Gamblin Artist Grade Oil Color, 37ml, Cadmium Red Medium

This used to be my favorite color until I realized it wasn't the color I liked, but the Cobalt. Cobalt just works. Plus, there are few blues that are light that are also a pure single pigment (not mixtures). Using teal is a great way to lighten your colors assuming you still want to use blue and not yellow or whites. Whites are great, but will create a chalk look to your art. Cobalt teal, or yellows will not do that. I like to assume that whites are not a color, but have special properties. As for Gamblin, they are a trustworthy company. I just wish they would make their caps larger like Winsor Newton do. Still, five stars on their paints. I have been using them for over 20 years. I will say one thing... unless you intend on using all of it in a couple months, avoid the cans and spend extra on the 150 ml tubes. It may seem like you are saving with the cans, but the paint will eventually dry. I know this because I used to buy the cans. Stick with the tubes unless you use paint quickly in mass.

There are nothing like cobalt colors. If all you care about is the hue/color of a pant, chances are you are a novice, and there is no need to spend a ton of money on Cobalts. Stick with Pthalos. But at some point you are going to learn that saturation and value is as important or more than the hue of a color. Plus, at that point you will find that the maneuverability of that pigment is paramount to creating good art. It's all about control. Creating oil paintings is like creating a series of magic tricks on canvas. It may be beneficial to use a dye like pthalo to learn on, but in time, the former explained above will come into play. Also, pthalo colors are just a mess. Also they can easily move all over your art and ruin it. They get everywhere, and if you are like me, you will drag them in to your home and ruin your floors and furniture. Cobalts go exactly where you put them. However, if you have kids that can get to them, or you like to sand, stick to pthalo. Cobalts, cadmiums, and other heavy metals can be deadly when airborne. Even the binder of all the paints can be deadly if you sand them and you breath them in. Use a p100 mask or better if you choose to sand. still, as soon as you become a good enough painter that you can keep most of the paint on the canvas, and not on your body, I would suggest at least adding cobalts to your palette next to your pthalos. It's like learning to drive on a pinto, and switching to a Lamborghini/cobalts...it's like night and day. As for Gamblin, they create some great paint, and at a fair price. Five stars. The only thing I do not care for are the caps. They are hard to close.