Recently we’ve had a lot of requests about which of our materials are vegan and how artists can cut down on their use of supplies containing animal products, so we were delighted to hear about Sandrine Maugy’s quest to find the best vegan watercolour products. She has very kindly talked us through her tips for finding vegan paints, vegan paper and the right vegan brushes for different techniques.

The Vegan Watercolourist

By Sandrine Maugy

For a lot of people, being a vegan is not only a way of eating, it is also a way of living. Eating exclusively plant-based food while using brushes made of real sable hair coming from fur farms wouldn’t make much sense.

While brushes are an obvious example, diverse animal parts can sneak in unobserved in other watercolour materials.

Here are a few watercolourist art materials that are safe for a vegan art practice.

Choosing Vegan Watercolour paints:

Paints need a binder and this can sometimes be made of animal products: Sennelier and Jackson’s use honey, while Schmincke and Winsor & Newton use ox gall. Daniel Smith and QOR watercolours are vegan friendly, as they use synthetic binders. They also both use a high concentration of pigment, which produces bright, saturated colours.

Even if the binder is vegan, keep in mind that the pigments might not be. Bone Black is made of charred bones so any colour that has the pigment Pbk8 in its formula contains animal bones. Genuine Sepia is made from squid ink and Indian Ink from crushes bugs. Thankfully, a lot of animal derived pigments such as Scarlet and Indian Yellow are now obsolete and have been replaced with modern, more reliable and animal-friendly pigments.

Choosing Vegan Watercolour Paper:

Watercolour papers are made of rag, cotton or sometimes wood pulp. The best quality papers are pure cotton. The animal product element comes with the sizing. To give them resistance to washes, papers are sized internally and usually externally with a glue that can be made of animal gelatine. Saunders Waterford and Arches both fall into this category. Fabriano on the other hand, stopped using animal gelatine a long time ago and all their papers are now vegan friendly. Canson Heritage, Stonehenge Aqua, Canson Moulin du Roy and Winsor & Newton Professional all use vegetable or synthetic sizing.

Choosing Vegan Brushes:

Like their real fur counterparts, synthetic brushes come in a variety of styles and cater for all artists, from the soft touch painters to those who prefer a stiffer brush. The quality of the bristles is now just as good as the real sables and they give a wider range of texture and spring.

Brush test anemones: Each anemone was painted with a different brush. You can see Sandrine Maugy’s selected range of vegan brushes here.

Soft Vegan Watercolour Brushes

If you like a very soft brush that caresses the paper, try da Vinci casaneo Series 5598, Jackson’s Studio Synthetic series 505 and Escoda Versatil.

Escoda Versátil size 6

Another stunning one is the Princeton Neptune. When I first tried it, I thought that there had been a mistake and that I had been sent a natural hair paintbrush instead of a synthetic. If you are a fan of translucent glazes, the Neptune will float above the previous washes without disturbing them in the slightest.

Ginkgo biloba: These leaves were painted with the Princeton synthetic squirrel. The soft bristles slightly teased the ink lines, blending them without erasing them.

Three Princeton Neptune brushes (one with a seaglass handle)

Medium Texture Vegan Watercolour Brushes with a Good Spring

Poppy: Painted with Pro Arte Prolene + Series 007

If you prefer medium texture with a good spring, ProArte Prolene + series 007 is a great brush. It is well balanced in the hand and responds well to gentle pushes, bouncing back in shape while giving you control in wet-in-wet washes. The da Vinci Cosmotop and Jackson’s Onyx are also springy without being scratchy.

Brush test blackbird: da Vinci Cosmotop Spin

Strong, stiffer Vegan Watercolour Brushes

If you like a strong, stiffer brush that can lift washes and give more control, the da Vinci Nova and Jackson’s Artica Toray have firm and less absorbent bristles.

If you are partial to a quill brush, try da Vinci Casaneo 498, Jackson’s Raven 528 or da Vinci Spin synthetics 488.

Brush test Raven: The Raven by Jackson’s is a synthetic quill brush with soft bristles. It is absorbent and carries a lot of water and paint. It is perfect for loser wet-in-wet washes and thin glazes.

Miniature Vegan Brushes

For the miniature painter, Princeton have created the mini-detailer series 3050 R, a lovely brush with a shorter handle and a long pointed head that goes down to size 20/0.

Three Princeton Mini-detailers in different sizes

This should allow you to make yourselves an animal-friendly kit for your art practice. I am preparing a series of videos on my YouTube channel in which I will test the brushes mentioned in this post. You will be able to watch as I use them and comment on their performance.

In the meanwhile, happy Veganuary and happy painting!

A selection of Jackson’s vegan artist brushes

A selection of da Vinci vegan artist brushes

A selection of Escoda vegan artist brushes

Sandrine Maugy

Sandrine Maugy is a well known botanical painter and a regular contributor of articles to the Artists & Illustrators Magazine, she has also published a beautifully illustrated Botanical Painting book on advanced colour-mixing theory and painting wet-in-wet when watercolour painting. She runs a very informative blog and an exciting, inspiring YouTube which is worth regularly checking for new advice and tips.

Visit her website and her Instagram @sandrinemaugy to see more of her work and find out about her practice. Also, don’t forget to subscribe to Sandrine’s YouTube channel, if you want to see her upcoming series of videos.

View vegan art materials on our shop here and all of Sandrine Maugy’s selected vegan brushes in this section.

The post The Vegan Watercolourist: Sandrine Maugy appeared first on Jackson's Art Blog.

Like many artists Anna Zadorozhnaya is inspired by nature, but she is particularly motivated to paint by mountain scenery. Anna has an MA in Art from Oxford Brookes University and is a member of the International Federation of Aquarellists. She has been painting in watercolour for just four years and already teaches the medium. She has a popular Instagram site called Draw Better where she shares images of her beautiful watercolour landscapes and writes interesting text to accompany them – in both English and Russian! Anna really likes using Schmincke Horadam watercolour and here she takes us through how she painted a mountain scene in the Austrian village of St Anton am Arlberg using Horadam paints.

Painting a Watercolour of St Anton am Arlberg

by Anna Zadorozhnaya

With this painting I wanted to quickly capture the unforgettable moment of the beginning of a sunset in the mountains. The sky is coloured in yellow and rose shades and all the peaks show their power and beauty before plunging into darkness.

The materials I used for this painting:

• Paint: Schmincke Horadam Aquarell watercolours in tubes – in Naples Yellow (229), Cadmium Red Orange (348), Rose Madder (356), Transparent Brown (648), Phthalo Sapphire Blue (477), Cobalt Blue Hue (486), Ultramarine finest (494), Sepia Brown (663), Indigo (485), Titanium opaque white (101)
• Paper: Saunders Waterford Extra White 300gsm, cold press/NOT, 100% cotton, 28×38 cm
• Brushes: large squirrel mop quill brushes, goat mop brush, round synthetic brush with a fine point
• Masking tape
• Paper towels
• Pencil and eraser
• Clean water
• Reference photo from St. Anton/ Arlberg

My first step is the preparation. I apply masking tape on all four edges of my paper and place all the materials, brushes, clean water and towels nearby.

I then splash my watercolours with clean water so they will be soft and ready for painting.

I begin with a basic pencil sketch onto the watercolour paper. It is not very detailed – just the edges of the peaks are enough.

I begin the painting with the sky. I carefully wet the paper in the sky area with clean water and apply the watercolour.

The violet-grey colour of the sky is made with cobalt blue hue mixed with cadmium orange, the bottom part of the sunset – with Naples yellow and rose madder, the splashes of blue sky in the centre – with phthalo sapphire blue. To make it more realistic I add a drop of rose madder to the upper part in the grey wash. After finishing the wash I let the paper dry. Sometimes I speed the drying with a hair dryer, other times I let it dry naturally by waiting.

When I start again I work with the base colour of the snow – I’ve chosen a mix of ultramarine and cadmium red orange for the distant mountains. Approaching to the nearest mountain, I use the previous mix of ultramarine and cadmium red orange with a little cobalt blue and rose madder. The closest peak, covered with snow, I have left as just white paper.

I next begin painting the rocks and shadows on the distant mountains. For these rocks the colour is a mix of ultramarine and indigo. I also use the same colour for just a few dots on the tops of the far mountains to create the feeling of shadows. For this part I also use the dry-brush technique.

Next I move to the stones in the closer mountain range. The technique is the same, the colours here are a mix of indigo and sepia.

And again, I used this technique with the closest peaks and stones, the colour here is pure sepia.

Next, I work with the closest peak that is covered with snow. I want the snow to be just white paper, so it’s critically important not to cover it with any colour – so I just paint a little shadow on the snow in the left edge with a mix of ultramarine and cadmium red orange. The big rocks are painted with a mix of sepia and transparent brown. After I paint this, I cover all of the work except this white area with spare sheets of paper and spatter the watercolour with the same colour. I then let it dry naturally – if you use a hair dryer on this step, the dots of paint can crawl away.

Finally I look at the painting and compare it to the reference photo and take note of any areas I want to modify. I’ve added some more dark spots and used opaque white in some places to create a more interesting image.

The finished painting after removing the masking tape – voila!

About the Artist

Anna Zadorozhnaya was born and lives in Moscow, Russia. Anna has an MA in Art from Oxford Brookes University and is a member of the International Federation of Aquarellists. She shares her watercolour paintings on her popular Instagram site www.instagram.com/draw_better.

Schmincke Horadam Watercolours on the Jackson’s Art website

Schmincke Horadam watercolours are available as single colours in 5 ml and 15 ml tubes, half pans & full pans and in carefully selected sets, including beautifully presented wooden box sets and portable plein air sets.

Postage on orders shipped standard to mainland UK addresses from jacksonsart.com is free for orders of £39.

The post Anna Zadorozhnaya Paints a Watercolour Mountain Landscape appeared first on Jackson's Art Blog.

