The Wonderful World of M Graham
What better way to kick off the new year than to pick up a new medium you haven't tried before, from a manufacturer that you can trust. In this post, we will tempt you with one of our favourite brands - M Graham - who manufactures oils, acrylics, watercolours and gouache too. Their paints are of superior quality - made with ingredients such as honey and walnut oil - if you have tried one range you will certainly want to try them all and if you are completely new to M Graham, read on and find out why we recommend them for the serious artist.
Why choose M Graham?
We at Lawrence Art Supplies are passionate about the environment, whether it be using recycled material for our packaging or supplying our office and warehouse with solar energy, we want to do our bit for the planet. Similarly to us, M Graham is just as committed to the environment as to creating quality art materials so when you are using their paints you can be sure that you are creating art without guilt! Here is Art Graham explaining the company's philosophy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3Nvudxpl5Q
But that's not all. M Graham have an eye for perfection that stems from their individual artistic background. Their paint is formulated by these high standards and this extends to the manufacturing process too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mrh5LRPvwI4
Additionally, the paints are praised for their uniform colours across batches. This is especially important for artists who mix their favourite shades or who are using specific colours straight from the tube. Colours with the same name are the same shade across all their ranges and use the same pigments.
[caption id="attachment_1064" align="alignright" width="161"]
Mona Lisa was painted with pigments ground into walnut oil[/caption]
This truly unique range is made using walnut oil rather than linseed oil or safflower oil used traditionally in oil paints. Walnut oil has been used for over 2000 years and its fine art application dates back to the Renaissance period. Some of the most renowned artists like Da Vinci and Rafael used walnut oil to grind their pigments into it, which is one of the reasons why we admire their artwork today.
Walnut oil does not yellow like safflower or linseed oil, doesn't crackle and you can eliminate problems such as drying failure, embrittlement and delamination. Walnut oil takes a heavy pigment load which gives these paints brilliantly bright colours. M Graham oil is available in 75 colours, including the 25th anniversary edition colours such as Azo Coral, Mineral Violet and Cobalt Teal.
[caption id="attachment_1065" align="aligncenter" width="500"]
Robin Weiss - Oil - www.mgraham.com[/caption]
M Graham recommends this oil range to chemically sensitive people as walnut oil can be used for cleaning up instead of solvents and other dangerous chemicals which makes for a safer studio environment.
See the range of M Graham Oils here.
[caption id="attachment_1066" align="alignright" width="300"]
Angela Bandurka - Acrylics - www.mgraham.com[/caption]
This unique range of acrylic paint is made using a special acrylic emulsion that contains no artificial thickeners at all! What makes these paints truly unique is their high solids content - they contain 60% pigment compared to the 40-45% normally found in acrylic paint.This results in vibrant, non-fading colours, better flow and a creamy delicacy normally found in the finest of gouache paints.
M Graham acrylics come in 50 colours and you can see the range here.
Compared to other watercolour manufacturers, who use sugar as a binder, M Graham uses Northwestern blackberry honey, which is the only other ingredient next to gum arabic. Honey has antibacterial properties which keeps the paint from being contaminated and it makes for a much softer paint. M Graham watercolour paints never really dry in the pan, they stay semi moist even when left out in the open for days or even weeks. For this reason they are much easier to re-wet than other paints - a spray of water and you can get back to your painting. Honey works very nicely for the fluidity too, your washes will be even and less faded when dry - a perfect property for beginners. Additionally, the honey accepts a high pigment load and M Graham Watercolours are as vibrant and rich as they come!
[caption id="attachment_1067" align="aligncenter" width="1000"]
Ron Stocke - Watercolour - www.mgraham.com[/caption]
M Graham Watercolours come in 70 different shades and you can see the range here.
Gouache is mostly known as an opaque watercolour but it is so much more than that! The diluted wash works just like watercolour and if you use it straight from the tube, it behaves similarly to acrylics and oils. One added benefit of gouache is that it dries quickly and can be re-wet later.
M Graham's Gouache contains blackberry honey and gum arabic just like their watercolour range, which it is fully compatible with. It is heavily pigmented, rich in colour and allows for layered applications without crackling. Watch Acey Thompson, watercolour and gouache artist, demonstrate these beautiful paints in this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7P1BOXKV7I
Acey Thompson - Watercolour and Gouache - www.mgraham.com
M Graham Gouache is available in 35 colours and you can see the range here.
