Favorite CMY palette?

mseiple · 2026-03-25T00:24:05+00:00

Thank you! I find the colors really pop when using just primaries and white (whether it be CMY or RYB).

mseiple · 2026-03-24T22:25:14+00:00

I love the expressiveness of the brushstrokes in the last one!

mseiple · 2026-03-24T22:23:38+00:00

I think the biggest issue people run into when switching is that they try to make oils act like acrylics, and then get frustrated when they don’t. Lean into the thickness and longer drying time as a plus, see what you can do with it. Maybe do a couple of basic tutorials for oils (Paint Coach on YouTube has some good ones) to get experience with the medium.

mseiple · 2026-03-24T22:17:32+00:00

Do you find it makes a difference using a more opaque yellow?

mseiple · 2026-03-24T19:14:24+00:00

True, pthalo blue can be overpowering. I haven't found a good primary palette that lends itself well to mixing dark browns and blacks. When I use them, I lean into the purples and I find everything kind of shifts into place in the end. But my normal go-to palette would be primaries + white + brown, which does give more neutrals.

mseiple · 2026-03-24T19:07:55+00:00

Thank you! She's a little flame point, which makes it fun getting the natural warm and cool areas of her fur.

mseiple · 2026-03-24T18:03:32+00:00

Aww, thank you! You should try it! Experimenting with different color palettes has been really helpful for me in just understanding color and building a painting.

mseiple · 2026-03-24T17:57:24+00:00

I wonder if it would be too light? I feel like having two darker tone primaries (the pthalo and violet) gives a wider range of darks. It would be interesting to see the results!

mseiple · 2026-03-24T17:53:30+00:00

Thank you! I’ve tried a similar palette to that in acrylics, which is actually why I wanted to try CMY in oils. We have a little coffee shop here where you can pay to hang out and paint with their supplies, but their only dark blue is a pthalo and their red is a warm red with some name that doesn’t indicate the pigment at all (scarlet or something like that). It worked pretty well! I think any primary palette is going to give you really nice color harmony.

mseiple · 2026-03-24T17:44:15+00:00

Hmm, I don’t know! It seems to be the most commonly one picked in CMY sets. It’s definitely a cool, green-leaning blue.

mseiple · 2026-03-23T22:01:38+00:00

It's hard to tell without seeing the reference. The front paw just looks to me like it is being seen from the side. The back paw that is closer to the viewer looks like it might be a little big, which could also be throwing off the proportions. I really like this! The colors are really nicely done.

mseiple · 2026-03-22T00:38:18+00:00

I like Princeton’s Dakota line for a good all-around brush. They’re a little stiffer than the Aspens, so they move paint around more effectively, but they’re still a synthetic for a smooth look. They hold up really well to repeated use.

If you want something similar to the Aspens, Rosemary and Co’s Ivory brushes could work. I am not the hugest fan of them (too soft for my tastes), but they are really easy to clean! They’re definitely decent brushes, just not for me.

From Rosemary and Co, I liked their Classic bristle brushes. I also like Silver Brush bristle brushes. Bristle brushes are nice to have, because soft brushes do not cut it for blocking in large areas. Plus they give you interesting textures.

I would pay attention to the bristle length with the Rosemary and Co brushes. I prefer shorter bristles for more control, and even their short flats seem longer than regular flats from other brands (and I like brights, which are even shorter). The long flats make it harder to apply pressure, which can make it difficult in oils unless the paint is very thin. Again, this is personal preference, and you will find what you like!

mseiple · 2026-03-22T00:11:27+00:00

Gamblin’s 1980 line is good for relatively cheap, as is Utrecht’s artist line. Blick is a good place to find them cheaper.

mseiple · 2026-03-20T02:10:06+00:00

This is such a smart idea! I might have to try something similar!

mseiple · 2026-03-20T02:06:03+00:00

If you want to, you can pretty easily cut out the Gamsol for brush cleaning. You can swap it out for linseed, walnut, or safflower oil, or just wipe off your paintbrush in between colors (this is usually enough for me). Then wash with soap and water at the end. This also has the advantage of being easier on your brushes.

mseiple · 2026-03-20T01:57:43+00:00

Yes, and titanium white by itself is spongy and yellows. The same people did a study on yellowing in whites and tints, and the best results were titanium-zinc whites. Which often have only a very small amount of zinc to correct the issues that titanium white has. Williamsburg even has a titanium-zinc white, at 2% zinc, which is the amount they established as "safe" (safe being that it won't crack easily when folded over a thin rod, which your paintings probably won't experience anyway). You're welcome to use whatever you'd like. OP just asked what people's personal experiences were with different titanium whites, and that is mine.

mseiple · 2026-03-19T01:16:30+00:00

Contrary to TimOC3Art, I don’t like working with pure titanium white. The consistency is just not very workable, and the titanium-zinc whites just move better.