John Horton and Christina Hopkinson are two watercolour painters who are exhibiting together for the first time at The Granary Art Gallery, which is set in the grounds of Weston Park. Both artists are keen bird admirers, and ‘Our Feathered Friends’ will be a show celebrating the beautiful birds that they have been fortunate enough to have encountered on their travels near and far. Both artists chat about what inspired them to start painting, why they paint birds and their thoughts that lie behind the creative process.

Bird Artists Christina Hopkinson and John Horton in Conversation

Christina: John, I remember meeting you at Frodsham at the AAA, (Assoc. Animal Artists) Spring exhibition and event weekend in, I think, 2016.

John: That’s right, we were standing in front of your award-winning picture at the time and started chatting

Christina: The Nandays Parakeets

Christina Hopkinson, Nandays Parakeets – This Is A Private Conversation Watercolour Painting 21 x 29

John: Yes it was a beautiful piece of work and I remember being very impressed with it.

Christina: Thank you

John: We started chatting and it went from there. I remember talking about the AAA and TWASI – The Wildlife Art Society International, and that sparked your interest and you went on to join that. In fact I think you went on to have the first sale at the TWASI Hanbury Hall exhibition.

Christina: That was the Nuthatch In The Ivy painting. It seems like it was only yesterday that we met, but I can’t believe it was two or three years ago, or thereabouts.

Christina Hopkinson, Nuthatch In The Ivy

John: So how did you get into art? Did you start at school?

Christina: Well I have a memory going back to nursery school, of making a picture using poster paint, and folding the paper in half to give a symmetrical pattern, and I think that was my earliest memory of using colour to create something exciting from paint and paper. I was very young and it’s going back an awful long time. After that I had a brother who was very good indeed at art, and he used to paint most evenings in his bedroom. I was a lot younger than him, and I remember that I would knock on his door and ask if I could sit with him. We used to listen to music whilst he was painting with oil paint, and so he inspired me to look at art more seriously. I was about twelve by the time that I acquired some oil paints of my own, and I had a book about an art dealer called Duveen, which contained a lot of photographs of paintings by artists such as Thomas Gainsborough. I used to try to copy those. I had no idea then that you needed special paper or canvas etc. to paint on with oil paint, and I used ordinary cartridge paper, but amazingly I still have those paintings somewhere, and the paper survived. So I have to credit my brother Terry.

John: To give you the inspiration.

Christina: Absolutely.. to have given me that excitement about painting and drawing and I just wanted to acknowledge the part he played in giving me that love of painting and art.

John: I have a similar memory in that my uncle was a lovely watercolourist. He was my father’s youngest brother…quite a bit younger, and he died only about four years ago, and I inherited all of his art books and a lot of brushes. In fact, I was relating the story to my daughter recently, about how I was with my grandmother, (my uncle was living with her at the time), and I had made a painting of a barn owl. I must have been eleven or twelve at the time. My uncle came back from work and he painted his version of it and it was lovely to see him work. He was a lovely watercolourist and latterly we had joint watercolour exhibitions together. I got so many tips from him and my father had a pal who was in the forces during the war and he was a lovely watercolourist who gave me a lot of encouragement. I’ve always had a passion for birds though, right from the word go and I would buy the RSPB Christmas cards designed by Tunnicliffe, and so everybody had bird Christmas cards. Tunnicliffe is a great hero of mine as is Peter Scott.

John Horton, Fledgling Wren

Christina: Yes Peter Scott! The reason I got into birds is because they were right outside the door, and I couldn’t go off trekking to Tanzania or anywhere like that to look at other things, so I had to think of what was around me that I could actually observe and reference from life, and it was the garden birds, and that’s what started me really watching them, looking at their little traits and the family interaction and so on. So I thought yes, they are right there, because I didn’t want to be someone who just copied photographs.

John: That’s right. I think that’s where we are very similar in that respect, that we both love to draw from what we are actually seeing in front of us. That’s the nice thing about birds in that there is a little bit of natural history theatre going on in front of you all the time. The interaction between the different breeds is fascinating.

Christina: I quite agree. I just think they can be so amusing, but it’s a real case of survival out there for them isn’t it?

John: Absolutely.

John Horton, Dozing Dipper

Christina: If you think of the cold for a start. These little birds have to survive in this cold weather, whereas you and I wouldn’t cope with it very well.

John: In our comfortable houses…that’s right. I’m an obsessive bird feeder and it’s a good feeling that you are giving them that fuel to get through the night.

Christina: We had a lovely tame robin a couple of years ago, and he would sit on your hand to take the food..that was a real thrill. The robins we have now are a little more wary, but the one two years ago was a friendly little thing…not to other robins though.

Christina Hopkinson, Pied Wagtail at Lake Vyrnw, watercolour, 14″x21″

John: Yes they are very aggressive, and what people don’t realise is that they migrate, and all these blackbirds that we are getting in the garden right now have probably come from Scandinavia and Northern Europe, and the ones that have been with us through the winter have all moved south.

Christina: We’ve had some, and it’s been really useful, because they’ve got some white feathers. One has a white tail feather and the other has some white feathers on its back, and they act like a marker and you can tell which birds you are seeing and it’s interesting to see where they go in the garden and what they get up to.

Christina Hopkinson, Chiff Chaff in the garden

Christina: Regarding your art, who inspires you?

John: I think the great thing about belonging to societies is that you see so much work by very talented artists around you and I think you almost subliminally gain inspiration. Initially though I was always inspired by Tunnicliffe…he’s my great hero, particularly his sketching. I love his sketching and I have all of his sketchbook works. I draw a lot of my inspiration from that, but there’s also Peter Scott. Nowadays there are artists like David Miller who is mostly known for his fish paintings, but I particularly like his bird pictures and I realise that I am inspired by David’s work.

Christina: I think I follow him of Facebook actually! He’s brilliant, I love his work.

John: I go fishing and he designed the images on the fishing license as well as on some stamps.

David Miller, Grey Mullet II , oil on board, 24 x 28 inches

Christina: I love his underwater images. I also really like the work of Robert Bateman and have quite a few of his books. I was looking on Amazon to see if there were any books on bird artists in general, and in the reviews section of one book, someone said that the best bird artist in their opinion was a man called William T Cooper, so of course I did a Google search and found that he was an Australian artist.

John: Is he the one that David Attenborough mentioned in the Birds of Paradise book?

Christina: Yes. I think he lived in Queensland, and sadly died a few years ago. I found out more about his work and fell in love with it. I discovered that a lady called Sarah Scragg who is a film maker, visited him and made a DVD called Birdman. It’s about him and his working process and shows him going into his garden which backs onto rainforest, where he gathers twigs and branches and so on, to use as reference material for his paintings. It’s really interesting and I’d recommend it. His books now are really expensive to buy. The other artist I follow is John Muir Laws who has written a book called Laws Guide To Drawing Birds, and that was very helpful to me when I first started drawing birds.

Lars Jonssen, Bullfinches in the Winter, Watercolour 2017, 36 x 48 cm

John: I love the work of Lars Jonssen too. His work is absolutely superb. I have a couple of his books.

Christina: He’s painted the arctic birds hasn’t he.

John: That’s right.. the freedom of his style is what I love…it’s so loose. It’s what I like about your style, the looseness.

Christina Hopkinson, Golden Slumbers, watercolour on Bockingford CP watercolour board, 15 x 22

Christina: That’s what I love about watercolour in that it gives you the freedom to do that.

John: It’s what I say to my students, don’t scrub at the work, just let it flow, let the medium work for you and let the water take the colour.

Christina: I think that’s what I found so difficult in the beginning having worked in oils before. Letting go of the desire to control everything. It’s taken me until now to have that confidence to put the paint in the water and leave it alone to let it do its thing.

John: I’m telling my students all the time, more than anything else, to leave it and not touch it whatever you do. Resist the temptation to go back in with a brush and fiddle with it.

Christina: I still fight with that now…I still fight with it. I think oh I’ll just do a little bit more and the more I do, the better it’ll be. And it’s not! The more you do, the worse it gets. I’m with you there completely. What about the need to surround yourself with positivity? I remember someone who said to me that her husband said she couldn’t paint and that what she did wasn’t very good, so I said stop showing him because, especially in the beginning, you need encouragement and creative comments. I find that I get positivity from being a member of the organisations I’m a member of.

John Horton Golden Plover – Summer glory Golden plover in full summer plumage. Unframed oil- 41 x 30 cms.

John: Also from exhibiting work, you often get good positive feedback. The great part is when you connect with someone viewing your work, you create a link with them straight away, and that’s why we do it. It’s presenting our feelings and our passion for the birds and the medium and the painting. It’s very heartwarming I always find and it just inspires you to do more.

Christina: You need any critique of your work to be positive.

John: That’s right, with the TWASI weekend we have critiques and we have top flight professional artists who offer a critique which then develops into a discussion, and I find with the many years I’ve listened to those, I’ve found it incredibly helpful. Not only the constructive criticism of your work, but also that of other artists work, and what comes out of the discussion as well.

Christina: When painting, what do you try to achieve in terms of for example, colour and light?

John: A painting succeeds if it has light in it. I think that’s the most important element then the shadows and contrast with the light all come together to make a painting live. If you haven’t got that, then the picture’s going to fail.

Christina: I’d agree entirely with you. That’s what I like to achieve, and I also strive to use drama with the use of lighting. I admire the work of Caravaggio and his use of contra jour. I received a Highly Commended for a painting called, ‘There Is Always One’ which I had in the AAA’s Spring exhibition in 2018, and in that I endeavoured to introduce a narrative and use a dramatic effect with a strong light and dark contrast, and that seemed to have worked.

Christina Hopkinson, There Is Always One, watercolour, (21”x29”)

John: I was challenged to paint an abstract at TWASI. I’d been on an avocet cruise on the Exe estuary and a huge flock of avocets, probably three or four hundred strong, took off and there was this dramatic black and white, so I used that as the basis for my abstract. It was just loosely painted black and white shapes. Nothing was connected, it was just black and white shapes against a strip of sky beach sky and sea, but it had a lot of drama and the black and white of the birds really impressed me, so it was very interesting to use it as an abstract.

