It’s that time of the year again…  Students (and teachers) are back in town and getting supplies for the coming semester. 

We will be open extended hours during the back-to-school season:

(Through Sunday, September 7th)

Monday-Friday: 8am-8pm

Saturday: 9am-8pm

Sunday: 10am-7pm

Our back-to-school sale just started & we have lots of great deals in just about every area of the store!  Also, don’t forget to show your student or teacher ID to receive 10% off all items that are not already on sale. We have a low price guarantee and accept all competitors coupons.

Parents, friends, and relatives: want to give a wonderful (and useful) gift to the artist in your life?  For a limited time you can buy a $100 gift card for only $90.  It never expires and may be used in any Utrecht store across the country.

There are many questions that frequently come up, particularly from people who are just starting out in a painting class. 

-Why are some colors more expensive than others?

In any artist quality grade of paint (whether oils, acrylics, watercolors, or gouache) you will find that colors are labeled with different “series numbers” and prices vary, sometimes dramatically.  A Cadmium Red or Cobalt Blue will be more expensive than a Burnt Umber or a Titanium White.  This is because of the variation in cost of the actual pigments.  Some pigments are made from materials that are abundent and relatively easy to obtain and process (earth tones, that is, most browns, are basically made from clays from the earth) while others are made from materials that are rarer and more expensive to mine and produce.  “Series 1″ paints are frequently just as high quality (in terms of usefulness, lightfastness, etc) as the more expensive “Series 4″ paints, but you will often have to go to “Series 4″ to get a particular desired vibrant color.

-What does it mean if a color says “Hue” on the label?

In conversation, “hue” is used as a synonym for “color,” but for artist’s paints, it has a specialized meaning: a color labeled “hue” does not contain the original pigment that it is named after.  This can be for a number of reasons: Less expensive pigments have been substituted for a more expensive one, or less harmful pigments have been substituted for a traditional, but toxic, pigment, or new pigments are substituting for a traditional pigment that is unavailable or has fallen out of use.  In any quality brand of paint, they should include the true ingredients of the paint somewhere on the label.  It may be in small print on the back of the tube.  By looking at the back of the tube, you can see whether the hue is actually something that you could mix yourself- if a “Cobalt Hue” is made of Ultramarine Blue and Titanium White, you know it would not be hard to create an approximation of it yourself. Generally, “single pigment” colors are prefered to mixed colors because they usually mix more cleanly and vibrantly.  However, some “mixed” colors can be useful, especially if it is a mixture you find yourself using again and again.

Two good books for learning technical information about paints and pigments are:

The Artist’s Handbook of Materials and Techniques by Ralph Mayer and

The Painter’s Handbook by Mark David Gottsegen