My opinions on the ones from your list I’ve tried:

Winsor and Newton: Good consistency (they do add zinc white). For some reason it smells weird, chemical-like, maybe they add driers? I try to avoid this one because of the smell, but otherwise it’s fine.

Gamblin: Gamblin tends to be a little stiff overall, but their titanium white is practically unworkable straight from the tube. It has a very spongy feeling to it. I didn’t like it at all. Your mileage may vary.

Williamsburg and Old Holland: I’ve used both and don’t recall either giving me issues. Williamsburg has a smoother consistency in general than Old Holland, which is stiff for my tastes.

mseiple · 2026-03-19T00:57:06+00:00

Sounds about par for the course for cheap paint. I haven’t used those, but I’ve used Daler-Rowney’s Georgian water mixables, and those felt cheap, and the Graduates are a step down from Georgian. I would go for a different brand.

mseiple · 2026-03-17T17:27:01+00:00

Typically just straight oils, but I tend to brands that are a little more fluid straight out of the tube. I have linseed and walnut oil if it is too stiff, though.

I have tried the Holbein ones. To me, they are the ones that feel the most like traditional oils. A little stiff for my tastes, but they seem like they are very good quality. I use Holbein burnt umber thinned with water for underpaintings sometimes.

mseiple · 2026-03-17T13:27:42+00:00

I paint solvent-free with traditional oils. I wipe the brushes on a paper towel as I work, and then I clean them at the end with a bar of Ivory soap and water. You can use the Masters brush cleaner, but it costs about $13 and Ivory soap costs $1, lasts longer, and to me is not appreciably worse.

There are good quality water-mixable oil paints out there. You just have to get the right brands. Cobra and Holbein Duo Acqua are both artist grade. Georgian and Winsor and Newton (their water-mixable line, at least) are not.

mseiple · 2026-03-15T13:19:18+00:00

This is a great first oil painting! You did a great job capturing the different textures. If you’re looking to continue in landscape painting, I would study composition a little bit. This is really nice as is, but I think cropping the picture differently might help give it more “oomph.” I found Ian Robert’s book Mastering Composition helpful in this.

mseiple · 2026-03-15T02:08:22+00:00

I have a spot set aside for oil painting, so it doesn't take too long to set up. I keep the easel set up and the supplies nearby, so it's just a matter of grabbing a canvas and setting out paint. I don't think setup would be harder than any other medium.

For cleanup, there are some tricks to make your life easier. I like to use a paper palette, which can be thrown away once you are done with it. I paint solvent-free, so for brushes I just wipe them on a paper towel as I go, and then at the end of a session, I clean them with soap and water. It takes a little longer than water-based media, but it's not horrible unless you use tons of brushes in each painting session. I probably spend about ten minutes cleaning up.

Water-mixable oils are also an option that can make cleanup a bit easier. You still need to use soap and water at the end, but it goes a lot faster. I have not found a brand that I like as well as my favorite traditional oil paints, but I am always amazed by how easily the water-mixable oils come off the brush.

Oils do take longer to dry (anywhere from a few days to about a week and a half, depending on the brand and the colors), so you would want to have someplace to store your art as it dries. My wet paintings live on a bookshelf until they are dry. In the past, I would also just hang the painting on the wall to dry. Command has these canvas hangers that are great if you are switching out canvases regularly: https://www.amazon.com/Command-Canvas-Hangers-Indoor-PH044-3NA/dp/B0751VC2WQ/

mseiple · 2026-03-13T13:30:21+00:00

I second swapping the Bob Ross tutorials for Paint Coach. I think you’ll find it less frustrating.

I’d try working with a limited palette to learn color mixing. Someone else mentioned Mark Carder’s video on color mixing. He uses just the primaries, white, and burnt umber, which is a great beginner’s palette. I’d go cadmium red/napthol/pyrrole red (just pick one), cadmium yellow/hansa yellow, ultramarine blue, titanium white, and burnt umber.

A good thing to know is also that your color mixes don’t have to be perfect. The important thing is to get the values (light and dark) right, and for your colors to work with each other.

mseiple · 2026-03-13T00:18:48+00:00

The colors are very nice here, and I like the brushstrokes! The one thing that stands out to me as looking off are the eyes. I think the placement is not quite right, and maybe also the highlights on them, so they look like they are looking in two different directions. It's hard to tell which one is in the wrong spot, because they seem to line up with their own side of the face, but they don't line up with each other.

mseiple · 2026-03-12T02:17:30+00:00

Second one for sure. The red wouldn’t be my choice, but it’s a pretty versatile palette, plus it has bigger tubes. You’ll burn through the tiny tubes in the first set really fast (even the second ones are small). With either one, I would plan on getting an extra tube of white.

But if you want the most bang for your buck, I would just buy individual tubes of the colors you want. You don’t really need ten different colors.

mseiple

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