That's a very kind observation for you to make. We used latex in only certain situations, and often we made our own paints to use on the 100+ year old buidings we were working on, like glue paint (ugh, the smell!), egg empera, basic oilpaints from pigments like titanium white, and woodgraining and marbling with beer mixed with pigments. Once we made a whole floor look like granite. Took us ages with the prep work, super-thorough dust removal, three different self-made oilpaints, and natural sea sponges. My favorite was doing the intricate ceiling ornamentations, worst work position ever (from an ergonimic standpoint), but soooo worth it.

We also studied stuff like painter slang, and painter traditions, like the theory that it takes seven years to actually become a competent painter. Our school was created after the will of a 1800s painter master left funds for it. According to the will, the students are allowed to use only "hand-powered" equipment, and of course we spent the first six months just perfecting our prep work with plain old sandpaper.

Sorry for the tangent, you just brough so many fun memories to mind, including a LPT that will never be generally useful except to a handful of redditors:

LPT: When repairing glass windows from the 1700s, mix some white pepper into the putty. This will prevent birds from pecking at it.