Buy an individual oil-paint tube when one color is running out, one clear role is missing, or most colors in a new set would duplicate what you own. Buy another oil paint set when the majority of its colors are useful additions, the tube sizes fit your needs, and the set offers better value than purchasing those same colors separately.
Your first set is a starting hypothesis. Your next purchase should be based on what happened on the palette.
Set or individual tubes
|
Situation
|
Better next purchase
|
Reason
|
|
White or one favorite color runs out
|
Individual tube
|
Replaces exactly what you use
|
|
One temperature or value gap keeps appearing
|
Individual tube
|
Solves a specific mixing problem
|
|
You want to try one unfamiliar color
|
Individual tube
|
Lower commitment and less duplication
|
|
You need several coordinated new roles
|
Set
|
Can be simpler and better value
|
|
You are moving into a new subject
|
Themed set after an overlap audit
|
Adds a planned group of colors
|
|
Your starter tubes are all very small
|
Larger open-stock tubes of core colors
|
Matches consumption more realistically
|
|
You want a gift-ready expansion
|
Set
|
Clear presentation, provided the colors are useful
|
The most common mistake is buying another attractive set before checking which colors from the first one were actually used.
What “open stock” means
Open-stock colors are individual tubes sold separately rather than only inside a fixed set. They let you replace, test, or add one color at a time.
Open-stock availability matters because oil colors are rarely consumed evenly. White may disappear quickly in a high-key painting practice, while a strong dark or intense blue may last much longer. A fixed replacement set forces you to rebuy slow-moving colors.
Before relying on open stock, confirm:
- The exact color and size are currently available.
- The product belongs to the same paint range you want to continue using.
- Pigment information, opacity/transparency, permanence or lightfastness information, and safety labeling are provided where applicable.
- The color can be reordered later; current stock is not a guarantee of permanent availability.
Five signs that individual tubes are the better choice
-
One color runs out much faster
Consumption is the clearest form of preference data. If one tube repeatedly empties first, replacing it individually is more efficient than rebuying a full set.
Do not assume the next tube must be the same size as the starter tube. A larger size may make sense for a high-use color, while less frequently used accents can remain small.
-
Your palette has one identifiable gap
A gap is not “I do not own this color name.” It is a recurring limitation.
Examples:
- Your red options make clean oranges but weak violets.
- Your blue choices do not give you the green direction you need.
- You lack an earth color that speeds underpainting and neutralization.
- Your dark mixtures are always too warm or too cool.
- You need a transparent color for a specific layering approach, after checking product information.
One carefully selected tube can change a palette more than another large set.
-
A candidate set contains too many duplicates
Place the new color list beside your existing tubes. Classify each candidate as:
- New functional role
- Useful replacement
- Convenient but mixable duplicate
- Close duplicate with little added value
If only two or three colors are genuinely useful, buying them separately is usually the clearer choice.
-
You want to test a color before committing
An individual tube lets you evaluate how a color behaves in your normal workflow. Compare its masstone, undertone, mixtures, tint, opacity or transparency, and interaction with your usual colors.
Do not generalize one tube’s handling to an entire range. Pigments and formulations can behave differently from color to color.
-
You are building a personal palette
A mature working palette usually reflects repeated use rather than a standard list. Open stock lets you choose:
- Larger tubes of high-consumption colors
- Specific warm/cool directions
- Earth colors matched to your subject
- Convenience colors that save time
- One or two distinctive accents
The result may contain fewer colors than a large set but serve you better.
Four signs that another set makes more sense
-
Most colors fill real gaps
If a set gives you several missing roles at once, it can be more coherent and convenient than buying each tube separately.
-
You are entering a new subject area
A well-designed landscape, portrait, floral, or seascape set may introduce a coordinated group of colors. Audit it carefully: a subject name does not guarantee complete value, temperature, or neutral coverage.
-
The total usable paint offers better value
Compare:
- Number of useful colors
- Tube volume
- Total paint volume
- Price of the same colors individually
- Expected duplicates
- Whether the colors can later be replaced
Do not use price per tube as the only measure. A cheap duplicate has little value if it remains unused.