John Horton, A Winter Flocking , watercolour

Christina: Yes, it takes you out of your comfort zone as well that kind of a challenge.

John: It was a very challenging piece to do and also it developed movement. It was very well received and in fact it was accepted into the David Shepherd Wildlife Art exhibition and it went into the portfolio there so it was very gratifying.

Christina: You only get that spontaneity by working from life don’t you?

John: That’s right, and also taking a flat piece of paper and giving it depth and creating a three dimensional feel to it.

Christina: Is there anything you feel you want to improve on in your work?

John: I think you’re always striving. People ask ‘what’s your favourite painting?’, and I would say it’s always the next one you’re going to do. It’s endless, are you ever satisfied with what you do? I would say probably not. It’s an infinite quest I think.

Christina Hopkinson, The Last Lemon 2 , watercolour, (21”x29”)

Christina: I think if you ever feel you’ve approached that state, then it’s time to give up isn’t it? If you think what you’ve just done is perfect, then anything you do later is never going to live up to that. It’s why I’ve been on a bit of a rollercoaster ride with producing work for this exhibition, it’s because I keep thinking that I’ll do another one, then I’ll do another one, because the next one is going to be better, and it’s never ending, but it also drives you on. I would really like to get to grips with birds in the landscape, especially with the Florida birds that I paint.

John: People associate me with birds in the landscape, and it’s always the greatest compliment when people say that they feel they can walk into the picture. I feel I’ve achieved something.

John Horton, Avocets preening Painted from a field sketch at RSPB Minsmere Framed size- 67 x 100 cms

About the artists:

Christina Hopkinson, Black Bellied Whistling Ducks 2 – Myakka Florida

Christina Hopkinson is a member of The Association of Animal Artists, The Wildlife Art Society International and is an Associate member of The Guild Society of Artists, (part of the Fine Art Trade Guild). You can view more of Christina’s work on her website here.

John Horton is an honorary fellow and long-standing committee member of The Wildlife Art Society International. John also runs workshops from his studio in Worcestershire and you can find details of his classes on his website here.

To find out more about the organisations Christina and John are involved in, please visit the following websites. www.twasi.com www.associationofanimalartists.com www.fineart.co.uk

About the exhibition:

‘Our Feathered Friends’ – an exhibition of watercolour paintings by Christina Hopkinson and John Horton.

Where: The Granary Art Gallery, Weston Park, TF11 8LE

When: 2nd March to 31st March 2019

The gallery is open daily from 11am – 4pm and admission is free. There is a cafe and a restaurant on site, and facilities for the disabled.

Please visit www.weston-park.com for further details and more information.

To find out about other exhibitions that are on currently please visit our artist calendar or to read more on exhibitions and events visit our What’s On page.

The top image is Christina Hopkinson, The Last Lemon 2 , watercolour, (21”x29”)

The post Watercolour Bird artists in conversation on their upcoming exhibition Feathered Friends appeared first on Jackson's Art Blog.

Why are greys important when painting with watercolour? Greys are the workhorse of many artists, used to create lines, shadows, details and light effects. While some painters use a basic grey (a mixture of black and white), most artists use complementary colour mixes or black pigmented paint modified with another colour to create greys with variations within them, subtle undertones and depth – just as grey appears in real life. Choosing whether you want a warm, cool or neutral grey can set the whole atmosphere of your painting. With that in mind Daniel Smith has collaborated with three artists to create six tube grey watercolours, each of which produces a unique effect, giving you a quick base to use by itself or to mix in with your normal watercolour palette.

• Daniel Smith New Grey Signature Series Watercolours:
• Alvaro’s Warm Grey and Cool Grey
• Jane Blundell’s Non-staining, Non-dulling Grey
• Joseph Zbukvic’s Neutral Grey, Warm Grey and Cool Grey

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Daniel Smith new Signature Series Grey Watercolours

Daniel Smith Six New Watercolour Greys

Daniel Smith have created a new signature series of colours including 6 greys, in collaboration with artists, to help encompass some of the infinite range of tones and allow artists to complete their perfect palette with premixed tubes.

These six new grey colours have been designed by three world-renowned artists so that there is a full range that artists can trust to choose from. The three artists who Daniel Smith worked with to develop these colours are Master Artist Alvaro Castagnet, Master Colourist Jane Blundell, and Master Artist Joseph Zbukvic.

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Alvaro Castagnet’s Warm Caliente Grey and Alvaro’s Cool Fresco Grey

Alvaro’s two watercolour greys painted out

Greys can be bold or subtle if mixed with careful consideration and insightful colour theory. Premixed greys are incredibly important when working plein air as they allow you to keep up with changing light and weather conditions. Alvaro has chosen his greys to work with plein air painting and to allow fast colour mixing within your colour palette.

You can see two of his mixing grids below (taken from the Daniel Smith blog) which show you how both Alvaro greys can modify and create a beautiful array of neutrals when mixed with the Daniel Smith essential watercolour set, giving you a sense of their versatility.

Alvaro’s Caliente Warm Grey Mixing Grid

Alvaro’s Fresco Cool Grey Mixing Grid

Alvaro’s greys are about, in his own words:

‘…magnetism, fury, energy…power.  You know greys… create a feeling of danger, emotion, passion… mystery…evoke things that are unknown…darkness.  I use these greys to create a painting that has a magnetism…energy, mystery, passion…something to discover, entering the unknown, darkness.  Both of these colors have just this type of feel to me.’-Alvaro Castagnet

Alvaro Castagnet, Wed in NY, 56 x 75 cm, watercolour

Alvaro’s Caliente Warm Grey:

‘[A] terrific hue, very powerful, excellent to create strong and warm paintings.  In monochrome this wonderful Grey is perfect to achieve a powerful atmosphere with amazing glow. This color is also perfect to add dramatic highlights and shadows.’-Alvaro Castagnet

Alvaro Castagnet, Paris View, painted using Alvaro’s Caliente Grey

This is a smooth, warm sift grey that tones down colours in mixes and adds a subtle warmth to them. It is semi-transparent and non-granulating (making it perfect for mixed washes), is low staining (preventing haloing) and has an excellent lightfastness. Pigments include: PBr 7, PB 29, PBk 6

Alvaro’s Caliente Grey Watercolour

Alvaro’s Fresco Cool Grey:

“A very powerful and true hue, with no artificial look to it. Passionate and mysterious, great to evoke distant elements of any kind even the unknown…I love the hue.”

Alvaro Castagnet, Genoa, painted using Alvaro’s Fresco Grey

Fresco grey is a cool dark almost black in mass tone that can be drawn out to a cool misty wash . It mixes well, toning down and adding a coolness to certain colours. It is semi-transparent, granulating (allowing for dramatic effects), low staining and has an excellent lightfastness. The pigments include PB 29, PV 15, PW 6.

Alvaro’s Fresco Grey Watercolour

About Alvaro Castagnet

Alvaro with plein air watercolour piece

Alvaro was born in Montevideo, in Urguguay. He was encouraged from a young age by his father to pursue art, he studied first at the National School of Art in Montevideo under Professor Esteban Garino and then at the Fine Arts University under Miguel Angel Pareja. He lived in Australia for 20 years and has know returned to Montevideo. He has exhibited extensively over the last 30 years and has won several awards.
He has published several books: ‘Watercolor Painting with Passion’, ‘Painting with Passion – Beyond Technique’ and ‘Watercolour Masterclass’ books. He has also featured in innumerable art books, videos, DVDs and acclaimed international art publications. His main studio is located in Montevideo, Uruguay.

You can view all of our products that Alvaro has been involved in making here, including signature Escoda brush sets, Danial Smith watercolour colours and sets, DVDs and books.

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Jane Blundell’s Non-staining , Non-dulling Grey

Jane Blundell, Looking across at Hunter’s Hill, Watercolour painted with Jane’s Grey

Artist and blogger Jane Blundell wanted to develop a grey that was non-staining (unlike those using Phthalo Blue) and that didn’t have the dulling effects of a grey which included a black pigment. It needed to be liftable and granulating to create stormy skies and soft shadows as well as being a neutral tint that could darken colours without changing their temperature.

Part of the importance of this is the desire by artists to use a grey that maintains the colour harmony within a palette and artwork – this is often done by mixing ultramarine blue and burnt sienna, however, it’s unusual to get this as a convenience colour. You can see the “recipe” in Jane’s swatches taken from her informative blog below.

Swatches for working out Jane’s Grey taken from her blog

Jane has been mixing in individual pans and palettes for years and a couple of years ago Jane also approached Daniel Smith to make available in tube form to meet the demands of her students and followers for this grey mix. It is semi-transparent, granulating, low staining and has excellent lightfastness. The pigments included are PB 29, PBr 7.

Jane’s Grey Watercolour

You can see the range of colours in can create in these mixing grids done by Jane (taken from her blog) below.

Mixing with Jane’s Grey by Jane Blundell

Mixing with Jane’s Grey by Jane Blundell

About Jane Blundell

Jane Blundell at work

Jane Blundell is a watercolour artist who is passionate about colour. She has been painting professionally for over 35 years and writes tutorials along with detailed paint descriptions on her website and blog. She teaches drawing and watercolour to artists online and at home in Australia. You can see her workshop listings here. She has written articles and pieces for several publications and has also published a book ‘The Ultimate Mixing Palette: a World of Colours’. She exhibits regularly and is a member of several art societies and institutions.

You can view Jane’s Grey here.

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Joseph Zbukvic’s Neutral Grey, Warm Grey and Cool Grey

Joseph Zbukvic comparing his three greys

Joseph Zbukvic is known for his considerate use of greys in his watercolours:
‘I’m asked endlessly what grey I use..I actually make up my own using just about every colour on my palette….’ – Joseph Zbukvic

‘As my painting style progressed over the years, I eventually found myself using many shades of grey which I always mixed myself using numerous pigments on my palette. I was constantly asked by students and other artists, what they were and how to mix them. A question almost impossible to answer. This led me to develop the three greys in collaboration with Daniel Smith. I hope they bring success to everyone using them.’ – Joseph Zbukvic

Joseph Zbukvic comparing his three greys for different light effects

Joseph recommends having a range of greys to cover different light conditions. Since light can be neutral, cool or warm he has created with Daniel Smith three greys to match each type of light. This allows you to modify other colours quickly to produce the right temperature and atmosphere throughout the piece.

