M. Graham & Co. 5 Color Acrylic Set Art - Paints, Plus 6th Color (GRM-22-SET)

I've purchased four colors from M. Graham from the acrylic line, every one of them I rate at five stars. I only choose single pigment colors for better mixing control. Additionally I like to work with a limited palette of 12 and this makes for 1/3 of my curated selection.I've provided photos of pure color painted over a thick stroke of black permanent marker; and a swatch mixed with 50% titanium white, all on Strathmore 400 series 246lb Acrylic paper. Please note that depending on how your monitor is calibrated this may not display color completely accurately. Also, it's a bit of a challenge photographing in the correct and consistent light.I do have my favorite pigments within different brands but M. Graham has won me over with these:Quinacridone Rose (PV19): This is my go-to cool red. I love the intense violet red tone. This mixes up some gorgeous rosy pinks; semi-transparent.Yellow Ochre (PY43): I love this deep, vibrant, natural alternative to PY42. Where I can find natural, I'll choose it for earth tones and botanical paintings. This particular one has a slight green hint which is beautiful; this is completely opaque.Terra Rosa (PR101): This earth color has a heartbeat I'm sure. PR101 is also used for burnt sienna but this time it is processed to produce a gorgeous earth red, even prettier than Indian, Venetian or Mars I think! This is my all-time favorite acrylic color; has a cool cast for an earth red; opaqueRaw Umber (PBr7): I love this sombre earthy black. Love the warm tones in this; I use this as a natural black (not so harsh!); opaqueI really appreciate the thick, creamy, buildable texture of M. Graham paints and the reported lightfastness, perfect for creating commissioned and gallery pieces. I like that these are produced in small batches too by an Oregon-owned company (I live in Oregon), and that they are committed to manufacturing safer paints for both the environment and the artist.These are high quality pigments that I will keep coming back for to restock.

I don't know why this review wanted to know how sheer this paint was. I don't want my acrylic paints to be sheer! This paint is not sheer ~ it's a good heavy body acrylic. As for the color, I wasn't aware there was a cadmium red DEEP hue. What a wonderful addition to my paint collection! Cadmium colors "burn". I'd been unhappy that I had to deepen cadmium red with scarlet or other non cadmium colors. Now I don't. Now my paint burns from light yellow through the deepest of reds. If you haven't tried the cadmium red deep yet, I strongly urge you to do so!

Uses walnut oil as base

Lovely. I am a freelance Artist and I get tired of basic/common pigments so I tried this Viridian.It's very nice. It has a very strong pigment but still keeps a nice level of translucency. A little goes a long way so it should last for a while. Seems to last longer on my palette as well, some paints dry so quickly. I also got this on sale so the price point was excellent. I will absolutely buy M. Graham acrylics again, I'm excited to try more of their products.

It was not as thick as I had expected, or hoped for

This is an almost exact dark red/blueish tone as Alizarin Crimson, with almost the same level of transparency. This pigment, however, is very lightfast unlike Alizarin Crimson. This is a MUCH more accurate substitute than any of the Alizarin Crimson Hues offered by Golden or Liquitex. Not sure why those other brands sell a 2-3 pigment mixture that doesn't look or behave like the real thing when this exists. Oddly, nobody else seems to offer this pigment at all.

This is a very solid paint, smooth and long lasting.

I love my. graham paints because of their walnut oil base and no need for toxic solvents. They are just as reliable or durable as the standard linseed oil paints, perhaps even more reliable since they have been used since the same time period as linseed oils, and they have none of the odor. they are far easier to work with and I know I am still getting the top quality that you would expect with professional grade brands that use linseed oil. All of my linseed oil paints are no longer being used because this paint is just so much better with none of the Hassel. All I need is m.graham paints and m. graham walnut oil, my brushes, palette, and canvas, and I am ready to go. I am VERY GRATEFUL that I will no longer need the solvents/mineral spirits because I always hated the smell and hated getting it on my hands and have to constantly wash my hands. The same goes for the walnut oil based paint, it has no smell and I feel a lot safer when I get some of it on my hands while painting.