-
You need a self-contained secondary palette
A second set can be practical for travel, classes, a second studio, or a gift. In that case, duplication may be intentional because the palette must work independently.
How to build a palette-gap inventory
Use one painting session and one sheet of paper.
Step 1: List what you own
Record the exact product range, color name, tube size, and—when supplied by the manufacturer—the pigment code and opacity/transparency information.
Step 2: Record actual use
Mark each color:
- Heavy use
- Regular use
- Occasional use
- Rarely used
- Not yet tested
This prevents one recent painting from becoming the whole decision.
Step 3: Identify repeated mixing problems
Write the practical problem, not only the desired color:
- “Need a cooler dark for blue-green shadows”
- “White tube too small for current painting scale”
- “Repeatedly mix the same muted violet”
- “Cannot reach clean warm green with current yellow and blue”
Step 4: Test whether the gap can be mixed
If a satisfactory mixture is easy and repeatable, a new tube may be optional. If the mixture consumes too much paint, muddies easily, or takes too long for your workflow, a convenience color may be valuable.
Step 5: Compare one set with individual additions
Build two baskets:
- The candidate set
- Only the individual colors that solve documented needs
Compare cost, total volume, useful roles, and duplicates. The better purchase becomes clearer.
Which colors are commonly replaced first?
There is no universal refill order. White is often used heavily in oil painting, but the actual pattern depends on painting size, technique, subject, and palette.
Use consumption rather than generic “must-have” lists:
- High-key painting may consume more white.
- Earth-led underpainting may use ochres or umbers quickly.
- Landscape work may consume selected blues, greens, or earths.
- Portrait work may draw heavily on white, earth colors, and selected warm/cool chromatic colors.
- Large-format painting changes volume needs across the palette.
Phoenix should not label a color “most popular” or “most frequently replaced” without store or customer data. The article therefore treats these as scenarios, not sales claims.
Can you mix paint from different ranges?
Artists often use colors from more than one range, but check each manufacturer’s product information and your intended technique. Differences in body, vehicle oil, drying behavior, opacity, tinting strength, and pigment selection can affect handling.
The practical approach is to make a small test:
- Compare each color alone.
- Mix equal visual amounts.
- Observe consistency and color shift.
- Let the test dry under your normal studio conditions.
- Keep notes instead of treating one result as a universal rule.
For water-mixable and conventional oils, follow the product guidance: adding conventional oil color can reduce the water-mixable behavior of the mixture.
Expanding a Phoenix starter palette
The Phoenix Oil Paint collection currently lists sets and multiple individual Artist-level oil colors. The live store page should be treated as the source of truth for stock, price, color name, tube size, and product status.
A sensible Phoenix shopping path is:
- Review the colors and sizes in your current set.
- Identify the first exhausted tube and the most persistent gap.
- Compare individual Artist-level colors with the next available set.
- Add only colors that solve documented needs.
- Recheck your palette after several paintings.
Expand with evidence, not guesswork: Browse Phoenix oil paints and individual colors.
Frequently asked questions
Is it cheaper to buy an oil paint set or individual tubes?
A set can have a lower price per tube, but value depends on tube size and how many colors you will use. Individual tubes are often more efficient when you need only a few replacements or additions.
Should I buy a bigger set after a beginner set?
Only when the larger set adds useful roles. If it mostly repeats your existing colors, open-stock additions are more targeted.
Can I replace a starter-set color with a larger tube?
Yes, when the same color and range are offered in a larger open-stock size. Confirm the live product specification rather than assuming every set color has a matching replacement.
How many individual colors should I add at once?
Add the smallest group that solves clear needs. One replacement and one palette-gap color may teach you more than ten speculative additions.
What if my exact starter color is unavailable?
Check the manufacturer’s current range and pigment information. A similarly named color may not be an exact match, so compare pigment codes and product attributes where provided, then make a small mixture test.