They can also be used by themselves to create expressive cityscapes.

Joseph Zbukvic’s Neutral Grey Watercolour

Joseph Zbukvic painting using Joseph Z’s Neutral Grey

‘…perfect for those strong, New York type cityscapes. When undiluted it is basically black and can provide powerful monolithic shapes without looking chalky.  It gives a look of charcoal drawing or old-fashioned photographs.’ – Joseph Zbukvic

Joseph Z’s Neutral Grey is a rich black, grey that is very dark in mass tone and has virtually no colour bias meaning you can tone down colours easily. It is semi transparent, granulating, low staining and has excellent lightfastness. It includes these pigments: PB 29, PBk 9, PBk 10.

Joseph Z’s Neutral Grey Watercolour

Joseph Zbukvic’s Warm Grey

Joseph Zbukvic painting using Joseph Z’s Warm Grey

‘…perfect for strong summer light when shadows have that rich warm glow. It’s particularly useful for painting late afternoon light effects with its pinkish glow when it’s diluted into lighter washes. It can capture that evening glow perfectly.’ – Joseph Zbukvic

Joseph Z’s Warm Grey is also very dark in mass tone but had a pinkish undertone in light washes, allowing it to tone down other colours while adding slight warmth. It is semi transparent, granulating, low staining and has excellent lightfastness. The pigments included are PY 43, PV 19, PBk 6.

Joseph Z’s Warm Grey Watercolour

Joseph Zbukvic’s Cool Grey

Joseph Zbukvic painting using Joseph Z’s Cool Grey

‘…I designed this grey to use for those frosty morning and rainy winter day paintings. It has a lovely greenish sediment which is perfect for low light, early morning light effects. I think this is a must for anyone painting winter scenes.’ – Joseph Zbukvic

Joseph Z’s Cool Grey while very dark in mass tone has an unusual green violet tone, it tones down nicely other colours while adding a lush coolness. It is semi transparent, granulating, low staining and has excellent lightfastness. The pigments included are  PB 36, PV 19, PBk 6.

Joseph Z’s Cool Grey Watercolour

Below are mixing grids to demonstrate the way each grey interacts with the Daniel Smith Essentials Watercolour Set and the range they can each produce.

Joseph Zs mixing grid with his Neutral Grey and Essential Daniel Smith Mixing set

Joseph Zs mixing grid with his Warm Grey and Essential Daniel Smith Mixing set

Joseph Zs mixing grid with his Cool Grey and Essential Daniel Smith Mixing set

About Joseph Zbukvic

Joseph Zbukvic with painting

Joseph Zbukvic works mainly plein air, painting on location. He is a famous watercolourist who is held in galleries and collections worldwide. His style is lyrical and while encompassing a broad range of subjects seeks to product atmospheric, sensitive paintings. His series of DVDs are informative and seek to show other artists how to achieve their own style through using Zbukvic’s methods and sensitivity to light and surroundings.

You can see Escoda brush sets Joseph Zbuknvic’s worked on, the Daniel Smith Grey Watercolours and a range of his DVDs here.

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You can view the full Daniel Smith Watercolour Signature Series here, including all the greys.

Read more about Daniel Smith’s collaboration with these artists and their full articles on the Daniel Smith Blog here.

Daniel Smith Six New Signature Greys

The post Daniel Smith’s Six New Grey Watercolours Made in Collaboration with Artists appeared first on Jackson's Art Blog.

Watercolourist and art tutor, Anna Zadorozhnaya decided she’d like to try out our Jackson’s own brand range. Looking at a selection of Jackson’s brushes, Two Rivers watercolour paper and our own brand artist watercolour paint tubes, she explains in detail what she likes, and dislikes, about each material and why.

Review of Jackson’s Artist Watercolours, Two Rivers Watercolour Paper and a Selection of Jackson’s Watercolour Brushes

By Anna Zadorozhnaya

Studio shot of Jackson’s watercolour products

My name is Anna Zadorozhnaya, I’m a watercolour artist from Russia. Jackson’s Art Supplies kindly sent me some of their own brand Jackson’s materials for testing. And I decided I wanted to write my opinion of all three of the main categories of watercolour materials – brushes, paper and paints.

First of all, a few words about my technique: I mainly paint with pure watercolour, rarely using mixed media, and I prefer traditional methods of painting (mostly with large amounts of water). I also want to point out that above all the category that is most important to me is paper, then paint, and after that brushes.

Jackson’s Watercolour Brush Review

Jackson’s Two Rivers Watercolour Review

Jackson’s Artist Watercolours Review

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Jackson’s Own Brand Watercolour Brushes

A selection of Jackson’s Watercolour Brushes

Jackson’s own brand is widely known, especially due to their brushes – they are not so expensive and of a high quality. I can confirm that – in my opinion, it’s true: they really are very good.

Jackson’s Kolinsky Sable Brush Round Size 6, series 920, 4mm hair width

The Jackson’s sable round brush with the short handle (I have a #6, series S.920, hair width 4 mm) seemed to me to be a typical representative of sable brushes: it holds a relatively large amount of water inside the bundle and differs from other hairs as it is softer than synthetics and harder than, for example, squirrel or goat. Concerning the sharpness of the tip, it worked most of the time: sometimes it was very sharp, but if there was not enough water inside the bundle, the tip turned into a kind of broom. The hair itself is very soft, it allows the ability to make a controlled line of different thickness. The quality of the brush is good: the ferrule is tight and seems it will remain tight for ages, the handle is varnished, the signatures don’t tend to rub off, and the brush lays comfortably in your hand.

Jackson’s Icon brush set (B700-8,702-1/2,777-2) appear to have become firmly my everyday work brushes. Usually I’m cautious about sets, but here is a very well-turned kit, which you can use to paint practically all paintings upto A3 – it includes a round, sable and synthetic mixed hair brush, a flat brush with the same hair and a large synthetic quill brush. On the first look, the brushes look like entirely synthetic, and you expect a certain level of hardness, but they are really soft and the same time really elastic. They are perfectly controlled and are obedient – all the brushes have a well thought out balance of keeping water and they are comfortable to hold. The round brushes have a sharp tip, the flat gives the opportunity to do straight washes and lifting out. The only thing that I didn’t like in them, doesn’t apply to the quality of the brushes: I’ve spent a lot of time trying to lift off the sticky layer from the barcode, which is glued straight on to the handles. Anyway, they’re cool brushes, and I love them a lot.

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Jackson’s Two Rivers Watercolour Paper

Bleed out on Jackson’s Two Rivers Watercolour Paper

Sky painting by Anna Zadorozhnaya on Jackson’s Two Rivers Watercolour Paper

For me paper is the priority material for watercolour painting, and I had high hopes for the handmade paper Two Rivers (140lb, NOT, 16X20 in). These hopes did not materialize, and I have good reasons for why I did not like this paper.

It is described as conservation quality, made with 100% cotton and linen rag and as being very hard sized. As it said, the surface is incredibly tough and allows the artist to work the surface for much longer than with more absorbent artists papers, also the paint is not drawn into the paper, so the colours don’t fade as on classic cotton papers.

It’s hard not to agree with this description: it’s clearly visible that the texture is very unusual, tough and rough, and that the colours tend to stay as they would on the palette. But, the behaviour of the paper is more common for cellulose papers, and you definitely don’t expect it from cotton. There are also cons about the paint, not being drawn into the paper – for example, the fact that everything stays on the surface, including water, and, accordingly, you cannot apply most of the common watercolour techniques.

Water beading on the Jackson’s Two Rivers Paper

An example of how water behaves on Jackson’s Two Rivers Paper

When applying plenty of water the surface, despite its thickness and GSM of 140lb, it begins to wave rather badly.

Jackson’s Two Rivers Watercolour Paper buckling after a generous wash

The paper allows for scrubbing and lifting out multiple times, but you must be careful of having too much water inside the brush – or you’ll have smudges. Also a few places, that were evenly washed, had strange white dots on surface.

A demonstration of strange white dots after an even wash

I tried to find out the technique suitable for this paper, but I equally didn’t like working wet-on-wet, wet-on-dry or gluing the paper to a drawing board on water…

In summary – I think of Two Rivers as not as good paper for watercolour painting, but, maybe, it would work well for other techniques – for example pastel or acrylic.

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Jackson’s Artist Watercolour Paints

Jackson’s Watercolour tubes and painted out mixing grid

Jacksons’s Artist Watercolours are, from my point of view, perfect working everyday paints: they are professional quality, have plenty of colours in palette, they are available in different forms, including large 21ml tubes, and they cost a lot less than paints of this quality normally do. The tubes have a retro-design and minimalistic approach to package: there is only the name and number of the colour, signature “The finest pigments. Luminous colour. Professional quality”, information about the pigments, opacity, and mysteriously for me a flower, which, apparently, represents lightfastness. As a binder gum arabic is used, and undoubtedly honey – this can be seen in the consistency and speed of drying on the palette: for six days while on the palette the paints were soft inside. All the paints are positioned as lightfast.

Two particular qualities, which should be noted, are a gouache smell from the paints that is manifested more than with other watercolour brands, and the binder, that comes from the tube while opening them is similar to other watercolour brands that use honey as a binder.

Jackson’s Artist Watercolour and palette

Jackson’s sent me six colours in tubes, and below is the brief opinion of each of them.

Jackson’s French Ultramarine’s granulation

French Ultramarine

The 249 French Ultramarine (PB29) is great! It had a very beautiful hue, fine grinding, very clear colour – transparent, lightening. There is also one interesting characteristic – unlike most ultramarines in other brands, it has a relatively low granulation.

