Portrait Studio Wall Color

Joan Breckwoldt · 11-14-2005, 06:36 PM

Dear Garth,

Hi, I would be happy to send you samples of the colors. I actually had to buy both

since I asked the paint guy to mix up the color according to the formula first. It looked too green/yellow. Next he pulled out an old color sample fan and found GN-25. There are a lot of older homes around here and that paint store has been there a while, I think people come in and want paint colors from years ago, so luckily they saved the old fan. Anyway . . . . we compared the GN-25 color on the fan to what he just mixed me. The color on the fan was more like Bill Whitaker described, a dark greenish grey. He had the formula on a CD that Benjamin Moore has just released. So he mixed that up for me and I wrote down the formula for that. That's the formula I put in my last post.

The paint guy and I decided that the formula that I came in with (from Bill's post) was probably color matched to something, some sample of GN-25, in 2001, before the 'old' color formulas were rereleased. It was close, but different from the GN-25 the Benjamin Store had on file. If you notice the first formula in this post, it's not a Benjamin Moore store so maybe they didn't have the true formulas. And we thought it was more green/yellow because there is a lot of orange in the formula.

I hope I've explained this well enough! I can certainly send you samples of both. I think my e-mail address is listed on the forum, if not, I can post it.

Did you get a gallon of the formula since Bill posted it yesterday? You're quick too. And, yes, it would be interesting to compare the colors.

thanks,

Joan

Garth Herrick · 11-14-2005, 07:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joan Breckwoldt

It looked too green/yellow.

The paint looks considerably more yellow before it dries. I suppose you compared it dried by a hair drier though.

Quote:

If you notice the first formula in this post, it's not a Benjamin Moore store so maybe they didn't have the true formulas. And we thought it was more green/yellow because there is a lot of orange in the formula.

You might have a point here. We will have to ask Bill if his paint dealer has exactly the same pigment colorants as Benjamin Moore. I guess I'll have to order a sample from Bill. I did get my paint at a Benjamin Moore dealer.

If one went to another place like a Home Depot and ordered a different brand of paint, in all likelihood the paint base would lhave a different degree of opacity or white added, so even if the colorants were the same formula, the tint or color may differ.

Quote:

Did you get a gallon of the formula since Bill posted it yesterday? You're quick too. And, yes, it would be interesting to compare the colors.

thanks,

Joan

Joan, I got mine a while ago. Michael Georges also posted the formula here a year or more ago, where I learned of it.

Anyway, I can still scan samples on the L.a.b. scale and post comparative numbers side by side with Photoshop generated color swatches to post here. These will not give any insight into the paint store formulas, but just compare apples to apples on the Forum.

I will email my snail-mailing address.

Garth

Joan Breckwoldt · 11-14-2005, 07:48 PM

Hi Garth,

Well, you are certainly right in that there are many variables in paint color! I had only thought of about half of them.

I have your address now so I'll get those samples in the mail tomorrow. I'm looking forward to your comparisons!

Joan

William Whitaker · 11-14-2005, 11:57 PM

Joan,

I think you were pretty fortunate. You obviously went into the right Benjamin Moore store!

Actually, I've given up on the formula. Instead, when I paint my new studio, I'm just going to go in and choose a color that matches my paint chip sample - or maybe a little darker.

Your backdrop is a fine idea. I think you will be very pleased with it.

William Whitaker · 11-15-2005, 12:00 AM

And by the way Joan, let me thank you and Garth for so graciously sharing your information with everyone here. Your contributions join with a great many others in making this forum a great resource.

Bill

Joan Breckwoldt · 11-15-2005, 04:24 PM

Dear Bill,

I am just so happy to be able to contribute the teeniest bit of information to this forum, I have gained so much from everyone here.

Since you put your studio address on this thread, I will send you a sample of what I just got from Benjamin Moore. You might find it interesting to compare it to what you've got.

I'm sending the two paint chips to Garth, we'll see what his spectrometer thingamajiggy says.

Joan

Richard Monro · 11-18-2005, 09:00 PM

I just had a revelation. I too am redoing my studio but am trying to match Bill's color to a Dunn Edward's paint chip. Interestingly the reflectance of that color is one of the lowest of the various grey mixtures. That means that there will be little reflected light colors influencing color mixtures. Another reason to go with a traditional color.