The same meticulous small-batch production as Series 1 and 2. The same cold-pressed linseed oil from a single English estate. The same glass mullers, hand-milling machines, and unhurried grinding methods. The difference, as you move into Series 3 and above, is the pigment itself — and in oil paint, the pigment is everything.
Wallace Seymour's price series exist for one reason: to reflect the raw material cost of the pigments used. There is no tiering of quality, no difference in care or production method, no compromise in binder specification. What changes is the nature of the pigments themselves — genuine cadmiums, genuine cobalts, rare earth colours sourced from specific historical deposits across England and Europe, plant-derived colours researched and sourced by Pip Seymour personally, and a small number of colours that are simply not available from any other commercial paint manufacturer. These are not hue substitutes or convenient approximations. They are the genuine article.
Series 3 includes genuine cadmium colours — Cadmium Red Light and Middle, Cadmium Orange Light and Deep — pigments valued for their opacity, saturation, and unmatched warm temperature. Series 4 moves into Cobalt Yellow Aureolin and genuine Cobalt Blue, where the raw pigment cost rises considerably but the optical quality of the colour — the way it sits in a mix, the granulation it produces, the depth it brings to a glaze — is unlike anything a hue equivalent can achieve. Series 5 and 6 venture further still, into colours that reflect Pip Seymour's particular interest in historical and rare pigments: plant-derived colours, genuine mineral pigments from named quarry sources, and colours drawn from a tradition of paint-making that predates industrial manufacture entirely.
For painters who care deeply about what is in the tube — who want a genuine cadmium red rather than a naphthol hue, a true cobalt blue rather than an ultramarine blend, or a native earth colour with provenance — this part of the Wallace Seymour range offers something that very few paint manufacturers anywhere in the world can match. These colours behave differently on the canvas, in the mix, and under glazing because the pigments themselves are genuinely different.
As with all Wallace Seymour oils, no driers are added. The paint dries according to the natural behaviour of each pigment — which varies considerably at this level of the range — and Wallace Seymour recommend a 10 to 20% addition of their Fast Drying Oil Glaze Medium to balance drying times. Overuse of driers is cautioned against, as it remains a common cause of long-term paint film failure.
Available from £16.20 per 40ml tube, rising through Series 4, 5, and 6 as pigment rarity and raw material cost increase.
Why do genuine cadmium and cobalt pigments cost more than hue alternatives? Cadmium and cobalt are costly raw materials — the pigments themselves are expensive to produce and subject to significant regulation. A cadmium hue uses less costly organic pigments blended to approximate the colour, but cannot replicate the opacity, saturation, or mixing behaviour of a genuine cadmium. For painters who depend on these qualities, the genuine pigment is worth the premium.
What is the difference between Series 3, 4, 5, and 6? The series number reflects only the cost of the raw pigment. Series 3 includes genuine cadmiums. Series 4 includes Cobalt Yellow Aureolin and genuine cobalts. Series 5 and 6 move into increasingly rare, precious, or historically sourced pigments — some of which are unique to Wallace Seymour and unavailable elsewhere commercially. Production method and quality are identical across all series.
Are Series 3+ colours compatible with Series 1 and 2? Completely. All Wallace Seymour oil colours across all series use the same cold-pressed English linseed oil binder and are fully intermixable. You can build a palette freely across any combination of series without compatibility concerns.
Is it worth using genuine cadmiums and cobalts if I already have hue versions? This depends on what you paint and how you paint. For direct, opaque work where you need the full intensity and opacity of a cadmium, the genuine pigment makes a noticeable difference. For mixing, glazing, and layered work, genuine cobalts behave quite differently to ultramarine-based hues — particularly in terms of granulation, transparency, and the quality of colour produced when mixed with other pigments. Many painters keep both — hues for practice and experimental work, genuine pigments for finished paintings.
Do you stock all series at Craft and Canvas? Yes — we stock all series of Wallace Seymour oils, making us one of the most comprehensive stockists of the full range in the UK.