Showing the opacities of Jackson’s Watercolour Сerulean Blue and Cadmium Red Orange

Сerulean Blue

The 264 Сerulean Blue (PB35) is pleasant in hue, it is a reference gentle blue. There is the marking “opaque” on the tube, but in fact it is transparent, and it granulates very much. At the same time, like most ceruleans, it will be consumed faster than other paints – compared with other colours, according to subjective sensations, it is not so intensely saturated with pigment.

Cadmium Red Orange

The 151 Cadmium Red Orange (PR108) has a visible red undertone, it is also declared as a opaque and is also, in my opinion, transparent.

Jackson’s Watercolour tubes and painted out mixing grid

Raw Umber

The 356 Raw Umber (PBr7) gives mixtures a strange yellowness, although the shade itself is not bad.

Burnt Sienna

The 362 Burnt Sienna is a lovely colour, and I liked it a lot: the paint has very fine grinding, is transparent and has a beautiful, clean and deep colour.

Warm Sepia

The 417 Warm Sepia is a typical representative of its family: a pleasant colour, opaque and gives a good grey in mixes with blue.

In general, I liked watercolours – I would say, they are worth their money and I can recommend them as a good paints.

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About Anna Zadorozhnaya

Anna Zadorozhnaya was born and lives in Moscow, Russia. Anna has an MA in Art from Oxford Brookes University and is a member of the International Federation of Aquarellists. She shares her watercolour paintings on her popular Instagram site @draw_better and has written on Schmincke Horadam Watercolours for us before, which you can read here.

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You can view our whole Jackson’s brand Watercolour range here.

The post Anna Zadorozhnaya Reviews Jackson’s Watercolour Paints, Brushes and Paper appeared first on Jackson's Art Blog.

We thought Anne Pickersgill’s product review of Daniel Smith’s Jean Haines’ Green Watercolours over at jacksonsart.com was really interesting so we asked her to elaborate on it for this post. ‘The Phthalo Turquoise is dark and such a beautifully clear shade; the Cascade Green is a very moody, realistic green; and the Undersea Green, while gorgeous in itself, also has a surprising characteristic – the quin gold separates from the French ultramarine, giving a lovely effect.’

Studio set up for things I found Under the Oak Tree

A Review of Daniel Smith’s Jean Haines’ Trio of Green Watercolours: Phthalo Turquoise, Cascade Green and Undersea Green

By Anne Pickersgill

As a life-long hobbyist acrylic portrait and landscape painter, I recently felt like a new challenge. I’d always heard that watercolours were tricky to learn, and this was an intriguing and exciting prospect for someone who’d been working with well-behaved acrylics for so long. Surely watercolours couldn’t be that difficult to master? Wrong! Three times out of five, I automatically started to use them like acrylics. However, it’s been a lot of fun trying to come to grips with their wonderful unpredictability. I am beginning to understand why people get addicted to working with them.

Part of the fun, of course, is the collecting of the items needed to start a new hobby, as it’s not only the paint, but also the brushes and the special paper that is required. It’s now become an obsession to the extent that I’m considering sewing large pockets into the lining of my dressing gown to sneak in packages from the mailbox.

My collecting goes in object-based stages: paints, paper blocks, brushes, books, back to paints again. I tend to become interested in paints brand-by-brand, and add to my various collections as my pocket money allows. It was during my (ongoing) Daniel Smith Watercolours craze that I discovered a little set of greens, as favoured by the renowned watercolourist Jean Haines. [You can view our collection of products affiliated with Jean Haines as well as her books and DVDs here.]

Swatches on various St Cuthbert’s Mill paper samples.

There was no real reason to do four pages of swatching. I just love the look of swatches. Don’t we all?

NB Saunders Waterford 100% Cotton seems like an excellent paper, but Bockingford is not the best paper for wet-on-wet.

Daniel Smith Jean Haines’ Greens mixed with the Daniel Smith Essentials set of primary colours.

The Jean Haines’ Greens made some lovely new colours and also toned down many of the Daniel Smith Essentials beautifully.

Mt Eccles Farm Landscapes, December 2018. Stillman & Birn Beta 270 gsm 5.5 x 8.5 inch hardbound sketchbook.

My original product review for Jackson’s Art was based on the three greens being used in tiny amounts on small paintings, as seen in these quick watercolour sketches of Victorian farmland during the early weeks of the recent Australian summer. It was the perfect opportunity to try out the greens: Cascade Green and Undersea Green for dusty old cypresses and gum trees, with Green Gold and Rich Green Gold from the Daniel Smith dot card for the green yet rapidly drying grass in the paddocks; Phthalo Turquoise in pale washes with French Ultramarine for the dam and glimpses of the sky. (I bought Green Gold and Rich Green Gold later as they’re both wonderful shades of green too).

Bonica and Her Offspring. March 2019. Stonehenge Aqua 300gsm/140lb Hot-press 9 x 12 inch block.

I wanted to try the Jean Haines’ greens in a “pretty” picture, so, after watching a few YouTube tutorials, I did this loose floral painting of one of my garden roses and its seedlings. The background is mostly painted in Phthalo Turquoise with touches of green gold. The rose leaves are painted in Cascade Green, which separated gorgeously into blue and green. The roses are Daniel Smith Quin Rose and Daniel Smith Quin Pink. I didn’t feel that Undersea Green had a place here.

Grape Vine Leaf. March 2019. Winsor & Newton 300gsm/140lb Hot-press 9 x 12 inch block, swatches.

Grape Vine Leaf. March 2019. Winsor & Newton 300gsm/140lb Hot-press 9 x 12 inch block, completed.

Undersea Green came into its own when I spotted the first autumnal leaf of the season. It was perfect for the different shades of dull green remaining in the leaf, from the paler areas to the almost black splotches. The other autumn colours are named on the vine leaf’s swatch page in the photo.

The brushes I’ve used here and in all of the other paintings are the excellent Escoda Versatil synthetics in sizes 8,6,4,2 and the Jackson’s Raven mop/quill size 10/0.

Things I Found Under my Oak Tree. Fluid 100 300gsm /140lb Hot-press 6 x 8 inch block.

Many layers of Cascade Green and Undersea Green were used here to build up the flat, dark green leaf colours of the late summer oak tree. The granulation is very effective, creating a bit of texture without having to go into too much detail on the leaf. The green acorn has layers of Yellow Hansa Light, Green Gold, Rich Green Gold, plus Phthalo Turquoise mixed with Green Gold in a very pale wash for its cap. Similar colours have been used for the brown acorn, plus Burnt Sienna Light, which I understand is available only in the Alvaro Castagnet Daniel Smith Collection. The list of colours used for the beetle are swatched and named on the Moulin du Roy paper sample in the photo. I started off with pale wet-in-wet layers and finished with wet-on-dry strokes using a tiny model painter’s brush.

Side note: I thrashed this paper to within an inch of its life with water and brushstrokes and it held up extremely well.

Daniel Smith swatches for the beetle

Jimmy and a Possum in the Evening. Strathmore Soft Cover Sketchbook.

A little illustration-style picture starring my dog, Jimmy. The Undersea Green is great for the shadows on the gum trees; Cascade Green for some of the other trees’ shadows, and Phthalo Turquoise is excellent for mixing all the other evening-tinted greens in the garden.

It’s quite simple, everybody who enjoys doing landscapes, seascapes, trees, plants or flowers needs the Jean Haines’ Greens!

Two of these greens are beautiful: Phthalo Turquoise and Cascade Green. Two have delightful separation characteristics: Cascade Green and Undersea Green.

Each colour is useful in many situations, including:
Phthalo Turquoise for skies, water, flowers, backgrounds.
Cascade Green for mountains, trees, summer and autumnal leaves, water, deep seas.
Undersea Green for trees, leaves, stormy skies, stormy seas.

I adore all shades of green – I’m putting together a mixed-brand 24 half-pan set of greens and blue-greens for myself, and this trio of Jean Haines Greens will be definite inclusions in that palette.

About Anne Pickersgill:

Anne P

I’m an Australian self-taught artist who’s been drawing and painting for as long as I can remember – people mainly, but also landscapes. I have a large garden and I’m a plantaholic, so I have recently started learning how to do botanical style watercolours through an online course.
I have a WordPress Site that I haven’t added to for a long time, but it shows some of my “fan-art” portraits in acrylics. You can view it here.

You can view Daniel Smith’s Jean Haines’ Green Watercolour Set of Three online here, our range of Daniel Smith Watercolours here and a large selection of watercolour papers and sketchbooks here.

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Calling all artists to share their views!

We would like to encourage you to write a review on our website of any products that you have used. Simply navigate to the product you wish to review and click on the ‘Reviews’ button beneath the product image. Be thoughtful and detailed – think about what information will be useful to others.

Each month we will be selecting several well-written examples which will be published on our blog. The writer of the best review will receive a £25 Jackson’s gift voucher plus a photograph of them in their studio (if they wish) and a link to their website will appear alongside their review.

The post Review of Daniel Smith’s Jean Haines’ Three Green Watercolours appeared first on Jackson's Art Blog.

After reading Ann Cahill’s review on jacksonsart.com of Jackson’s Artist Cadmium Yellow Orange Watercolour saying ‘this is a lovely rich orange which, when picked up with more water on the brush, is a really lovely mellow orange yellow… very good for botanical work as most oranges I’ve tried are really quite harsh.’ We asked her to elaborate on her review and she started talking to us about why she transitioned from student grade to artist watercolour paint.

Contents

The Limitations of Student Grade Watercolours

The Behaviour of the Watercolour when Lifting from the Pan

Mixing Botanical tones with Schmincke Horadam Watercolours

Why Paying Attention to the Pigments in Watercolour is Important

Advice on which Artist Watercolours to Buy First

Pros and Cons of Buying Artist Watercolour Sets

Conclusion

About Ann Cahill

Winsor & Newton Cotman Watercolour Travel Set

Transitioning from Student to Artist quality Watercolours

By Ann Cahill

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The Limitations of Student Grade Watercolours

As an amateur I was, initially, quite happy with my box of Cotman watercolours. Painting almost exclusively Irish landscapes. West of Ireland at that. Which meant soft dull colours… the landscape seen through the mist of typical August bank holiday weather i.e. wet and windy.

