What can you get with a basic palette of colors? One of the things we're really interested in at the Paint List is hue and color gamut. However we're also paying attention to texture and the painting experience.

To make comparisons between brands we painted a series of high chroma color wheels with different paint lines. While we've used these pigments a lot on the palette, to limit oneself to a single brand can help in making general comments. Sometimes a brand will have a couple of standout colors, however we're looking for general patterns across colors to make comments on consistency and other variables.

For Gamblin the main takeaway was the texture.

Gamblin tends to make a very impasto-feeling paint. Usually we'd dilute this on the palette with mediums or oils, however we did not do this here. In order to make comparisons across brands we used the paint right out of the tube.

We found there were differences (within the Gamblin paints) in the variety of impasto feeling from color to color.

To standardize the way we made these color wheels we chose the same high-chroma classic pigments for each brand. The process of painting a color wheel using only one brand gives a sense of the working consistency in general.

For this color wheel we used Cadmium Red Deep, Cadmium Red Medium, Cadmium Red Light, Cadmium Orange Deep, Cadmium Orange, Cadmium Yellow Deep, Cadmium Yellow Medium, Cadmium Yellow Light, Cadmium Lemon, Phthalo Emerald, Phthalo Green, Phthalo Blue, Ultramarine Blue, Dioxazine Violet, Quinacridone Magenta, and Titanium White.

The main takeaway for Gamblin was the thickness. The colors were pretty bright, the cadmiums had a good range, and we liked that there were two phthalo greens so that we could get those extra lime notes with PG36.

Overall, Gamblin oil paints tend to be impasto paints right out of the tube. Yes, we know most painters modify them with about 100 mediums and oils (we used to do this too, and have since changed up our painting practices). So no, we will not be covering mediums (like Gamblin neo-meglip or their solvent free gel or any of those other interesting inventions-- not even Gamsol). We got to know paints on a different scale when making our own convenience blends for a color theory project.

We first began to notice Gamblin's paint texture when we used large quantities of Gamblin paint.

We were working with Gamblin Phthalo Green and began to notice a gel-like texture to this color. The Gamblin Titanium White is also fairly thick.

On the Paint List, we tend to link to smaller tubes. However, if you want to purchase large cans, you can browse all sizes of Gamblin paints at Blick.

The more gel-like impasto colors include Phthalo Green PG7 and Phthalo Emerald PG36 and many others. Overall this texture was not our favorite, but phthalos are somewhat forgiving when it comes to additives as they need to be diluted for most applications.

There are also some paints with a somewhat gritty, clay-like impasto feel and which differed from the a gel-like impasto. Gamblin has different impasto varieties depending on the color. And then there are a few colors with a totally different feel yet.

The clay-like impasto feeling reminds one a bit of calcium carbonate (though we don't know if they add chalk or how they formulate things). This thick impasto is found in some of their inorganic colors such as cadmium red deep, cadmium yellow light, and genuine cerulean.

Some Gamblin cadmium colors differed in consistency. Gamblin Cadmium Orange was a much softer paint - note the thinner string and falling peaks on the left- than Cadmium Yellow Light on the right.

The consistency varied among the cadmium colors. A few cadmiums such as Cadmium Lemon were not nearly as impasto as the others. Cadmium Red Medium and Cadmium Red Light were less intensely impasto than Cadmium Red Deep. It is worth noting that these paints dry quite matte (speaking of an unvarnished state).

Flake White Replacement

This color was also a departure from the normal Gamblin consistency. As an attempt to replace Flake White, this actually has some good things going for it.

Nothing can replace genuine lead white because of the film strength that lead white imparts, however this paint did a pretty good job at gesturing to some of lead white's qualities. Flake White Replacement is still at heart a titanium white.

The paint was lacquer-like and thick, overall it was a bit warmer than regular Titanium, it tended to flatten when swirled with the palette knife, and also became a bit stringy.

The main benefit to painters would probably be that it is less of a strong tinter than the regular Gamblin Titanium White.

For painters where lead white is unavailable (or for those who do not want lead's toxicity) this is an interesting alternative to try.

Find out more about Flake White Replacement.

The three Gamblin PW6 colors: Radiant White, Flake White Replacement, and Titanium White.

In general, Gamblin's Radiant White is a super light and fluffy safflower oil paint which tints mixtures powerfully.

Gamblin's classic Titanium White has a crisp, sculptable impasto. The texture is polished in comparison to some other titanium white paints we've tried.

Finally, Flake White Replacement (which, we feel would be better named Flake White Hue) cannot replace the chemical nor the structural elements of Flake White which lend to genuine Flake White's permanence. We do not know what else is in it (in addition to the stand oil) nor can we say how it may change over time. However for a Titanium White it is amazing how they were able to emulate some of the Flake White feel.

In some colors the tinting strength was ok. Some of the Gamblin cadmiums shine for chroma and less so for highest tinting strength. However they are quite bright.

In this particular comparison of mid-tier brands, Gamblin's Cadmium Red Medium appeared to have comparable tinting strength to Winsor and Newton's Cadmium Reds.

As always, we recommend doing your own lightfastness tests. A couple of colors to look out for could be those which contain PY3, PV23, PR112, and possibly even PY74. Prussian Blue PB27 was also revealed to have some unexpected lightfastness testing results.

In general: the lightfastness of colors may need revision depending on which white paints are used with that color. New tests for lightfastness are being developed by the ASTM which take into account the ways in which different white paints interact with pigments. There have also been changes in pigment manufacture over the years which could impact the lightfastness of a couple of colors. For this reason, we always recommend doing some lightfastness tests.

Genuine Alizarin Crimson

Changes are also possibly coming to Gamblin's genuine Alizarin Crimson, PR83. This is due to wider changes in the pigment industry, not due to Gamblin specifically. This color (PR83) has been beloved by artists, however its lightfastness is not good-- it is LFIII. Due to the changes, in late 2023 Gamblin announced that they would no longer be selling genuine Alizarin in can form, though it is still available at the time of this writing in tubes.

While Alizarin Crimson is still available in their Artist professional line, it has already been removed from the Gamblin 1980s oils and has been replaced with PR177.

Available while supplies last (please bear in mind we cannot guarantee the formulation, please check with the retailer to be sure their website reflects the most current information).

Gamblin's professional line is the choice of many fine artists that we know personally, and we've painted with Gamblin in years past. It's a paint that comes ready-made if you are looking for an off-the-shelf impasto solution. Our only caveat comes along with not knowing how the paint is formulated as well as the need for mediums to modify it if you're painting in thinner layers. Since we don't know the binders, additives, and specific ingredients, for the highest requirements of archival work, those elements would need to be known so that their effects could be taken into account. For thinner painting a person may need to modify most Gamblin colors. If a person is modifying using mediums, this can add chemical complexity to the paint films.

One of the things Gamblin seems to be aiming for is impasto working qualities even at rather warm ambient temperatures. If this kind of paint consistency is important to you, Gamblin could be a paint to try.

We like that Gamblin has a decent range of single-pigment colors and that they disclose their pigments. Their cadmiums are bright and they offer genuine cobalts and ceruleans. We appreciate the Radiant color line of convenience colors since most colors on the palette end up mixed with titanium white anyway, these pastel blends save time mixing.

Happy painting!

More Resources:

Paint List video on Gamblin White Paints

Discover the line of Gamblin Artist Oil colors on Paint List

Videos of individual Gamblin Colors