Review Beautiful line of oil paint

[Jerry Hutter]

In the forty years I've been painting I have used them all, Enamels, Plaka, Acrylics and of course my favorite Oil paint. Even though the last five years have been an acrylic palette Oil paint has always given me the most satisfaction. The only reason I switched to acrylics was the inconsistent finish of oils. Matte, glossy and somewhere in between. That is until now. I tried the new Sennelier Rive Gauche oil paint and was blown away by the high opacity beautiful colors and more importantly, the quick drying aspect that dries to an almost imperceptible slight sheen without the use of heat or additives. The cadmiums are cadmium free but just as nice as real cadmium without the health risk. I put my oil painted figures on top of the water heater and this brand dried completely in a few hours and MATTE! Give them a try Jerry's Art supply has 40mm tubes at $4.29 each I bought a basic set of the three primary colors they offer plus Ivory black and Titanium white.

 

[lpa53]

I may give these a try, especially since they can be purchased in small tubes. Are they similar to fast-drying alkyds?

 

[TERRYSOMME1916]

This sounds good as I paint in oils but pine for that consistent matt finish, only problem is I will need to check out if they are available in the UK so that I can give them a try.
Thanks for the tip.
TERRY

 

[Elmar]

Does "gauche" mean those are made with the use of chalk?

 

[brian]

In the forty years I've been painting I have used them all, Enamels, Plaka, Acrylics and of course my favorite Oil paint. Even though the last five years have been an acrylic palette Oil paint has always given me the most satisfaction. The only reason I switched to acrylics was the inconsistent finish of oils. Matte, glossy and somewhere in between. That is until now. I tried the new Sennelier Rive Gauche oil paint and was blown away by the high opacity beautiful colors and more importantly, the quick drying aspect that dries to an almost imperceptible slight sheen without the use of heat or additives. The cadmiums are cadmium free but just as nice as real cadmium without the health risk. I put my oil painted figures on top of the water heater and this brand dried completely in a few hours and MATTE! Give them a try Jerry's Art supply has 40mm tubes at $4.29 each I bought a basic set of the three primary colors they offer plus Ivory black and Titanium white.

Hi Jerry
I've been painting with oils for over 25 years,and i fancy trying these to see how they go.Do you know if they can be mixed with normal artist oils?
Brian

 

[Jerry Hutter]

Hey Brian, Yes they mix with all brands of oils. The brochure says they dry twice as fast as other brands. I like the fact they're very opaque and not oily but again I only have five colors to play with. I will order the cadmiums which are not true cadmium which is a good thing. Read about the features on the Sennelier web site which prompted me to give them a go.

 

[hypertex]

Does "gauche" mean those are made with the use of chalk?

"Gauche" is french for "left" or "awkward." Not to be confused with "gouache," which is a paint related to water colors.

 

[grasshopper]

left bank. Rive gauche...artist quarter in Paris...

 

[hypertex]

I must say I a disappointed in the current trend of paint makers not disclosing the pigments that make up their cadmium substitutes. One huge advantage of using artist paints is that they tell you which pigments can be found in each tube. They have been doing so for years. This gives the artist knowledge about how the paint will behave in the long term.

This new trend of secret pigments is not good for artists. We have no way of knowing if the secret pigments have been tested for permanency, lightfastness, or toxicity. For all we know, they are selling crap pigments in a fancy wrapper.

I hope this trend does not continue.

 

[grasshopper]

I noticed Utrecht has same story with their non cadmium alternates...probably will dissipate as others do the same..in favour of these would be safer airbrushing for those with the skill to run oil washes thru an AB. At least these paints are relatively cheap so it’s not like spending huge money and being bummed...

 

[frank h]

Hi
Found a UK retailer these paints https://www.jacksonsart.com/rive-gauche-oil-paint

Frank

 

[Tecumsea]

https://www.jacksonsart.com/brands/sennelier/sennelier-rive-gauche

Currently on offer until 24th September at £2.40 per tube.

Keith

 

[Dolf]

"Rive Gauche", as "grasshoper" mentions above, is indeed French for "Left Bank" (of the river Seine), that in the old days was indeed the artists quarter in Paris.

Now, this branch, from Sennelier, looks attractive, given the descriptions above by Jerry Hutter, and what I've read on the Sennelier website and from some retailers.

As opposed to others here I've never used oil paints! So I'm a total newbie regarding the subject.

Which let's say, 5 to 10 tubes would the experts here recommend, that everyone starting now painting busts, with oil paints, should have?

I suppose that White Titanium is a must, right? A few more? Which ones?

Thanks.

Cheers!

Dolf

 

[grasshopper]

Two routes..one is traditional palette similar to that a canvass painter would recommend, landscape or portrait...the simple palette of your Ti, ivory black, a cad red, an alizarin crimson, an ultramarine blue, a cad yellow, earth tones...variations on the theme suited to miniatures can be found on figurementors with articles by Dmitry Fesechko, Kyle Kolbe...Or...think about Kagamusha and his near total dedication to transparent and transluscent tones...check the Rive Gauche colour chart and select some trans brown, yellow ones...also, while relatively cheap, the Rive Gauche line might prove light on pigment and suited to underpainting in acrylic or enable then application of the oils. Myself, along with the exemplary guys I referred to above, we use oils exclusively. Takes some fiddling, but oils offer some imagination link to the past, afford an opportunity to develop a signature style...some aren’t keen on oils for small scales..54 mm...some only use them for flesh...but I am a committed fan boy and use em for everything. That said, metallics in oils may not be quite as universally useful as metallic acrylics..
Assemble a little set of say 9 or ten...give em a go..It’s fun stuff to play with...don’t bet your favourite sculpt on them at first tho!

