March 11, 2018
I have entered “Best in the World” in the 6th annual Jerrysartarama self portrait competition. Please take a second and give me a vote! Thanks!
Lukas Oil Paints
Lukas Studio- Raw Umber
I have been using Lukas Studio Quality oil paints for over 10 years and they are hands down the best paints you can buy. Raw Umber and Burnt Sienna feature more than any other colours and I love getting new tubes when I run out. I have yet to find another brand that produces such quality pigments at this mid-range price level. In fact, they rival, and sometimes even surpass the higher end oils like my beloved Michael Harding tubes that I have coveted and rationed over the years due to their high costs.
My collection of paints has grown over the years, and varies in quality. From what I have read, oil paints fall into 3 categories: student, studio and professional. Essentially, low, medium and high quality, which is defined by purity of pigment, oil type, ratio of the two and amount of filler. That’s a lot of uninteresting mumbo-jumbo that only a nerd like me finds interesting. So for the purpose of this crap I am writing, I will keep it simple and just say that Lukas paints fall into the “Studio” grade and have pretty pure pigment, a good oil-to-pigment ratio and very little filler. And they are the best of this class. Just trust me on that.
Not that any of this really matters; the old masters quality of paints were almost certainly even lower than “Student” grade oils. So really it comes down to what you can afford and what paints work best for you. And I have found that, after trying a fair few brands that Lukas work best for my needs.
From beginning to end, there are quite a few paintings in one tube of Lukas Studio quality oil paint, especially if its a hue of brown (I am a one trick pony, sue me). From opening the box of a new tube to trying force out the last pea-sized blob onto my palette using pliers, two hands or any number of desperate, pathetic, cheap ways to try and prevent spending money on a new tube, Lukas is always a top choice.