Best Oil Paint for Beginners and Professionals: Gamblin vs. Williamsburg Oil Paint
Best Oil Paint for Beginners and Professionals: Gamblin vs. Williamsburg Oil Paint
One of the most common questions new oil painters ask is: “What is the best oil paint to buy?”
The best oil paint for most beginners is Gamblin 1980 if you want a quality starter paint at a reasonable price. For artists ready for professional-grade paint, Gamblin Artist’s Oil Colors are an excellent main palette choice. Williamsburg oil paints are best for artists who want premium handmade color, nuanced pigments, and a more traditional painting feel.
Quick Recommendation
- Best oil paint for beginners: Gamblin 1980 Oil Colors
- Best professional oil paint for a core palette: Gamblin Artist’s Oil Colors
- Best premium handmade oil paint: Williamsburg Artist Oils
- Best minimalist oil paint palette: The Zorn Palette with Ivory Black, Cadmium Red Light, Yellow Ochre, and Titanium White
- Best strategy: Build your basic palette with Gamblin, then add Williamsburg specialty colors as your style develops.
Oil paint can get expensive quickly. Walk into an art supply store and you will see beautiful tubes ranging from budget-friendly student colors to professional paints that cost much more per tube. The problem is that cheaper paint is not always easier for beginners. In fact, it can make learning harder.
When a paint has weak pigment, you often need more of it to get the color strength you want. That means you may use more paint, struggle with color mixing, and feel frustrated before you have even had a chance to enjoy the painting process.
If you are trying to choose a reliable, high-quality oil paint, two of the best brands to consider are Gamblin oil paint and Williamsburg oil paint. Both are available at Huntsville Art Supplies and are excellent choices for artists who want rich color, dependable handling, and professional results.
What Makes a Good Oil Paint?
A good oil paint should have strong pigment, smooth handling, reliable color, and good permanence. The best oil paints do not just look pretty in the tube. They mix well, cover well, and keep their color strength when blended with white or other colors.
When choosing oil paint, pay attention to three things:
- Pigment strength: Stronger pigment usually means richer color and better coverage.
- Binder: Oil paints are made by mixing pigment with a drying oil, such as linseed oil, safflower oil, or walnut oil.
- Grade: Professional-grade paints usually contain more pigment and fewer fillers than student-grade paints.
The binder matters because it can affect how quickly the paint dries, how it feels under the brush, and how colors age over time.
Gamblin Artist’s Oil Colors are made with high-grade pigment and refined linseed or safflower oil, and the line includes both historic colors and modern hues. Gamblin 1980 Oil Colors are designed as a value line for students, beginners, and artists who want quality oil paint at a more approachable price.
Williamsburg Artist Oils are known for their handcrafted quality, premium pigments, nuanced colors, and traditional working feel. They are now part of the Golden Artist Colors family.
Why Cheap Oil Paint Can Make Learning Harder
Many beginners are told to buy the cheapest oil paint because they are “just practicing.” That sounds practical, but it can backfire.
Lower-quality paint may have less pigment and more filler. This can make the paint feel weak, streaky, or difficult to mix. Instead of learning how oil paint should behave, beginners end up fighting the material.
For students, hobbyists, and returning artists, a better approach is to start with a smaller palette of better paint. You do not need every color. You need a reliable set of core colors that mix well and help you learn faster.
Gamblin Oil Paint: Best Overall Choice for Many Artists
Gamblin oil paint is one of the easiest brands to recommend because it offers a strong balance of quality, consistency, safety-minded materials, and price.
Gamblin Artist’s Oil Colors are professional-grade paints with strong pigmentation and dependable working properties. The colors have individual characteristics in texture, undertone, and tinting strength, which is exactly what artists want from high-quality oil color.
Why Artists Like Gamblin Oil Paint
- Reliable quality: The colors are consistent and easy to work with.
- Strong pigment: A little paint can go a long way compared with weak student paint.
- Beginner-friendly options: Gamblin 1980 gives students a more affordable entry point without feeling like bargain-bin paint.
- Professional options: Gamblin Artist’s Oils are suitable for serious studio work.
- Studio-conscious system: Gamblin also offers mediums and resources for solvent-free and safer studio practices through its oil painting materials line.
