This was often a job given to one of the apprentices in a master's studio. This paint was stored in various ways, but one of the most popular was to put the paste in small leather pouches and tie the top tightly. This is the most common way of buying oil paints today. Many artists prefer to make their own oil paints from dry pigments. Student grades have fillers added and sometimes the pigments are not as pure as the professional grade.
Some colors only come in the standard size from some manufacturers.
It is usually most economical to use the standard size for most colors and the large for white. In oil painting white is a much used color that deserves its own discussion. In the case of oil paints, that binder is some sort of oil, usually linseed oil. Oil is what makes the pigment fluid and, when it dries, it is what holds the pigment to the surface. Drying oils Linseed Oil - An extraction from the seed of the flax plant, the same plant that is used to make linen for canvas.