Back in June, Williamsburg Paint ran a special offer on Instagram. They said: make a donation in honor of Pride Month to an LGBTQIA+ organization, send them a copy of the receipt, and in turn they will send you a small gift at the end of the month.
Imagine my surprise when that "small gift" turned out to be a shiny new palette knife, heavy-duty painting apron, AND a set of nine Williamsburg oil paints.
July was a teaching-heavy month for me, so it was only just last week that I had the chance to open this set of colors. Two were old friends - King's Blue and Courbet Green have been on my palette for years - but the rest were brand new to me.
Whenever I add new colors to my palette, I like to spend some time getting to know them before leaping into a painting. My favorite way to do that is with a color chart like the one above; it's the fastest and clearest way for me to see how a color behaves and how it interacts with the rest of the palette.
Anyone who knows me knows I'm not usually a fan of the color pink... but this Persian Rose just might change my mind. It's a lovely, creamy mix, opaque with a good tinting strength, and it makes beautiful violets and greys when combined with Kings Blue or Courbet Green.
Alizarin Orange was an interesting surprise. It's a deep, rich transparent orange out of the tube... but it behaves surprisingly like Indian yellow in tints and mixtures.
French Ardoise Grey was a lovely treat as well. It too is shockingly transparent, and its tinting strength is roughly equivalent to Terre Verte, if not a bit weaker still. Still, when used in the right proportion it makes truly delicious transparent tones.
I'm still getting acquainted with these colors, but I think they'll play especially nicely with my current still life set up. Here's a glimpse at part of what's on my easel. Bonus points if you can spot the new colors I'm using.