For most beginners, Gamblin 1980 Oil Colors are a great starting point. For artists ready to invest in a professional palette, Gamblin Artist’s Oil Colors are an excellent upgrade.
Williamsburg Oil Paint: Best for Rich, Handmade Character
Williamsburg oil paint is a beautiful choice for artists who love a more traditional, handcrafted paint experience. Williamsburg Artist Oils are made with premium pigments and traditional methods, giving them rich, nuanced color and a luxurious painting feel.
Williamsburg is especially appealing if you enjoy subtle color differences, earthy palettes, painterly texture, glazing, scumbling, alla prima painting, or building a more personal professional palette over time.
Why Artists Like Williamsburg Oil Paint
- Handcrafted feel: The paint has a traditional, artist-made quality.
- Rich color range: Williamsburg is known for nuanced, sophisticated colors.
- Excellent for experienced painters: Artists who love exploring paint texture and pigment personality often enjoy Williamsburg.
- Great for building a custom palette: Williamsburg colors are ideal when you want to add special colors beyond your basic starter palette.
At Huntsville Art Supplies, Williamsburg Handmade and Williamsburg Artist Oil Paints are offered for artists looking for premium, archival oil color with pigment purity, luminosity, and predictable working properties.
Gamblin vs. Williamsburg: Which Oil Paint Should You Choose?
Both brands are excellent, but they serve slightly different needs.
| Need | Best Choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Beginner oil painter | Gamblin 1980 | Good quality, better value, easier entry point |
| Serious beginner or intermediate artist | Gamblin Artist’s Oils | Professional quality with reliable color strength |
| Professional painter | Gamblin Artist’s Oils or Williamsburg | Both offer high-quality pigment and strong performance |
| Painter who loves handmade, nuanced color | Williamsburg | Traditional feel, rich color personality, premium pigments |
| Building a starter palette | Gamblin | Easy to build a dependable basic palette |
| Adding special colors | Williamsburg | Excellent for unique earths, subtle mixes, and specialty colors |
Student Grade vs. Professional Grade Oil Paint
The difference between student-grade and professional-grade oil paint usually comes down to pigment quality, pigment load, fillers, and price.
Student-Grade Oil Paint
Student-grade oil paint is usually less expensive. It may use less costly pigments, more filler, or “hue” versions of expensive colors. A hue is designed to look similar to a more expensive pigment, but it is not the same as the genuine pigment.
For example, Cobalt Blue Hue is not the same as genuine Cobalt Blue. It may be useful for budget reasons, but it will not behave exactly the same in mixing, tinting strength, or color depth.
Professional-Grade Oil Paint
Professional-grade oil paint generally has a higher pigment load and better color strength. It usually mixes more cleanly, lasts longer on the palette, and gives artists more control.
For beginners, this does not mean you need to buy the most expensive paint in the store. It means you should choose the best paint you can reasonably afford and start with fewer colors.
The Best Beginner Oil Paint Palette
One of the biggest mistakes new oil painters make is buying too many colors too soon. A limited palette teaches you how to mix, keeps your costs down, and helps your paintings look more unified.
A strong beginner oil painting palette includes:
- Titanium White
- Cadmium Yellow Medium or a similar warm yellow
- Yellow Ochre
- Cadmium Orange or an orange alternative
- Alizarin Crimson or a permanent crimson
- French Ultramarine Blue
- Cobalt Blue or a blue alternative
- Sap Green
- Burnt Sienna
- Raw Umber or Burnt Umber
- Ivory Black
You do not have to buy every color at once. If you are starting with Gamblin, begin with a core set and add individual tubes as you learn what colors you use most.
Want an Even Smaller Palette? Try the Zorn Palette
If the 11-color beginner palette feels like too much to buy at once, there is an even more minimal option that still gives you a powerful range of colors: the Zorn Palette.
The Zorn Palette is one of the best minimalist oil painting palettes for artists who want to invest in quality oil paint without buying a lot of tubes. It is traditionally made with just four colors:
- Ivory Black
- Cadmium Red Light
- Yellow Ochre
- Titanium White
That is it. With only these four colors, you can mix a surprisingly wide range of natural colors, including beautiful skin tones (any skin tone in the world), warm neutrals, muted greens, soft grays, and earthy landscape colors. This makes the Zorn Palette a wonderful choice for portrait painting, figure painting, plein air painting, and landscape studies.
