I have a painting project stalled for lack of paints. Before I can get back to work on it, I need a few fresh colors. One of the pigments I use from my palette often is a dark, earthy yellow. It’s one of the most predominant colors here, so it isn’t from lack of rocks to work with. No, it’s just that I need to get around to making a tube of paint.

On Sunday, I did just that. Between other things going on, I did at least manage to get that one made.

Main Difference in Making a Tube of Earthy Yellow (oils) versus a Pan of Paint (watercolors)

The pigment to binder ratio can be about the same. But what I’ve found to be the biggest difference is that it takes a LOT more pigment to make a tube of oil paint than it does to make a pan of watercolor paint.

Also, one pan of watercolor paint can last me almost as long as one tube of oil paint. So another difference is the amount of paint that goes onto a canvas. I use much less watercolor on the paper than I do oils on the canvas or board or whatever I’m painting on.

The effort to make each is about the same, except that I can make many pans of a single watercolor paint color in the time it takes to make one tube of oil paint. However, it takes longer before the watercolor pans are ready to use. They are poured in multiple layers and take time to dry between each. When I fill a tube of oil paint, it’s ready to go immediately.

Cleanup

Before I started experimenting with oil paints, one of the fears that held me back was the imagined mess I would make.

But that turned out to be a needless worry. Cleaning up after making oil paint is as easy as cleaning up after making watercolors. I keep used cooking oil on hand for times when I need oil and don’t want to waste clean oil. It comes in very handy for the initial cleanup wipe when working on my mulling board with the oils I use for making paint.