 

[Dolf]

Thanks a lot man!

Ok, I've already used a couple of oils but so far always for the same purposes: skin and leather on a few figures. So always the same 3 colors (yes, now, thanks to Ron - "kagemusha" - teachings, I know that I can use a lot more colors just for different types of leather, and/or skin, etc), Burnt Sienna, Raw Umber (Lefranc & Bourgeois) and Olievert (Van Gogh). That's my entire experience with oil paints.

I've assembled and painted a few figures, but mainly using enamels, only for the details mentioned above (skin, leather) I've used oils.

I've never painted a bust so far, intend to paint soon my 1st one (the same bust of Viriato that was until recently the subject of Ron's last SBS, that apparently ended abruptly because of a devastating accident...), and as I've been following Ron's teachings I obviously intend to use oils.

Then, my next goals are perhaps a couple of American Indians (particular skin color, colorful clothes, etc) and then it depends on how it goes with these. There's also a couple of busts I may give a try, there's a Lawrence of Arabia I like a lot, there's a Rudger Hauer on the final scene of "Blade Runner" that I also like a lot, so that should be my path in the near-mid term future on this hobby (I still enjoy assembling some WWII aircraft, old cars from the "golden age", etc, "normal" modeling interests as I'd call it but for those I guess I'll keep using enamels, and perhaps start using some acrylics).

Anyway, in short, your advised list for a start, and help becoming familiar with oils, if I got it right, would be (I should have the opportunity to visit an artist's store later today, and intend to give some of these "Rive Gauche" a try) :

- White Titanium
- Ivory Black
- Cadmium Red
- Alizarin Crimson
- Ultramarine Blue
- Cadmium Yellow
- Earth tones ?...
- Transparent Brown
- Transparent Yellow

Would that list suit my goals, as described above?

Thanks again.

Cheers!

Dolf

 

[grasshopper]

Yup..burnt umber, burnt sienna or raw umber, yellow ochre for the basic earths..

 

[Dolf]

Yup..burnt umber, burnt sienna or raw umber, yellow ochre for the basic earths..

Was editing my previous post, didn't notice you replied in the meantime

Ok, Burnt Sienna and Raw Umber, which I've been using for painting leather stuff, I still have some from Lefranc & Bourgeois. Don't have Yellow Ochre tho. Should I include it on the first 5 "priorities"?...

I probably will get 4-5 of these "Rive Gauche" today (here they cost 3.57€ the 40ml tubes, so right now can't afford much more for the 1st purchase, also need one or two good brushes, maybe a thinner...).

Thanks again!

Cheers!

Dolf

PS: Doesn't it look like leather?...






Effect done using mainly Burnt Sienna and/or Raw Umber, and/or a mix of both.

 

[grasshopper]

Don’t sweat the thinners..brush on

 

[Dolf]

Hi!

So I paid a visit to a artists store today, and got a few oil paints.

I guess I didn't take proper note of the right colors I needed, and there was some confusion...

Anyway, from "Rive Gauche" I got 4: Titanium White, Burnt Umber, Raw Sienna and Naples Yellow. All these are, as marked on the tubes are opaque, none is transparent!

Then, as apparently "Rive Gauche" doesn't have Lamp Black (which I believe I've read here somewhere would be an important color for a start), I got from from "Van Gogh" Lamp Black. This one is semi-transparent, I think (or semi-opaque?...) .

Apparently "Rive Gauche" doesn't have the King's Blue Light (also mentioned somewhere here), so for now I got no blue at all.

Silly me I didn't brought the list I posted above (those oils you suggested), so I'm still missing most of them:

- Cadmium Red ("Rive Gauche" has this Cadmium Red, I just missed it because I didn't bring the damn list with me )
- Alizarin Crimson (they also have this one! )
- Ultramarine Blue ("Rive Gauche" has a "French Ultramarine Blue", is it the same?)
- Cadmium Yellow (as for this one they even have a "light" one and a "darker" one!... )

As for the Black I got, is Lamp Black the same as Ivory Black (just different names from different branches?), or are they significantly different?

As for the "Transparent Brown" and "Transparent Yellow", they don't have those with such exact denomination, so can it be any yellow and any brown that are transparent (listed as such on the tubes) ?



"Don’t sweat the thinners..brush on"

Not sure what you mean by that, but I suppose you mean that I apply "too much" thinner on my oils?...

I know, according to Ron ("kagemusha") that he brushes most of his subjects just "out of the tube", as he mentions on some posts, but for my own defense I must say that these couple of old (and they really are old, a few decades old!) oil paints I've used before, Burnt Sienna and Raw Umber, especially the Burnt Sienna, are quite dry inside the tubes! I've been using them recently because these were the only ones available, and I've often used them for imitating leather, as in this case with the seats of a 1/24 1931 R-R I'm finishing building...
Guess that won't be necessary with new oils, of course. But I still got a thinner from the store, "Green for Oil" from Sennelier

And a couple of new brushes, apparently recommended for oil paints... Will see...

Now I'll have to put my hands on a nice bust and see what I'm capable of doing...


Thanks!


Cheers!

Dolf

 

[Kevin D.]

Is anyone having trouble with the carrier leaking out of the tube in large amounts before getting to the actual pigments? I bought 5 or so and like them but am having this problem a lot! I squeeze the tube and gets lots and lots of liquid first.

Thanks

Kevin D.