Why the Zorn Palette Works So Well
The magic of the Zorn Palette is that it keeps your color choices simple. Instead of trying to manage ten or fifteen colors at once, you learn how much variety can come from a few carefully chosen pigments.
Cadmium Red Light gives you warmth and strong flesh-tone mixtures. Yellow Ochre creates golden earth tones and natural warmth. Ivory Black acts almost like a cool blue when mixed with white or yellow ochre, which allows you to create muted greens and cool grays. Titanium White lightens your mixtures and helps create the full range of values from dark to light.
Because the colors are naturally limited and slightly muted, the mixtures tend to look harmonious. This is especially helpful for beginners who struggle with paintings that look too bright, too colorful, or disconnected.
Is the Zorn Palette Good for Skin Tones?
Yes. The Zorn Palette is excellent for mixing skin tones. With Ivory Black, Cadmium Red Light, Yellow Ochre, and Titanium White, you can create a wide range of complexions by adjusting the warmth, coolness, lightness, and darkness of your mixtures.
For lighter skin tones, you will usually use more Titanium White with small amounts of Cadmium Red Light and Yellow Ochre. For deeper skin tones, you can use less white and build richer mixtures with Cadmium Red Light, Yellow Ochre, and Ivory Black. Small shifts in the amount of each color can create a large variety of natural-looking flesh tones.
Is the Zorn Palette Good for Landscapes and Plein Air Painting?
Yes. While the Zorn Palette is often associated with portraits and skin tones, it is also very useful for landscapes and plein air painting. Ivory Black mixed with Yellow Ochre can create muted greens. Yellow Ochre and Cadmium Red Light can create warm earth colors. Ivory Black and Titanium White can create soft grays for clouds, shadows, rocks, tree trunks, and atmospheric distance.
This makes the Zorn Palette a practical choice when you want to paint outdoors without carrying a large paint box. It keeps your setup simple, your color mixing focused, and your painting more unified.
Best Zorn Palette Recommendation for Beginners
If you are new to oil painting and want to buy better paint without overspending, start with a quality Zorn Palette from a reliable brand like Gamblin. These four colors will teach you more about color mixing, value, temperature, and paint handling than a large set of inexpensive paints.
Once you feel comfortable with the Zorn Palette, you can expand your palette by adding colors like French Ultramarine Blue, Burnt Sienna, Sap Green, or Cobalt Blue. But you do not need to start with everything. A small, high-quality palette is often the smartest way to begin.
Recommended Oil Paints at Huntsville Art Supplies
For Beginners
Start with Gamblin 1980 Oil Colors if you want a better-quality student line that keeps your budget manageable. This is a good choice for classes, practice, and learning color mixing.
For Serious Beginners and Intermediate Painters
Choose Gamblin Artist’s Oil Colors for your main palette. These are professional-quality paints with strong pigmentation and dependable handling.
For Professional Artists and Color Lovers
Add Williamsburg Artist Oil Colors when you want premium handmade character, rich earth colors, nuanced mixtures, and specialty pigments.
Best Practical Recommendation
Build your basic palette with Gamblin, then add select Williamsburg colors as your style develops. This gives you a dependable foundation with room to explore more expressive, specialty colors.
How to Use Oil Paint More Effectively
Good paint helps, but good habits matter too. These tips will help beginners and experienced painters get better results from Gamblin, Williamsburg, or any professional oil paint.
- Use fewer colors at first. A limited palette helps you learn color mixing faster.
- Use enough paint. Do not scrub tiny amounts of paint across the canvas. Oil paint works best when you let it have body.
- Mix with a palette knife. This keeps your mixtures cleaner and saves your brushes.
- Pay attention to drying time. Different pigments and binders dry at different speeds.
- Keep your whites consistent. Titanium White is powerful and can quickly lighten mixtures, so add it gradually.
- Do not buy every pretty color. Learn your core palette first, then add specialty colors with intention.
Frequently Asked Questions About Oil Paint
What is the best oil paint for beginners?
