Williamsburg founder and painter Carl Plansky entered the paint business as the result of a happy accident. In 1985, Plansky obtained his first paint mill from fellow artist Milton Resnick in return for continuing to make paint for Resnick, a task that had become too arduous for the artist to continue.
Working from his new mill in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, Plansky began making paint for Resnick, himself, and others. Experimenting with materials on a large scale, he eventually discovered how to make an oil paint that was richly pigmented and dense. Although he had no plans to sell his paint, within a year Plansky’s artist-friends had bartered and bought enough paint from him to turn Plansky into the master supplier of the Williamsburg art crowd. The “underground legend” that was Williamsburg Handmade Oil Paints was eventually made available to the public.
Today, Plansky’s paint-makers continue to source the best raw materials in the world, importing pigments from dozens of countries. Each is carefully ground to enhance the beauty and luminosity specific to each pigment, then ground into pure, premium, alkali-refined and pH-balanced linseed oil. Every color in the line possesses a unique consistency and texture — some are slightly gritty, and some are extremely smooth.
Every color is made in small batches no larger than five gallons at a time to ensure the highest level of control over the product. In addition, every ingredient is hand-measured, and every ounce of paint is scrutinized.
Carl Plansky died on October 10, 2009, at the age of 58. The artist-craftsmen of Williamsburg Artist Materials, trained by Plansky to make paint like artists, are dedicated to ensuring that his legacy continues. They invite you to experience Williamsburg Handmade Oil Paints.
Note — Use this color chart as an approximation of the real color. If exact color matching is necessary, use actual samples of the materials.
I'm very pleased with Williamsburg paints. I bought my first tubes a couple weeks ago and have found them to be very smooth and creamy. I'm able to keep the paints on my palette for several days before they even start to harden any.
This product’s quality compared to similar, competitive alternatives is:
Best in its category
The price of this product compared to similar, competitive alternatives is:
A solid value
10/16/2010
(11 of 11 customers found this review helpful)
5.0
Awesome Paint
By akabrady
from Salt Lake City
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Best Uses
Comments about Williamsburg Handmade Oil Paints:
I've used Winsor and Newton, Old Holland, Gamblin, Grumbacher and other paints, but hands down Williamsburg beats them all. I was taking a class and the instructor wanted to show how tinting with white could change the colors of paint so she took some yellow cadmium light in W&N, Gamblin, and my Williamsburg and mixed them to the same value and it was obvious to everyone in the class (even beginners) that the Williamsburg took far less paint to tint the white and the color had more vibrancy. The instructor was so impressed she asked where she could get some!
This product’s quality compared to similar, competitive alternatives is:
Best in its category
The price of this product compared to similar, competitive alternatives is:
A solid value
6/14/2010
(5 of 5 customers found this review helpful)
5.0
Quality Matters
By Hiker
from Myrtle Beach, SC
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Best Uses
Comments about Williamsburg Handmade Oil Paints:
Over the years, I've used numerous brands of oil paints and have been content with a couple of brands. A friend suggested that I move to a higher quality paint and suggested Williamsburg paints. I didn't expect to really notice any difference but was pleasantly surprised. Blatantly noticeable was the difference in depth of colour. The quality and painstaking effort put into the selection of pigments and the process of mixing shows a deep care for perfection. Each batch is made using processes dating back hundreds of years and quality is paramount. I am sold and will be replacing my paints with nothing but Williamsburg paint from this point forward.
This product’s quality compared to similar, competitive alternatives is:
Really nice
The price of this product compared to similar, competitive alternatives is:
A solid value
6/2/2010
(9 of 10 customers found this review helpful)
5.0
Simply Amazing
By Staggerlee
from Naperville
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Comments about Williamsburg Handmade Oil Paints:
As a life long Gamblin user, I came to Williamsburg out of curiosity and was not disappointed. Pigment load is fantstic, very little if any separation in the tube. Textures vary amongst the pigments as they are supposed to (Gamblin falls short here as do most, trying to make a homogenized paint to satisfy all...) Buy it by the can and save yourself some money in the (short turn) long run.
Williamsburg and some R&F Pigment Sticks and a primed panel is pure joy...
It will not make you a better painter, but you will become one b/c you will want to put away all your other needs and just paint, and that's how you get better.
This product’s quality compared to similar, competitive alternatives is:
Best in its category
The price of this product compared to similar, competitive alternatives is:
A solid value
5/2/2010
(7 of 7 customers found this review helpful)
5.0
My Favorite Paints!
