Robert Doak

runs an art mate­ri­als store in Brook­lyn, NY. He is an inter­est­ing old guy with very strong opin­ions about how paint­ings should be made. If you are an artist, his shop is full of need­ful things. If you call him or walk into his store, you won’t be able to escape hav­ing a very long con­ver­sa­tion about art, in which he tries to fig­ure out what kind of painter you are so that he can rec­om­mend what you should buy from him. He is some­thing to expe­ri­ence, although you should by no means treat all of his opin­ions as gospel.

He makes oil paint. It is, unlike any other brand that I am aware of, ground in a blend of lin­seed and wal­nut oil. The paint is really good stuff, highly pig­mented and very fluid. No one makes bet­ter blues than Robert Doak. It is amaz­ingly inex­pen­sive for top of the line paint. The paints are made to max­i­mize qual­ity rather than shelf life, so they often sep­a­rate in the tube. That’s OK; just squeeze the paint out onto absorbent paper, wait a minute or so for the extra oil to set­tle out, and trans­fer to your palette with a knife. It’s worth the trouble.

Robert has no web site; he only recently began accept­ing credit cards (before that, mail order was done by check, and if he’d done busi­ness with you before, he’d mail out your order on the strength of your promise). Robert Doak & Asso­ciates, Inc., can be reached at 89 Bridge St., Brook­lyn, NY 11201, or by phone at (718) 237‑1210. Call before stop­ping in, as he’s not there every day. If you are a painter in oil, water­color, tem­pera, pas­tel, or any other tra­di­tional medium, you owe it to your­self to get in touch with him. When he goes, there won’t be any more.

Updated infor­ma­tion on Robert Doak’s paint here.