Why choose M Graham?
We at Lawrence Art Supplies are passionate about the environment, whether it be using recycled material for our packaging or supplying our office and warehouse with solar energy, we want to do our bit for the planet. Similarly to us, M Graham is just as committed to the environment as to creating quality art materials so when you are using their paints you can be sure that you are creating art without guilt! Here is Art Graham explaining the company's philosophy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3Nvudxpl5Q
But that's not all. M Graham have an eye for perfection that stems from their individual artistic background. Their paint is formulated by these high standards and this extends to the manufacturing process too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mrh5LRPvwI4
Additionally, the paints are praised for their uniform colours across batches. This is especially important for artists who mix their favourite shades or who are using specific colours straight from the tube. Colours with the same name are the same shade across all their ranges and use the same pigments.
[caption id="attachment_1064" align="alignright" width="161"] Mona Lisa was painted with pigments ground into walnut oil[/caption]
This truly unique range is made using walnut oil rather than linseed oil or safflower oil used traditionally in oil paints. Walnut oil has been used for over 2000 years and its fine art application dates back to the Renaissance period. Some of the most renowned artists like Da Vinci and Rafael used walnut oil to grind their pigments into it, which is one of the reasons why we admire their artwork today.
Walnut oil does not yellow like safflower or linseed oil, doesn't crackle and you can eliminate problems such as drying failure, embrittlement and delamination. Walnut oil takes a heavy pigment load which gives these paints brilliantly bright colours. M Graham oil is available in 75 colours, including the 25th anniversary edition colours such as Azo Coral, Mineral Violet and Cobalt Teal.
[caption id="attachment_1065" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Robin Weiss - Oil - www.mgraham.com[/caption]
M Graham recommends this oil range to chemically sensitive people as walnut oil can be used for cleaning up instead of solvents and other dangerous chemicals which makes for a safer studio environment.
See the range of M Graham Oils here.
[caption id="attachment_1066" align="alignright" width="300"] Angela Bandurka - Acrylics - www.mgraham.com[/caption]
This unique range of acrylic paint is made using a special acrylic emulsion that contains no artificial thickeners at all! What makes these paints truly unique is their high solids content - they contain 60% pigment compared to the 40-45% normally found in acrylic paint.This results in vibrant, non-fading colours, better flow and a creamy delicacy normally found in the finest of gouache paints.
M Graham acrylics come in 50 colours and you can see the range here.
Compared to other watercolour manufacturers, who use sugar as a binder, M Graham uses Northwestern blackberry honey, which is the only other ingredient next to gum arabic. Honey has antibacterial properties which keeps the paint from being contaminated and it makes for a much softer paint. M Graham watercolour paints never really dry in the pan, they stay semi moist even when left out in the open for days or even weeks. For this reason they are much easier to re-wet than other paints - a spray of water and you can get back to your painting. Honey works very nicely for the fluidity too, your washes will be even and less faded when dry - a perfect property for beginners. Additionally, the honey accepts a high pigment load and M Graham Watercolours are as vibrant and rich as they come!
[caption id="attachment_1067" align="aligncenter" width="1000"] Ron Stocke - Watercolour - www.mgraham.com[/caption]
M Graham Watercolours come in 70 different shades and you can see the range here.
Gouache is mostly known as an opaque watercolour but it is so much more than that! The diluted wash works just like watercolour and if you use it straight from the tube, it behaves similarly to acrylics and oils. One added benefit of gouache is that it dries quickly and can be re-wet later.
M Graham's Gouache contains blackberry honey and gum arabic just like their watercolour range, which it is fully compatible with. It is heavily pigmented, rich in colour and allows for layered applications without crackling. Watch Acey Thompson, watercolour and gouache artist, demonstrate these beautiful paints in this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7P1BOXKV7I
Acey Thompson - Watercolour and Gouache - www.mgraham.com
M Graham Gouache is available in 35 colours and you can see the range here.
***
We hope you enjoyed this blog post and if you are still intrigued what artists create with M Graham paints, visit their Artist's Spotlight page or their artist's uploads section. All products mentioned in this post can be purchased at www.lawrence.co.uk or by calling us on 01273 260260 ext 1. Happy painting!
