Dedicated to handmade integrity, Williamsburg Handmade Oils are crafted by skilled American artisans using top-quality pigments from around the world. Each of the more than 140 colors in the line possesses a unique consistency and texture — some are slightly gritty, while others are extremely smooth. This is what makes Williamsburg Handmade Oils so unique and prized by the painters who choose them.

Colors are made in small batches no larger than five gallons at a time to ensure the highest level of control. Pigments are carefully ground to enhance the beauty and luminosity specific to each, and then combined with pure, premium, alkali-refined and pH-balanced linseed oil. Every ingredient is hand-measured, and every batch is scrutinized for quality.

Most Williamsburg Oils are considered to have excellent lightfastness (LF I), with the exception of Alizarin Crimson and Van Dyke Brown, which have very poor lightfastness (LFIII).

__Special Edition Colors__ — Williamsburg offers four Special Edition iron oxide colors that utilize the same pigments as standard Williamsburg colors, but are milled to a finer consistency to make them suitable for glazing. Transparent Yellow Iron Oxide is based on Stil De Grain, with a dark yellow-brown masstone that gives way to amber and light ochre when glazing. Transparent Orange Iron Oxide is based on Italian Pink, and produces a very deep red-orange masstone that results in rich orange-red glazes. Transparent Brown Iron Oxide has its origins in Dutch Brown, and results in translucent brown glazes reminiscent of coffee or tanned leather. Transparent Red Oxide is a finer version of Brown Pink, and results in red tones reminiscent of stained cherry wood when glazing.