Split Rock, Easky as an example of muted landscape, by Ann Cahill, using W&N Cotman watercolours

It was only when taking a garden design course, and I was trying to do some illustrations of potential gardens, that I realised the limitations of student quality watercolours. To any professional artists out there it’s obvious, but I had to learn this for myself. If the colour wasn’t already there in the set, then trying to mix it from pans, very few of which were single pigment colours, meant that most mixed colours ended up dull and muddy. Of course I take responsibility here, I am an untrained dauber. Still, if you wish to inspire a customer to go ahead with spending money on a new garden design, it does help if the garden design were not to seem constantly swathed in the mist of “West of Ireland August bank holiday weather”.
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Schmincke Horadam Watercolour Sets

The Behaviour of the Watercolour when Lifted from the Pan

Looking for better pigments, I initially tried a couple of W&N artists colours but the real revelation of the upgrade came when I splashed out on set of Schmincke Horadam paints (half pans). The colours were amazing, especially the cadmiums. The problem now was that the darker colours were so pigment rich, I couldn’t immediately tell what colour each pan was without making a colour chart. (The Cotman set colours were obvious on sight.)

Swatches of Schmincke Horadam Watercolour

Without doubt one of the main joys of using artists grade paints is how well they lift from the pan even with just a damp brush. Here I would say that Schmincke Horadam are superb. The Jackson’s artist watercolour are also very good in this respect, especially considering their very reasonable price. I have found the W & N artists pan paints are comparatively hard to take up on the brush and, when using tubes, hard to reactivate once dried on the palette.
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Swatches of Schmincke Watercolours Sap Green, Hookers Green and Viridian

Mixing Botanical Colours with Schmincke Horadam Watercolours

As a learner I had made myself a book of watercolour mixes using combinations of the paints I had. I was especially keen on developing a range of greens because greens for foliage are rarely, if ever, “sap” or “hookers green” or “Viridian”. I spent quite some time producing pages of greens, reds, pinks, purples, browns, greys, blues, chromatic blacks and so on. After I bought my Schmincke Horadam set I felt like throwing that book out the window and starting again! It was slightly like using a different language.

I still kept my Cotman set, but without the paints. The little spaces are now full of paints poured in from tubes. In fact, the little plastic box is so light, it is ideal for painting en plein air, especially if I’m not even sure I’m going to paint anything when out on a walk.
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Swatch of Daniel Smith Moonglow Watercolour

Why Paying Attention to the Pigments in Watercolour is Important

Apart from Schmincke Horadam, which are probably my favourite, I have tried Daniel Smith watercolours. I’m ashamed to say I am easily entranced by the names alone. How could I resist “Moonglow” which was described somewhere as the perfect colour for the shadows on clouds. It is, indeed, a gorgeous deep lilac tinged grey, but so far from my experience if I mix it with any other colour it makes a brown soil colour. Moonglow is already a mix of a blue, a green and a red pigment…. So now I pay more attention to the pigments listed. I have spent numerous sessions on the internet looking through the pigments listed on www.artiscreation.com which gives me far more information than I need or can remember but it is fascinating. (The website doesn’t actually show you the colour by the way.)

Swatch of Jackson’s Permanent Magenta Artist Watercolour made from the pigment PV19

Of course, I now realise that even knowing the pigment colour is not sufficient. Take PV19, Quinacridone Violet, this has numerous marketing names. I have been seduced by the various names, Ruby Red (Schmincke), Quinacridone Rose (Daniel Smith), Permanent Rose (Winsor & Newton), Permanent Carmine (Schmincke again) all turned out to be single pigments PV19 and all slightly different. Still, as one botanical artist said, “You can never have too many pinks…”

Swatch of Jackson’s Lamp Black Artist Watercolour

Some of the names given to the paints indicate their origin, such as lamp black, but even here not all lamp blacks are the same. Schmincke Horadam is Pbk6, Daler Rowney Artists’ is Pbk7 and W&N a mix of the two. Now, I know that most artists will not use black as you can get better results adding a complementary colour, or mixing up your own chromatic black. The reason I was interested in lamp black is because I had read that in bygone days portrait artists would paint on a ground of mixed white, lemon yellow and lamp black which gives a slight olive tone, perfect for Caucasian skin in shade. This does require the “right” lamp black, however (with a blue undertone), which, according to me at least, is Pbk 7 – at least Daler Rowney’s lamp black works. Having said that, I have yet to do a portrait in watercolours… it’s just that every time I watch Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year I look across at my husband and think… I really must have a go…… after all, he’s just sitting there!

Swatch of Daniel Smith Sleeping Beauty Turquoise Watercolour

I can understand how some artists like to have a wide range of colours premade and available in pan or tube, to save time and experimentation, and for that, the Daniel Smith range is very evocative. Whilst the hypocrite in me loves Moonglow, some of the other names, for example, “sleeping beauty turquoise green” which seem to be their made up names for minerals they have ‘rediscovered’ are just plain annoying.

Watercolour by Adela Breton of the east façade of the ‘Nunnery’, with the ‘Church’ at Chichén Itzá, both buildings heavily decorated and with hook-nosed masks of the rain god Chac, Photo credit: Dan Brown/Bristol Museums, Galleries and Archives

Again the hypocrite in me has to admit that I can see why their Mayan series are called that, after I visited an exhibition in Bristol last year of the large scale watercolour copies of Mayan wall paintings/reliefs the explorer Adela Breton made in the Nineteenth century. I will also add that some of Daniel Smiths mineral paints are gorgeous such as genuine amethyst. However, whilst some paint names do annoy me, I wouldn’t want to rely on a Pantone-like system of numbers only.
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Swatch of Daniel Smith Genuine Amethyst Watercolour

Advice on which Artist Watercolours to Buy First

It’s all too easy to get carried away with new paints, and especially as there are so many in the artists’ ranges. If you are still using student range paints and are not sure if the artists’ ranges are worth the extra money, may I recommend starting with one or two of the heavy metal pigments, the cadmiums and the cobalts. These are often so vibrant and pigment rich that a little goes a long way. Mixing with these colours is truly a revelation. If I had to choose one colour to start with, I’d go with Schmincke’s Cobalt Turquoise which is a perfect colour in itself, hard to beat, but it is in the mixing that it shows why it’s a series 4, i.e. expensive paint. Just the sheer range of greens from acid green to “deep in a dark forest” kind of green (yes, I made that name up – didn’t I say I was a hypocrite?) which is very useful for anyone interested in botanical or landscape painting.
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Swatch of Schmincke Cobalt Turquoise Watercolour

Pros and Cons of Buying Artist Watercolour Sets

Although sets are an expensive outlay, they are often cheaper than buying the colours individually. The downside to sets is that there are usually colours included that you wouldn’t have chosen yourself (I have yet to use the silver or gold from my Schmincke set – yet. They generally have a good palette of cool and warm primaries plus the usual earth colours. As for using pans versus tubes, I generally prefer the pans (especially Schmincke as their paints are so easy to lift off) but I sometimes buy a tube colour and using an empty pan will give some of it away to a friend to try out….. especially if it is a series 3 or 4.
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Swatch of Schmincke Green Gold Watercolour that replaced Schmincke 536 Green Yellow (discontinued in 2017)

Conclusion

I recently bought two new Schmincke colours, perhaps unconsciously chosen because they were pretty much complementary, I sketched these pears using only these two colours. I was surprised with what I could do with these two alone, and that despite they were both were made up of two pigments. Ultramarine Violet and Green Yellow.

Pair of Pears watercolour by Ann Cahill

I’m sure most readers of Jackson’s Blog will understand exactly how little pans or tubes of luscious and delicious colour can create excitement and enjoyment even when ‘playing’ with the colours themselves, never mind what can be created using them. That pleasure and enjoyment is so much greater when the colours are artist quality.

Swatch of Schmincke Ultramarine Violet Watercolour

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About Ann Cahill

Ann Cahill is an amateur artist who is currently teaching herself and experimenting with different media and approaches. She does plant drawings as a means of really “seeing” the plants that she works with as a professional gardener. She uses her own illustrations for her garden designs if her customers are redoing beds/borders/whole gardens, and they need help envisioning what it might look like.

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You can view all of our artist grade watercolours here, including Schmincke, Daniel Smith and Jackson’s Artist Watercolours.

The student grade watercolours we offer are available here.

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Calling all artists to share their views!

We would like to encourage you to write a review on our website of any products that you have used. Simply navigate to the product you wish to review and click on the ‘Reviews’ button beneath the product image. Be thoughtful and detailed – think about what information will be useful to others.

Each month we will be selecting several well-written examples which will be published on our blog. The writer of the best review will receive a £25 Jackson’s gift voucher plus a photograph of them in their studio (if they wish) and a link to their website will appear alongside their review.

The post Why choose Artist Quality Watercolour Paint over Student Grade? appeared first on Jackson's Art Blog.

Our attention was caught by Alexander Otis’s review of a Da Vinci watercolour brush on jacksonsart.com saying that it ‘is a versatile, well made watercolor brush great for traveling or everyday use.’ We asked him to explain further why he prefers this Da Vinci Maestro brush over other brands brushes.

Nude Female Example, Otis—piece created using only the Da Vinci 1503 size 8 brush and a pencil as tools

Review of a Da Vinci Maestro Travel Brush

By Alexander Otis

The Da Vinci Maestro Pocket Brush series 1503 size 8 works well as a travel companion due to its versatility, compact size when stored, and sturdy, screw-down case; lending itself well to quick sketches, thought out studies, and onsite finished work.

Useful Inbuilt Sturdy Lid

Closed brush, watercolour box and sketch book

The pure Kolinsky sable stores securely into the black, plastic casing thanks to the tight screw-down design and, should the brush fall from your pocket or bag, the sable hairs are well protected due to the sturdy, thick plastic of which the case/handle is made.