By James the painter
from Kentucky
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Best Uses
Comments about Williamsburg Handmade Oil Paints:
Good: Williamsburg oil paints are mostly single pigmented paints. A few convenience mixtures such as sap green, kings blue and sevres blue. I like how smooth they are from the tube. There usually isn't a ton of oil at the top of the tube(a few drops isn't bad). Tube construction is nice. The concentration of pigment in each tube is awesome yet not so much that it prevents you from using them straight from the tube. There are so many colors to choose from with all your basic palette colors and then more specific unusual colors such as turkey umber, roman earth, and cyprus orange. Pretty much all of their earth tones are awesome esp. the italian earths although they can be a bit on the grainy side which most people don't mind. Whites are nice to use smooth and opaque. I love their cads and cobalt colors. Pyrazolone reds are really nice too. The names of each color are usually the pigment name. They don't name their colors after themselves which is nice. You won't find williamsburg red for example.
Bad: I don't have much bad to say about williamsburg oil paints. Some things I wish they made; a true cobalt green deep and light (actual green color), a true pb74 cobalt blue deep, and a vanadium bismuth oxide yellow light (py184) for a true opaque lemon yellow color.
This product’s quality compared to similar, competitive alternatives is:
Best in its category
The price of this product compared to similar, competitive alternatives is:
A solid value
3/7/2010
(1 of 2 customers found this review helpful)
5.0
Loved the product
By shacha
from Plymouth, MI
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Comments about Williamsburg Handmade Oil Paints:
I loved how the paint was just so smooth. It's perfect.
This product’s quality compared to similar, competitive alternatives is:
Best in its category
The price of this product compared to similar, competitive alternatives is:
Average
3/6/2010
(0 of 3 customers found this review helpful)
5.0
Williamsburg Paint is GREAT
By The Croup
from CA
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Best Uses
Comments about Williamsburg Handmade Oil Paints:
Over all Williamsburg Paint is among the best made oil paint in the world. It is fantastic.
This product’s quality compared to similar, competitive alternatives is:
Best in its category
The price of this product compared to similar, competitive alternatives is:
A solid value
12/3/2009
(8 of 8 customers found this review helpful)
5.0
1st quality paint at a reasonable price
By Linda C
from Cincinnati, OH
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Comments about Williamsburg Handmade Oil Paints:
Beautiful earth tones, especially the Italian Siennas. French Cerulean is exquisite. Their Phalo colors are truly usable when mixed with traditional pigments to cut the overly clean quality of synthetic pigments. This seems easier to accomplish than with other brands; while still very strong they don't seem to overwhelm other pigments quite as readily. When I first tried Williamsburg I ordered some tubes of Old Holland at the same time. I would say Williamsburg is comparable in quality, and a much better value for the dollar. Buying a product made in the U.S. (Brooklyn!) allowed me to take this step up in quality while keeping the price far more affordable than an imported paint would be. [...] Studio size colors are especially good deals.
This product’s quality compared to similar, competitive alternatives is:
Best in its category
The price of this product compared to similar, competitive alternatives is:
A fantastic deal
11/1/2009
(6 of 6 customers found this review helpful)
5.0
Fantastic consitency and tintingstrength
By Paint Obcesser
from Ojai, CA
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Best Uses
Comments about Williamsburg Handmade Oil Paints:
The Texture of these colors is enough reason to buy them. The Flake and Titanium whites are creamy, handle well on the brush and mix well for my Alla Prima work. Their transparent colors i.e Ultramarine Blue, Phthalo green, remain a little stringy witch i like, they have the most intense tinting strength. Their cobalt blue is something special, it is almost opaque and works well for a 3 color palette with white.
All of these colors have a lot of care put into them so you don't get much loose oil coming out of the tube. However the tubes are not the best because they do not have enough spare metal at the end, though you do get some extra paint out of it.
This product’s quality compared to similar, competitive alternatives is:
Best in its category
The price of this product compared to similar, competitive alternatives is:
Average
7/15/2009
(4 of 4 customers found this review helpful)
5.0
love it, Love It, LOVE IT
By Carrie Painter
from Portland OR
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Comments about Williamsburg Handmade Oil Paints:
Fabulous paint. Solid pigment through and through. Gorgeous mixes, smooth and consistent. These guys know how to make paint.
This product’s quality compared to similar, competitive alternatives is:
Best in its category
The price of this product compared to similar, competitive alternatives is: