The History of Williamsburg Handmade Oil Colors

In the mid 1980s artist Carl Plansky began making paint for himself and his friends in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. He had no intention of turning his passion into a business, but the interest of his fellow artists escalated to a point where the business of ‘Williamsburg Art

Supply’ was established out of necessity.

Beginning with a small milling machine provided by artist Milton Resnick, Carl’s paint making operation grew to employ several people and was moved just outside Oneonta, New York. Williamsburg’s oil paints accumulated a following and international presence while preserving the handmade integrity of the paint.

Carl had always been interested in pigments, oils, mediums, and old-world recipes, and enjoyed experimenting with traditional materials. Wherever he traveled he would research the history of painting and the relationship between painters and paint makers.

In France he bought colors from the houses that had made paints for Monet, Matisse, and Cezanne then analyzed their paint to see how fine or coarse the grind was and to determine where they found their pigments and oils.

With this same passion, he continued to search for the most beautiful raw materials in the world, importing pigments from dozens of countries so he could offer them to his fellow artists as paint and dry pigment.

The legacy and integrity of Carl’s paint business survived his death in October of 2009. The team he built at Williamsburg Handmade Oil Colors has preserved the passion and creativity that Carl imparted under the leadership of Beverly Plansky, Carl’s sister and business partner.

In the Spring of 2010 Golden Artist Colors assumed responsibility for realizing Carl’s dream for truly unique paints and mediums that reflect not only the traditions of painting in Europe and North America, but the artist’s passion that drives them forward. Carl himself claimed that only Golden Artist Colors could make oil paints with the integrity and style of Williamsburg.

Williamsburg Handmade Oil Colors are used by the world’s finest artists whose work can be found at:

Metropolitan Museum of Art and MOMA in New York National Gallery of Art in Washington Beaubourg in Paris