I Love M. Graham Oil Paints

Creating beautiful oil paintings without poisoning myself and the world is important to me.

I have been oil painting for nearly four decades and have never been happier than when I paint with M. Graham & Co. walnut oil-based paints. Over the years I have tried nearly every high-priced professional art oils on the market and I keep coming back to M. Graham.

I Love M. Graham’s Loves Artists and the Planet
Beyond making superior paints, M. Graham, an Oregon company, has an absolute commitment to the health of artists and the environment. Their paints are solvent-free and the walnut base in non-toxic. So are the materials they used in the plant where these wonderful paints are manufactured. They buy 100% of our power through the renewable power option; they minimize their consumption with high-efficiency lighting, detectors, and timers; and they buy carbon offsets to balance out the energy their use. They recycle and reuse the factory water waste used for cleaning equipment. They even seek out and purchase equipment that would otherwise be decommissioned.

Why Do I Love M Graham’s Paints?
I love the richness of the pigment. Many of my painting rely on strong, vibrant color and M. Graham delivers. Their balance of the walnut oil and the extraordinarily finely ground pigments create a beautifully smooth consistency that is common for all of their colors. The paints don’t have any fillers. The purity of their pigments give them a staining power that make colors mixing a dream. I paint thinly and often with glazes, so I especially like the strength of their transparent colors.

Clean Cleanup
You can clean up these paints with walnut oil (safflower oil works too and it is more affordable) and mild dish soap. No Solvents!! Gotta love that!

American Made

If buying American made products is important to you, you will be happy to know that M. Graham is made in the beautiful state of Oregon.


My Regular Palette:

Full Disclosure: The items on this list link to Amazon.
If you buy colors from a link, I receive a very small commission.

 

Titanium White (quick drying)

Alizarin Crimson

Cadmium Red

Cadmium Yellow Deep

Cadmium Orange

Cadmium Yellow Light

Indian Yellow

Viridian

Terra Rosa

Cobalt Blue

Ultramarine Blue

Burnt Umber

Ivory Black

Walnut/Alkyd Medium

 
 

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12 thoughts on “I Love M. Graham Oil Paints

  1. Pingback: Zorn limited palette: 3 Steps to Learn It's Magic

  2. LC says:

    What other M. Graham oil paints have you used that are not listed on this page? Also, have you ever used any other media (acrylics, gouache, or watercolors) or any combo of?

    • Michael Lynn Adams says:

      LC – I keep my palette pretty simple. The list of colors on this page are nearly all that I currently use. I have recently been trying out Quinacridone Red but will probably only use it occasionally. I actually don’t use Terra Rosa often, either.

      I do M Graham watercolor and like them very much. I do not paint with acrylics, but my wife does and likes both M Graham and Golden.

  3. LC says:

    What other M. Graham oil paints have you used that are not listed on this page? Also, have you ever used any other media (acrylics, gouache, or watercolors) or any combo of?

  4. Lara Houston says:

    I love my M. Graham oil paints! I’ve used them for about ten years. I have almost the entire range, because I enjoy collecting pigments as well as painting with oil. I also have the entire Graham range in watercolour, I’ve used those longer, and just adore them. I use Graham Alkyd medium and Gamblin solvent-free gel when oil painting. I keep a jar of cheap walnut oil to rinse brushes in, let the paint settle, decant and re-use. I use Chroma brush cleaner if I won’t paint for a while. Occasionally a stubborn colour gets cleaned out with Zest-It citrus brush cleaner if I’m in a hurry. Some days I paint solvent-free, others I paint solvent minimal. We’re all so lucky to have such choice! 🙂

  5. Gena says:

    I have been using Golden Acrylics for years and I am considering changing to M Graham oils because of no toxins. I work in a very small studio. How soon can you varnish if you use the alkyd walnut oil for blending?
    How do you clean your brushes?

  6. Don says:

    I’m sure the M. Graham paints are of the highest quality, but I think it is important for people to understand that one can paint solvent free with any brand of regular oil paint. The oil paints of M. Graham are not unique in this regard. None of them (with the exception of alkyd oil paints plus one brand of regular oils) contain any solvent in the paint. Where M. Graham differs from most other oil paint makers is that their mediums contain no solvents and they were one of the first oil paint makers to offer a combination medium (one that is not 100% oil) that is solvent free, their Walnut Alkyd medium. So, kudos to M. Graham for promoting solvent free painting, but you can do the same with virtually every other oil paint brand.

  7. Susan says:

    I couldn’t agree more. It is hard not to sound like a commercial for them. I also use M. Graham watercolors and have been very pleased with the quality. I’m not doing much with the oil paints. . . all I wanted was to do some spot illustrations for a project with more control than I have when I paint with watercolor. But the colors are great. I needed kid like colors so I was able to get away with not buying the cadmiums and cobalts but it is working out just fine. The only problem is that I’m a collage artist when I’m doing my fine art and I may just back to oils since I love these so much!

  8. Stacey Peterson says:

    I used M. Graham’s walnut oil for brush cleaning, etc when I was pregnant – they do make a great product!!

  9. Michael Pearce says:

    And I do love my liver!

    I completely agree with you Mike. Graham are simply the best paints money can buy. Made by a true colour-man, who really knows his business.

    I stopped using toxic turpentine years ago thanks to these paints, and love the soap and water clean up.

    I must admit I miss the lovely smell though, but that’s a small price, imo.

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