
References :
I am an artist myself and have been teaching drawing and painting for years to hight school and university students.
I don’t honestly think this looks like a very good deal. For a start the tubes of paint may be quite small and you are paying for a fiddley little wooden case which she will grow out of when she needs extra or bigger tubes of colour, most artists use tool boxes, plus the divided palette only has five compartments and is not suitable for the full colour spectrum of oil colours, when I was at art college we were advised just to bring in old white dinner plates if we could not afford the traditional palette that you put your thumb through, plus the brushes may not be to her liking, and presumably she has a couple of pencils, a sharpener and a rubber if she has been attending art classes. It’s good that you want to buy her something though to encourage her. Anything by Reeves or Winsor and Newton is okay, the only oil paints to be avoided are those little tubes of Chinese ones from the pound shops! There are different grades of paints, the ‘student’ ones from the major manufacturers are quite okay for beginners and come in quite hefty tubes, I think I bought a set of the basic ten or so colours ‘student quality’ in a simple cardboard box about 15 years when I was doing my A Level painting and drawing. I’m wondering if something like this might not be better with a voucher for her to choose the extras like brushes, turps and painting board, if you do not have a specialist art store in your area WH Smith should do the basics.
References :
Acrylics are not oils; they are water based paints that are waterproof when dry.
Reeves is o.k to start with if you just want to try it out.
I don’t advise spending great sums of cash if you don’t know if you’ll like a particular medium.
But reeves is not a professional grade.
References :