How Real Oil Paint Was Made

The Legacy of Traditional Oil Paint Making and Why Tusc & Pine Artists’ Oils are True To That History

When artists wanted to make paint before the 18th century (1700-), they made their colors or had apprentices make colors by using a stone slab to grind pigment with medium with a muller made of glass, wood or stone.

The colors they used were fairly much pigment and various types of oil. They used linseed oil mainly. This is because the paint film is much more stable and stronger for protection as this was more archival.

In the late 18th and 19th centuries, paint-making saw revolutionary improvements. Chemists and artisans, utilizing stone triple rollers, achieved unmatched color beauty and stability.

Innovations in paint storage, from pig bladders to metal tubes, and the introduction of long-lasting additives marked the evolution of oil paints over the next 200 years.

The Modern Era of Paint: Acrylics and Their Limitations

The 1950s and 1960s introduced acrylic paints, offering new possibilities but with a specific pigment load. Too much pigment would cause peeling. Acrylics therefore are naturally less expensive to produce because they can’t be fully pigmented like oils.

This period saw oil color manufacturers also creating acrylics, leading to the use of fillers and thickeners to reduce pigment content, and the adoption of modern, lightfast pigments designed originally for automobiles.

At first, they made colors with lots of fillers and eventually did not use high priced classic pigments and more and more paint makers took to this approach. Depending on when and the brand was created, they were either filled with either lots of oil and later this gave way to additives that would mimic the natural qualities of oil colors.

Customers could not easily distinguish between oil colors as the mass tone is what was essentially used to compare oil colors. However, that is not the way to actually buy the best oil color.

A New Standard in Oil Colors

The question was, how do we make a color that would be better than what the Old Masters used in many aspects while using new pigments that Old Masters never had a chance to use?

At Tusc & Pine, we’ve embraced a lengthy development process to create oil colors that surpass even those used by the Old Masters. Utilizing advanced pigments unavailable in the past, many of which are non-organic or rare pigments that had fallen out of favor, we have redefined what professional oil colors can achieve.

Tusc & Pine Artists’ oil colors are milled using state-of-the-art technology that ensures each pigment reaches its peak color strength. Our sophisticated mills maintain consistent formulas, resulting in absolute consistency and unparalleled color quality.

High-tech computer automated 3-roll milling process

There was only one oil color that could even be considered as a benchmark and it was first developed in the 17th century!

Yet even this color maker used unsophisticated mills and therefore the absolute beauty of the pigment simply was not achieved, but came close.

The Tusc & Pine Difference

It was a dauting task to find better mills to ensure that the pigment was ground to the zenith of its color strength. Not only did they find a better mill but they had one that kept the milling formula for each pigment in memory for absolute consistency.

Yet with all this science and all this milling quality it would be difficult for artists to discern a difference between Tusc and Pine and a lower priced “Professional” product. The time was right to create the color. However, a simple color chart was not useful for an educated decision of an oil painter.

After a few colors were milled the tests were better than anyone expected. To open the viewing window to what these amazing colors can do; they created a six-step way to view each color showing undertone, half white tone, half white/black tone and half black.

Tusc and Pine has no equal! Create paintings with a perfect oil color

Finally, showing the glaze (with added medium to be applied in very thin layers) could help artists to develop even better depth than ever before.

• Mass Tones shown are the unaltered colors, applied in a gradient thicker at the top and thinner at the bottom.
• Glazes shown have been thinned with clarified linseed oil.
• Tints shown are a 1:1 mixture of the color and Great White Oil Paint.
• Tones shown are a 2:1:1 mixture of the color, Tusc & Pine Ivory Black, and Great White Oil Paint.
• Shades shown are a 1:1 mixture of the color and Tusc & Pine Ivory Black.

Each Tusc & Pine color is meticulously crafted and tested, painted on separate panels to reveal the true potential of every hue. Developed with a recipe for each of the colors the result are mass tones and undertones that have great luminosity and beauty.

Now the investment into the best ever produced oil color was possible making Tusc & Pine the finest oil color available today.

Made in partnership with at Jerry’s Artarama

We are proud to offer Tusc & Pine Oil made in partnership with Jerry’s Artarama. Our oil colors are highly pigmented with best quality pigment of other professional oil colors, providing exceptional value and allowing artists to create powerful, vibrant paintings. Tusc & Pine’s superior milling ensures ideal pigment distribution in every tube, perfect for all painting techniques.

Believe in the Best

Experience the difference with Tusc & Pine. Pick up a tube of our Titanium White at Jerry’s Artarama and feel the weight of the color. Notice the richness and depth it brings to your palette. (Plus: 5 artist white oils available)

Yes, it is heavier because it is packed with the highest quality pigments, giving you the best value and performance in every stroke.

It might be hard to believe that the world’s best paint is made in Archdale, North Carolina, USA, but sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. To back our claim, Tusc & Pine offers a satisfaction guarantee. If you’re not convinced that Tusc & Pine is the best classic oil paint you’ve ever used, we will refund your purchase.

Elevate your artistry with Tusc & Pine, exclusively at Jerry’s Artarama.

More Resources

• The Best Oil Paint Brands
• Synthetic vs. Natural Brushes for Oil Painting
• How to Varnish Your Oil Paintings
• What is Underpainting in Oil Painting?