Da Vinci Maestro series 1503 size 8 brush closed up ready for transport

When the brush is unsheathed for painting, the screw-down design keeps the whole brush taut and responsive; something refreshing when compared to the traditional design of pocket brushes that are held in place by friction, resulting at times, from my experience, with the belly and ferrule on the ground and the case/handle in my hand.

Unsheathed Da Vinci brush next to Escoda brushes of comparable sizes

When sheathing the brush, it is important to wet the hairs first, keeping them at a point, to avoid bending the hairs against the thick casing. It is then even more important when you get home, to take the brush from your pocket or bag, clean it, and let it dry unsheathed so as to avoid mould growth. With the proper care, and due to its hardy, compact construction, the 1503 size 8’s long and full belly will last years.

Size of Head and Fullness of Body

Wet brushes: Escoda Reserva size 8, Escoda Reserva size 10, Da Vinci 1503 size 8, Rosemary and Co series 33 size 12, Rosemary and Co series 33 size 8

Compared to other brushes labelled size 8, the Da Vinci is larger. It’s hairs, when dry and fluffy, appear longer, its belly appears fuller.

Dry brushes for comparison: Escoda Reserva size 8, Escoda Reserva size 10, Da Vinci 1503 size 8, Rosemary and Co series 33 size 12, Rosemary and Co series 33 size 8

As you can see in the picture, the Da Vinci appears fuller than the Escoda Reserva size 10, although the specified brush diameter of the Da Vinci is 5.3mm and the Esocda is 5.7mm. Whereas, the Escoda Reserva brushes lend themselves well to detail work due to their fine tip, the Da Vinci 1503 retains more water and releases the water more evenly, allowing fewer trips to pan and dish, making this brush efficient for when one needs to catch the moment before the subject of a portrait suddenly gets tired or the light of a landscape changes.

Absorbancy and Fine Mark Making Capacity

Bull and man sketch, Alexander Otis—piece created using only the Da Vinci 1503 size 8 brush and a pencil as tools.

Due to its ability to hold a significant amount of water for its size, the 1503 size 8 allows for creating washes on paper sizes similar to A4, and, after a dip into a water dish, a quick flick of the brush results in a pen-like tip.

September 2018, Alexander Otis, Watercolour, pastel and ink on paper, 15×22—piece created using only the Da Vinci 1503 size 8 brush and a pencil as tools.]

Female nude 2019, Alexander Otis, Watercolor and pencil on paper, 13×10—piece created using only the Da Vinci 1503 size 8 brush and a pencil as tools

Why You’d Choose a Da Vinci Maestro Brush

Da Vinci brush in use with watercolour pans

The perfect brush does not exist, but there is, as dictated by the circumstances, the right brush for the job. Due to its versatility, its ability to hold copious amounts of water for its size, the hairs’ malleability to my needs, and it’s compact and sturdy design, the Da Vinci 1503 size 8 is my choice for sketches, studies, and travel.

About Alexander Otis

Dante 4 2018, Alexander Otis, watercolour and graphite on paper, 12×8—piece created using only the Da Vinci 1503 size 8 brush and a pencil as tools

The majority of my work is done from life or imagination.

I was born and raised in Oklahoma; I currently reside in Central Pennsylvania.’

You can view more of Alexander Otis’s work here.

You can view our range of Da Vinci Brushes here, Escoda brushes here and Rosemary Brushes here.

Male Nude Back 2019, Alexander Otis, Watercolor and graphite on paper, 13×10—piece created using only the Da Vinci 1503 size 8 brush and a pencil as tools

Calling all artists to share their views!

We would like to encourage you to write a review on our website of any products that you have used. Simply navigate to the product you wish to review and click on the ‘Reviews’ button beneath the product image. Be thoughtful and detailed – think about what information will be useful to others.

Each month we will be selecting several well-written examples which will be published on our blog. The writer of the best review will receive a £25 Jackson’s gift voucher plus a photograph of them in their studio (if they wish) and a link to their website will appear alongside their review.

Neatly enclosed Da Vinci brush next to Escoda brushes of comparable sizes

The post Why is a Da Vinci Brush a Great Watercolour Travel Brush? appeared first on Jackson's Art Blog.

The Schmincke Horadam watercolour range contains 139 colours, 20 of these are greens. But why would you buy green rather than mixing it? Especially, when you consider it can be mixed so easily. And why would you need so many different greens? This article explains why Schmincke makes such a large range of greens and what you could use each one for.

There are several reasons which justify the extended green range. Green is a very popular and often used colour. Artists need (also in bigger quantities) several greens from a dark bluish green to a yellowish and light green which cannot be (re-)mixed accurately or which would not have the necessary brilliance of pure green colours. Different green shades are needed for landscape painting, some are important for portrait painting and some greens, like phthalo green, are a good base for mixing more green shades. Green can also overpower paintings easily or break up a piece’s colour harmony. Having several ready-made greens available can help you pick the right one to describe the texture of foliage, the quality of light and air, define water and create interesting shadows and tonal values.

With Schmincke Horadam’s extended range of green watercolours, every watercolour painter will find a wide choice of lightfast and brilliant greens that can work as a perfect base for their paintings. Of course, you can always mix even more green tones to match exactly the colour you want.

How Each of Schmincke Horadam’s Green Watercolours are Unique and What You’d Use Each One For

Cobalt Turquoise

Cobalt Turquoise Schmincke Horadam Watercolour

One of Schmincke’s bestselling watercolours, it is a brilliant and extremely lightfast turquoise with an opacifying, granulating character. This is a one-pigment-colour made with genuine cobalt pigment, PG50, Cobalt-lithium-titanium-zinc oxide. Its tinting strength is weak and be aware it will undergo a very slight drying shift, dropping in saturation up to 10%.

When mixed with yellow iron oxides it can provide a nice hue similar to Terre Verte. Warm opaque reds and scarlets make good complements to it and you can produce a great warm silvery grey when mixing it with Cadmium Red. Perfect for depicting urban structures in a warm climate.

Cobalt Green Turquoise

Cobalt Green Turquoise Schmincke Horadam Watercolour

A highly lightfast greenish turquoise, more greenish than cobalt cerulean (14499). It is opaque and a one-pigment-colour made of PB36, a combination of genuine cobalt pigment.

While it’s not too difficult to mix this hue you won’t get the beautiful granulation so loved for oceanic scenes without using the genuine pigment.

This Cobalt Green Turquoise while the same hue as Cobalt Turquoise above has a lower chroma and a lower lightness because it’s made from PB36 rather than the purer crystal PG50. It is also has a moderate drying shift, which is not lightening but means it loses 5% to 20% saturation.

Prussian Green

Prussian Green Schmincke Horadam Watercolour

Well suited for bluish shading in landscape paintings, this semi-opaque bluish green is made of PG7 Phthalocyanine green and PB60 Indanthrone blue.

It is a lightfast alternative to the historical colour made from mixing Prussian blue with a non-lightfast yellow lake.

This colour is a convenience mix and while its typical sea green colour is appealing it can also be used to create dark greens that verge on grey thanks to the Indanthrone Blue it contains.

Viridian

Viridian Schmincke Horadam Watercolour

Viridian use to be the most popular green watercolour, used by J.S. Sargent and other masters. It is a granulating, soft blue-green with a semi-transparent character and has the highest lightfastness rating. It takes skill to use the correct amount of water and technique with this colour but its glow and near neutral washes are worth the effort.

Horadam added it to their range in 2017. Viridian comes from latin ‘viridis’ = green and is the successor of former Schweinfurt green which was an important colour in 19th century–before it was discontinued due to its arsenic content. The one-pigment colour contains PG18 hydrated chromium oxide.

Chromium Oxide Green Brilliant

Chromium Oxide Green Brilliant Schmincke Horadam Watercolour

One of the standard colours, it is a highly transparent, cool, very lightfast colour with a granulating character, made of PG18 Hydrated chromium oxide and PG7 Phthalocyanine green.

It is brighter than a straight Chromium Oxide Green allowing it to be used to create brilliant green tones when mixed with yellow. This is thanks to the addition of Phthalocyanine green in the mixture.

The potential to produce bright greens, while being able to use blue and white to mute it down for describing distance in landscapes is pleasing. You could also add a little red to it to produce mossy colours and interesting browns.

Phthalo Green

Phthalo Green Schmincke Horadam Watercolour

Phthalo green is an extremely brilliant, transparent green and a good alternative to Chromium oxide green brilliant (14511). It is well-suited for mixing with yellows and reds and is especially recommended for landscape painting. It will easily dominate mixes with other strong tinting pigments so be cautious when mixing it with some reds in order to find the balance you desire.

This one-pigment-tone is an important colour for mixing more green shades and contains PG7 Phthalocyanine green. It is the green anchor pigment of many green convenience mixes and interestingly has no hue shift from mass tone to undertone.

The small particle size makes it heavily staining, so it can be used under non-staining washes you wish to lift off but it needs to be applied carefully as is difficult to lift.

Helio Green

Helio Green Schmincke Horadam Watercolour

This semi-transparent, brilliant green has a warmer character than phthalo green. This avoids the problem of trying to make other bluer phthalocyanine greens look realistic, it mimics greens found in nature and speeds up the mixing process of having to mix a three colour green.

It is a good midway between a unique green and a unique yellow and can produce good botanical browns as well as tans, when it is mixed with reds or magentas. It is particularly useful for botanical shades and paintings of foliage.

The one-pigment-tone is made of PG36 Phthalocyanine green.

Permanent Green Olive

Permanent Green Olive Schmincke Horadam Watercolour

The permanent green olive is a lightfast alternative to olive green made of the lightfast pigments PO62 Benzimidazolone and PG7 Phthalocyanine green.

It can be used to create deep oceanic green hues as well as more earthy green tones. Recommended for gum like foliage or beautiful washed out shadows when used next to complementary colours.

