Paul Rubens Oil Paint 20-Color Set - Creamy High-Pigment Tubes

Our review of the Paul Rubens Oil Paint 20-color set finds it best suited to artists and students who want a broad, ready-to-use palette with a smooth, buttery feel. The single biggest reason to consider this set is the combination of a delicate, creamy texture and a wide selection of vivid hues that blend easily and retain brush and knife marks, making it a practical choice for landscape, portrait and still life work.

Key Features

• High pigmentation: The paints use fine art pigments that deliver strong covering power and good tinting strength for mixing and glazing.
• Creamy consistency: Refined linseed oil gives a buttery texture that moves smoothly over canvas and holds brush strokes and palette knife marks.
• Color range: Twenty carefully selected colors provide flexibility for landscapes, seascapes, portraits and still life without immediate need to buy more tubes.
• Long freshness: Formulated to remain stable in large tubes so colors do not wash out quickly and can be used over extended projects.
• Lightfastness and safety: Non-toxic formulation with attention to lightfast pigments for lasting artwork.

Who It's For

This set is well suited for hobbyists, art students and beginning to intermediate painters who want an affordable, comprehensive oil palette that handles well straight from the tube. The range of 20 colors and the creamy medium make it easy to learn blending and layering techniques without immediately investing in individual artist-grade tubes.

Professional painters who require absolute maximum permanence or extremely high-concentration single pigments may prefer to supplement the set with professional single-pigment tubes. Also, if very fast drying is essential, these oil paints, which typically dry in about 7-14 days, may be slower than some alkyd or fast-drying formulations.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Strong paint quality and smooth blendability make mixing accurate midtones straightforward.
• Creamy, easy-to-apply consistency that keeps brush and palette knife texture visible.
• Good value: twenty large tubes provide a broad palette for study and multiple paintings.

Cons

• Color saturation receives mixed feedback from users, so some pigments may seem less intense without additional layering.
• Some painters note an oily finish and a longer 7-14 day drying window compared with faster oil variants.

Specifications

Our Verdict

The Paul Rubens 20-color oil set is a solid, affordable option for students and early-career artists who value a creamy, blendable paint and a wide color selection. It offers good pigment coverage and handling at a price point that makes experimenting low-risk, though serious professionals may want to add higher-strength singles and account for a moderate drying time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are these paints safe for students?
Yes, the set is described as non-toxic and suitable for students and beginners when used with normal studio precautions.

How long do the paints take to dry?
Typical drying time is about 7-14 days depending on thickness, ventilation and ambient conditions.

Can these be used on canvas?
Yes, the paints move smoothly over canvas and painted wood panels and retain brush and knife marks.