Holbein on facebook

I just found out from a representative from Holbein that they have a facebook page and if you have any questions regarding the Holbein Duo Aqua you can post your questions their.

Here's the link: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Williston-VT/HK-Holbein/217397232776?ref=search&v=wall

I haven't tried the Holbein product yet. Can anyone tell me what they found is the advantage?

And the website says thet have the Duo traditional and now an elite but waht is the difference?

Hi, Dale:

I have a copy of the Holbein Color Chart. The Elites are not really new...they've been around for at least 6 years. Anyway, they are the luminous colors and some colors that are a lavendar, light blue, and other colors that you just can't find anywhere else. I guess they're good for people that want every color they can find.

Dayle

Thanks dayle.

I know there was an thread on stiffness of Artisan paints, but I find them to juicy sometimes. I want to lay them on the surface, not have them melt in. So I thought I would try the Aqua Duos.

dale

I love the Holbein. I find them creamy not oily or not stiff. Just right. You can use water with them without their being a sticky issue.

I just received some Cobras and Holbeins, several tubes and some medium from Dick Blick. Cost me a fortune, but I was curious about them. Once my wife and I try them, I will post any observations.

Holbein DUOs main advantage is high pigmentation, which makes them more expensive, but worth it. They are also very consistent in creamy viscosity, whereas some of the other brands are unexpectedly stiff, oily, or okay. The Elites include cadmiums and cobalt which are reletively new additions to their color line.

Alan looking forward to hearing your observations on the two brands.

I mention "expensive", as 10 small tubes (5 Cobra and 5 in the same colour in Holbein) plus a small bottle of Medium for each cost me $160 CAN. This includes about $50 shipping. I think I will apply for a research grant:) Oh well, I didn't sign on to grumble, ha ha.

My wife and I are looking forward to testing these. I understand they handle differently and have different pigment loads, and so on. Cool. We might each paint 3 similar pieces using Artisans, Cobras and Holbeins, to compare. Or maybe we won't. Who knows? We're artists!!

WOW! Was the shipping so high because of going to Canada? isn't there any source in Canada where there wouldn't such high shipping charges? Your suggestion about three paintings with the three different paints sounds like a good challenge. I've used Cobra and Holbeins and found then pretty similar. The W/N's are stiffer, but they are also my original paints and have been around for quite a few years. Once I add a minimal amount of walnut oil to them, they flow just like the others. Good luck.

Judy

Yes, I ithink the shipping charges are for the "cross border" experience. Dick Blick informed me that since I was ordering "hazardous materials," FedEx was the only carrier who could deliver them. (wow). The shipping charge was increased from around $28 to about $50.
There were no suppliers of Cobra or Holbein in Canada that immediately came to mind. Curry's did not have those paints.The "hazardous materials" definition is a debatable one, of course. This is oil paint and oil medium in small quantities, carefully packaged.

Incidentally, we also ordered about 16 Langnickel series #5590 brushes from Jerry's Artarama. Once again, no suppliers this side of the border. These brushes seem to be highly recommended by painters, so we wanted to try them. The price on the brushes were approximately half the list price, (which was good) but some sizes are back ordered (which is bad.) Shipping for several brushes cost me about $30 for the first shipment, plus an additional $60 in border broker fees. Still waiting for the 5 or 6 back ordered brushes, which will likely cost me another $60 in additional fees. yikes.

Every activity costs money. This is just business as usual, but certainly makes me prudent in importing new products.

I'll try the brushes when I start my next new painting. Maybe combine new brushes and new paints, that would be neat. So far, Helen says they handle well, but leave a lot of hairs on the canvas.

watermixableguy wrote:

...There were no suppliers of Cobra or Holbein in Canada that immediately came to mind...

Try Omer DeSerres. They have Cobra on their website and have several stores around Canada. Their Montreal store used to carry DUOs also.

http://www.deserres.ca/en-ca/products/fine-arts/paint/oil/water-soluble/cobra-water-mixable-oil/495/THC/

Hi db;
I did check DeSerres, it appears they only sell them instore, not online. Of course, that is odd.
Nearest store to me is about 200 miles away, unfortunately. But it could be worth a long distance call to see what's on the shelf that day:)

Haven't been around in a long while. Just saw the question about the Holbein Elite colors.

Actually when Duo was introduced, Holbein tried to stay away from any "toxic" colors, touting them as nontoxic including being able to avoid solvents with water cleanup. Their initial color offerings included highly pigmented "hue" versions of colors containing cadmium, cobalt, etc. Even the names of many of the colors often were very generic, thus colors named red, blue yellow green, etc. It often drove me crazy when I tried to do color matching from other brands since the names were so wacky.

Eventually, and with much encouragement from Duo fans like myself, the Elite colors were "born". Since lines like Grumbacher Max carried the heavy metal colors, and Duo also was considered a professional artists' oil line (I think Duo is superior to Max IMHO), Holbein finally decided to put out the pure pigmented versions of many of those colors. I use water solubles because of allergies but I know seasoned oil artists found it hard to make the change to a line that omitted the heavy metal colors.

Although some of the original colors were discontinued, many of the original formulas stayed the same with only a name change reflecting more familiar names - like Cadmium Red HUE. The Elites are more expensive than the regular Duos since they are not hues but the real heavy metal version. Cobalts and Cads are always more expensive. There are indeed some other odd colors in the Elite line, but they are also made from more expensive pigments. Whichever way you go, they have a lovely selection of artist pigmented colors in a nice creamy formula.

Hope that helps.

BTW, I see Cobra has just come out with a new 70 colored boxed set.

Happy painitng, Bliss

Thanks Bliss,

It's good to see you back.

Judy

One of the colors Holbein changed was their "Sepia," which saddens me. It was one of the few oil paints (regular or not) to be made of genuine cassel earth (NBr8) mixed with PBk9 that makes a very nice dark brown. It's now made with PBr6 and 7 instead.

What used to be their "Red" (PR188) is now only available as a vermillion hue mixed with pyrrole orange. Some people find this to be a problematic pigment, but in my tests it is quite permanent and makes a very saturated and evenly balanced red.

They do now carry Spinel Black (PBk28) which makes them one of the few companies to offer that color. Manganese violet is new to their line, and has a nice reddish tone. Their ceramic white is also a unique pigment.

David,

I always love when you post. Your sharing your knowledge of "the chemistry" of painting is alway appreciated. You know so much about pigments, permanence, and the principles of painting. I learn so much from you. Thanks for posting!

Thanks for the kind words, bliss. I slip sometimes, so I try to catch all the facts as best I can.