ldakersGerstaecker presents – PIGMENT STICKS® from R&F® Handmade Paints®!
These sticks consist of three traditional base materials: linseed oil, pigment and natural wax – that’s it! Think of it as oil paint, with enough wax added to make sticks – as soft as lipstick.
The linseed oil is partly polymerised, partly non-polymerised. A combination of beeswax and vegetable wax is used as wax – the total proportion of wax remains under 15%. No synthetic petroleum-based waxes are used. And no additives, extenders or other auxiliary agents and no solvents are used.
You can paint and draw with it on any medium on which you can also work with traditional oil colours.
Sofie van Thiel tried out this oil paint in s tick form for you. Read her hands-on review here!
For the tests in this review, I worked on paper:
ARCHES® | Oil Painting Paper – block
TIP: I wanted paper with the texture of paper, not a texture that looks like linen, so-called toile-de-lin. That’s why I chose this paper.
It has the same grain fin surface texture as ARCHES® watercolour paper. And it has the look and feel of paper – after all, paper is paper, right?
I chose sturdy brushes made of hog bristle:
GERSTAECKER |Spalter – hog bristle
GERSTAECKER | Oil Paint Brush ○ round – hog bristle
There are no less than 100+ colours – so plenty of choice!
I used these colours here:
037 Ultramarine blue
038 Prussian blue
064 King’s blue
075 Cobalt teal
049 Celadon green
054 Olive yellow
092 Cadmium red light
084 Quinacridone magenta
088 Egyptian violet
045 Sepia
003 Titanium zinc white
I also used a Colourless blender to blend my colours together or make colours more transparent.
These blenders are basically Pigment Sticks® without pigment. You can choose from a slower-drying blender without siccative – perfect for glazing layers. And a faster-drying blender with a dot of cobalt added as a siccative. I chose the blender without siccative:
001 Colourless blender – without siccative
002 Colourless blender – with siccative
TIP! Use the blender with siccative sparingly and only in the lower layers of your painting.
And as mediums I used:
WINSOR & NEWTON™ | Liquin™ Light Gel oil paint medium
GERSTAECKER | linseed oil
By the way, here you will find everything from R&F HANDMADE PAINTS®, including their professional Encaustic wax paint – justifiably famous!
To test these sticks, I started by making colour swatches on 300g/m² ARCHES® oil colour paper.
In doing so, I paid attention to colour intensity, smoothness, transparency, opacity and how the sticks mix with other colours and mediums.
Opacity and transparency
Each colour, and therefore each pigment, has a different hidden power. This is clearly indicated on the packaging of the sticks. The variations range from highly transparent to fully opaque.
Transparent pigments are ideal for glazing layers – subtle, transparent layers on top of each other. Opaque pigments, on the other hand, are perfect for striking colour contrasts, such as a splash 092 Cadmium red light to attract attention.
Intensity of the colours
The colours on these sticks are intense – similar to oil paints, but easier to apply thanks to the stick shape.
Especially dark colours, such as 088 Egyptian violet, seem almost black. You can soften these deep shades by mixing them with white, blending them with the Colourless blender or using them in thin, transparent layers.
TIP! It is highly recommended to make small tests first, so that you get to know and make the most of the unique properties of each colour.
Creamy texture
These sticks leave a full, buttery layer of paint on the surface.
They glide smoothly thanks to their texture and are easy to manipulate with varying pressure. Pressing harder creates a thick layer of paint that really jumps off the paper.
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2.
3.1.
3.2.
Mixability
Mixing colours is surprisingly easy.
1 – For example, I mixed 075 Cobalt teal and 003 Titanium zinc white directly from the sticks.
This resulted in a coarser colour gradient – ideal for quick, intuitive work.
2 – When using the Colourless blender blending stick to make 064 King’s blue more transparent, I noticed that the beautiful texture was retained.
Combining with mediums
3.1 and 3.2 – Like regular oil paints, you can combine these sticks with different mediums.
I tried a gel medium, which retains the texture of brush strokes. And linseed oil, which makes the paint more fluid. Both gave beautiful results – and countless variations are possible with other mediums.
After testing the sticks, I started a new work. Without having a plan beforehand, I let my impulses guide me.
The versatility of the sticks made it easy to make spontaneous choices – mixing colours on the ground or beforehand, wiping away parts, making them more transparent with the Colourless blender, adding mediums or combining them with other materials such as oil crayons.
The slow drying time (several days) gives plenty of room to make adjustments, but can be accelerated with a quick-drying medium.
TIPs!
Combine the sticks with other materials, such as oil colours, pastels, acrylic colours or pencils. For example, paint the ground with acrylic paint and use the pigment sticks on it. You can then go over or through this with pastel crayons.
Experiment with layers – use the pigment sticks for a full base and then play with pencil or oil crayons for details. Alternate between opaque and transparent layers to give depth to your work.
About Sofie
Sofie van Thiel (1997, ‘s-Hertogenbosch) is a visual artist based in Rotterdam. She graduated from the Willem de Kooning Academy there in 2022 and has since been making paintings in which she translates everyday moments and feelings through paint.
The painting process forms a dialogue between the material and the maker. She experiments with the way oil and acrylic paints, drawing materials and different textures react to each other and responds intuitively. Seeking a balance, she always asks herself where her control ends and the painting takes over, resulting in layered paintings full of movement and colour.
© 2025 – text: Sofie van Thiel & editors Gerstaecker NL | © 2025 – image: Sofie van Thiel,
R&F HANDMADE PAINTS® & editors Gerstaecker NL
R&F Pigment Sticks are my absolute favourite paint medium to work in at the moment! I’ve been experimenting with mixing them with cold wax as well as the blending medium, and all kinds of brushes and silicone tools to make different textures and marks. I love how vibrant and versatile they are, plus the depth you can achieve with layering is just beautiful. My dream is to collect all the pigment sticks!