For most beginners, Gamblin 1980 Oil Colors are a strong choice because they offer good quality at a more approachable price. Serious beginners may want to start with Gamblin Artist’s Oil Colors for a professional-grade palette.
Is Gamblin oil paint good?
Yes. Gamblin is highly regarded because its Artist’s Oil Colors have strong pigmentation, dependable handling, and a wide range of traditional and modern colors.
Is Williamsburg oil paint good?
Yes. Williamsburg Artist Oils are premium handmade oil paints known for rich, nuanced colors and traditional craftsmanship.
Is the Zorn Palette good for beginners?
Yes. The Zorn Palette is excellent for beginners because it uses only four oil paint colors: Ivory Black, Cadmium Red Light, Yellow Ochre, and Titanium White. This limited palette helps beginners learn color mixing, value, temperature, skin tones, and landscape colors without buying a large set of paints.
Can you mix skin tones with the Zorn Palette?
Yes. The Zorn Palette is one of the best limited palettes for mixing skin tones. By adjusting the amount of Ivory Black, Cadmium Red Light, Yellow Ochre, and Titanium White, artists can mix a wide range of light, medium, and deep skin tones.
Is the Zorn Palette good for landscape painting?
Yes. The Zorn Palette can be used for landscape and plein air painting. Ivory Black and Yellow Ochre can create muted greens, Cadmium Red Light and Yellow Ochre can create warm earth tones, and Titanium White helps build lighter values for skies, clouds, rocks, and atmospheric distance.
What is the difference between linseed oil and safflower oil in oil paint?
Linseed oil and safflower oil are both drying oils used to bind pigment in oil paint, but they affect the paint differently. Linseed oil is one of the most common binders in traditional oil paint. It generally creates a strong paint film and is often used in many professional oil colors. Safflower oil is paler and is often used in lighter colors, especially whites, because it is less likely to yellow compared with linseed oil. However, safflower oil can dry more slowly and may create a slightly softer paint film.
For beginners, the main thing to know is this: the oil binder can affect drying time, texture, and long-term appearance. This is one reason it helps to build your basic palette from one reliable brand, such as Gamblin, and then add specialty colors from brands like Williamsburg as you learn how different paints behave.
Should beginners buy professional oil paint?
Beginners do not need to buy every color in professional-grade paint, but they should avoid extremely cheap paint that makes learning harder. A small number of quality colors is usually better than a large set of weak colors.
What oil paint colors should I buy first?
Start with Titanium White, Yellow Ochre, a warm yellow, a red or crimson, Ultramarine Blue, Burnt Sienna, an umber, and possibly a green and black. If you want the most minimal option, start with a Zorn Palette: Ivory Black, Cadmium Red Light, Yellow Ochre, and Titanium White.
What does “hue” mean on an oil paint tube?
“Hue” usually means the paint is made to resemble a more expensive pigment but does not use the same pigment. Hues can be useful for budget reasons, but they may not mix or perform exactly like the genuine color.
Is Gamblin better than Williamsburg?
Not necessarily. Gamblin is often the better starting point for a dependable basic palette, while Williamsburg is excellent for artists who want handmade character, nuanced colors, and premium specialty pigments.
Where can I buy Gamblin and Williamsburg oil paint in Huntsville?
You can shop for high-quality oil paints, including Gamblin and Williamsburg, at Huntsville Art Supplies. Shopping locally also gives you the benefit of seeing colors in person and asking questions before you buy.
If you are shopping for oil paint in Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville Art Supplies carries high-quality oil paints for beginners, students, hobbyists, and professional artists.
Final Thoughts: Buy Better Paint, Not More Paint
The best oil paint is the one that helps you paint with confidence. For most artists, that means choosing quality over quantity.
If you are just getting started, build a simple palette with Gamblin oil paint. If you want the smallest useful beginner palette, try the Zorn Palette with Ivory Black, Cadmium Red Light, Yellow Ochre, and Titanium White. If you are ready to explore richer, more nuanced professional colors, add Williamsburg oil paint to your collection.
At Huntsville Art Supplies, we carry high-quality oil paints for beginners, hobbyists, students, and professional artists. Whether you are buying your first tube of Titanium White or building a professional studio palette, we can help you choose paints that make the learning process easier and the painting experience more enjoyable.
