Most of us have just a few brands of paint we have on our palettes. M Graham is the brand I use most and I'm very lucky to have the factory near me. I was always a big proponent of field trips when I taught so I emailed Diana, the M in M Graham, to ask if it was possible to arrange a tour for the watercolor group I'm in and on Thursday this week we were able to tour the factory.
They make four (yes, four!) types of paint in what to me is a very small space. They produce watercolor, gouache, oils, and acrylics. I've never used their acrylics, mostly because I'm not an acrylic painter, but I use their other three products and love them. They have a very creamy feel and lots of pigment. They never disappoint me.
First, we were introduced to Annie, the company cat, formerly Orphan Annie but now the Queen. She gave each of us a chance to say hello.
Art Graham met us and asked if we had any questions. Of course we did! He was welcoming, very pleasant, completely knowledgeable, and very patient. He also has the best handshake ever. I asked how he got into paint manufacturing and it was a really interesting answer. Then I asked if I could take a picture to post here so he posed.
I snuck in another while he was talking -
After he told us a bit about paint manufacturing, we had a tour of the plant
A bag of ultramarine blue pigment ready to be made into paint
They were making Ivory Black oil paint the day we were there. This is the three-roller machine.
Another view - the paint is first mixed, then goes in what looks like the top of the machine, goes around all the rollers under a specific pressure, then comes out the bottom. It sits to cure (the best way I can describe it) then goes to these ladies -
Filling paint tubes
Another view. There's a third lady above the funnel-shape pushing the paint with a large spatula. This helps to ensure even filling with no air pockets.
I didn't take photos of the lady or machine that attaches the labels or the warehouse - mostly filled cardboard boxes. You can imagine those. The company uses local ingredients whenever possible and the most local they can get when not. The honey they use is from the next town. They told us where just about everything comes from, even the labels, and I was really impressed with just how local they really are. They don't produce a solvent but use their walnut oil to clean brushes, etc, with.
All of us that were privileged to go on this tour send a really big thank you to M Graham Paints for taking their time with us and making us feel so welcome.