Many people try to create this green using another green and a brown but this can produce a muddier mix that lacks subtly. With a touch of red, you can also produce some understated greys for deeper shadows.

Sap Green

Sap Green Schmincke Horadam Watercolour

A bestselling tone with highly transparent character, already very popular in the 18th and 19th centuries. This slightly yellowish sap green is a lightfast alternative to the classical pigment formerly made from buckthorne berry juice. Made of organic pigments PY153 Nickel complex and PG7 Phthalocyanine green.

Unlike mixed sap greens, it is transparent, allowing washes and glazes. It lies in the centre of the natural green distribution meaning it’s simpler to handle and use in harmony with other colours than most watercolour greens. It can be liberally applied in mixes creating interesting distinct new shades.

It is easy to produce mixes with it the colour of deciduous leaves or deeper pine colours when it is mixed with cool, violet-blues. Combined with pinks or oranges it can describe the colours of autumn leaves in a range of subtle tans, browns and olives.

Permanent Green

Permanent Green Schmincke Horadam Watercolour

The semi-transparent permanent green has a brilliant yellow-greenish character, slightly more neutral than may green (14524). The very lightfast colour contains two lightfast pigments: PY155 Disazopigment and PG7 Phthalocyanine green.

This permanent green is lighter valued than those watercolours by the same name in other ranges which have a darker value. It takes a fair amount of adjustment to make it look natural, however, it is easy to adjust its temperature in mixes.

The best colours to mute it with to get a good plant colour are ochres, oranges, siennas or magentas. After adjustment, it’s great for spring shoots, grasses, or salad leaves. Be careful in water-heavy washes as it can separate out, although you might desire that effect.

May Green

May Green Schmincke Horadam Watercolour

This is one of Schmincke’s bestselling greens. Even though it’s a convenience mix, that’s fairly easy to create, the amount many painters use it means they often find it more effective to buy it pre-mixed.

It is a traditional, light and yellowish green, ideal for mixing several green tones and recommended for landscape painting.

Similar, in its applications to permanent green (described above) it has a lemony tone which when it is used pure makes it good for bright, contemporary work.

It lifts without trouble which makes it great for dappled, sunlit areas.

The semi-transparent green contains two light-fast pigments PY151 Benzimidazolone and PG7 Phthalocyanine green.

Cobalt Green Pure

Cobalt Green Pure Schmincke Horadam Watercolour

This opaque and highly lightfast green has a granulating character. The one-pigment colour contains the genuine cobalt pigment PG19 Cobalt-titanium-nickel-zinc oxide.

It has a fairly weak tinting strength and a slightly coarse texture. It will mix well with organic or metal yellows but has a whitish edge limiting the variety of mixes it can produce. To keep a bright wash with a earth or cadmium keep the mix well diluted, in juicier washes it will also separate.

Cobalt Green isn’t particularly easy to work with but it can make nice earth greens to complement yellow and red earth colours, and be used straight as a lovely blue-green, like those visible in Paul Signac’s work.

Cobalt Green Dark

Cobalt Green Dark Schmincke Horadam Watercolour

The cobalt green dark is a deep, opaque and very lightfast green and has a moderately dark value with a granulating character.

It is a pleasing muted green that when diluted does not increase in chroma but the saturation is reduced slightly and the paint lightens. This makes it perfect for sky and ocean washes leaving a delicate glow of colour.

It also separates quickly and visibly in weak washes with quinacridones creating lovely mottled colour variations within an area.

The one-pigment colour contains the genuine cobalt pigment PG29 Cobalt-chromium-oxide-spinel.

Hooker’s Green

Hookers Green Schmincke Horadam Watercolour

Hooker’s green is a traditional colour, invented for watercolour painting in the 18th century by the botanical painter William Hooker (1779-1832) for painting leaf green. It replaces the non-lightfast mixture of gamboge gum, Prussian blue and partly Indigo with a pigment mixture of PB15.3 Phthalocyanine, PG7 Phthalocyanine green and PY42 Hydrated iron oxide.

It is a dark valued, dull yellow-green. For a Hooker’s Green, it is in duller than some colours of the same name from other brands and matches the original colour much more closely.

It shows a large drying shift, lightening and losing saturation as it dries, so be aware of its tonal value will change somewhat. It’s a good middle green which can be warmed or cooled with ease.

Olive Green

Olive Green Schmincke Horadam Watercolour

This neutral, semi-opaque olive green has excellent mixing properties. It is an important basic tone for mixing several green nuances in landscape painting. It’s used to add depth of perspective to work and can be easily adjusted for different tonal values. It contains the pigments PB15 Phthalocyanine blue and PG8 Metal complex.

Olive Green is a convenience mix but as you’d have to use three colours to make it, it does save time having a premixed version.

Chromium Oxide Green

Chromium Oxide Green Schmincke Horadam Watercolour

This dull and highly opaque green has a very high tinting strength. It is perfectly suited for landscape painting. The one-pigment colour contains PG17 Chromium oxide green. It originally started being used in the middle of the 19th century as an alternative to toxic copper colours.

Often it is used as a base colour by landscape painters. When mixed with a little white it can create smoky greyed olive greens. It is equally good for creating shadows if put with Van Dyke or Burnt Umber. Optical mixing using complimentary colours around areas of neat colour can “brighten” it, however, some painters find it is hard to warm up and that it produces much more greyish green mixes than those made using Viridian or a Pthalo as a base. It is favoured for appearing “natural” within a landscape though.

Olive Green Yellowish

Olive Green Yellowish Schmincke Horadam Watercolour

This traditional yellowish green sells well as it is popular for landscape painting. The semi-transparent colour has a very good lightfastness due to the pigments PO62 Benzimidazolone and PG36 Phthalocyanine green.

It pairs nicely with complementary reds and violets and looks very cohesive when put next to navy blues or light greys. It can also be a nice addition to synthetic yellows to make them more harmonious in a landscape painting.

Green Earth

Green Earth Schmincke Horadam Watercolour

This traditional, very light green is semi-transparent and not very strong. Therefore, it is perfectly suited for toning down flesh tints in portraits and nudes. It can be used as a foundation colour in portraits to describe facial planes and shadows.

It is a warm green with a yellow tone. Because of its subtlety, it rarely disrupts the harmony of a painting.

This very lightfast colour contains the genuine earth pigment PBr7 as well as PG7 Phthalocyanine green.

Transparent Green Gold

Transparent Green Gold Schmincke Horadam Watercolour

This transparent, very yellowish light green was added to the Schmincke Horadam range in 2017, as a replacement for a discontinued single pigment colour Green Yellow made with PY129.

It’s quite versatile because its mass tone is far deeper verging on brown than its light delicate undertones that are apparent in washes.

This luminous colour is perfect for rich washes, highlighting or depicting bright scenes and warm dried out grass patches.

It offsets turquoises beautifully and can be modified to make autumnal shades.

The very lightfast colour is a combination of PY154 Benzimidazolone and the genuine earth pigment PBr7.

Perylene Green

Perylene Green Schmincke Horadam Watercolour

The darkest of all the green colours, it was added to the Schmincke Horadam range in 2017.

Perylene green is an opaque, very lightfast and extremely dark black-green. Watercolour painters appreciate it as a shadow colour. It’s perfect for depicting deep passages and moody moments.

In mass tone, it’s almost black but can be used to make soft, grey-green washes. It is useful for adding tonal values and interesting elements to urban landscapes.

This single-pigment colour contains the pigment PBk31 Perylene, first available in the late 1950s.

Discover Schmincke Horadam’s extended green watercolour range and all their other watercolours here.

The post Why Schmincke Horadam have 20 Different Green Watercolours? appeared first on Jackson's Art Blog.

Many watercolourists will know of Jane Blundell because of her blog, that provides expert information on watercolours, and from her intricate wash and ink paintings. We caught up with Jane to find out how she got into watercolour, her tips for creating mixes and swatches, and how she “looks” when sketching.

Red Cadenza, Jane Blundell

Tegen: Could you tell us a little bit about your artistic background/education?

Jane: I’ve drawn and painted since I was a child. I’ve always loved colour, fountain pens, pencils, paints, brushes, details. I spent hours as a child exploring colour, warm versus cool, families of earth colours, various primaries, patterns and combinations. At school, I loved to draw and paint flowers and birds, though flowers were better since I could do them from life. I am largely self-taught. I could always draw and taught myself watercolours as a teen. I studied art and art history through school and completed a BA in Visual Arts majoring in etching since that was a technique I could use to really explore detail. I then went on to do a Graduate Diploma in Art Education to train as a secondary art teacher.

These are a couple of the pen and wash drawings I did when I was in my teens—the Strelitzia was from life, the Blue Wren from a photo. This is the sort of work I wanted to create as etchings.

Dried Strelitzia, Jane Blundell

Tegen: How did you get into making swatches and exploring the details of pigments and watercolour colours?

Jane: The watercolour set I bought as a teen were a student range with alizarin crimson – the fugitive PR83. It faded in the paintings I did back then, framed and on the walls of my parents’ house. When I switched to an artist quality a few years later I swatched out the colours to compare them, and continued to do the with each colour I tried. When I started using Daniel Smith in 1995, they included the pigment numbers on the tubes so I was able to start gathering more information about what I was painting with and so began a rather large study. Eventually, I had tried every Daniel Smith watercolour and created a book including all their pigment information and mixing notes. That led onto my plan to swatch out every brand and every professional watercolour variable. I haven’t quite finished but I am very close!

I started making mixing charts as samples for my students but I really got carried away with it when I found a large number of the Michal Wilcox swatch cards for $1 a pack as they were water damaged. I completed over 100 of these and put them on my website to share. I also created a book Watercolour Mixing Charts so they would be more portable. The work of Michael Wilcox and his book The Complete Guide to Watercolour Paints was very influential as I was able to work out which paints to avoid and which were worth trying, though I didn’t totally agree with his chosen ‘best colours’ I also found the website Handprint.com really helpful. I have wanted to add to what these gentlemen have done rather than replicate it.

Blue Wren, Jane Blundell, pen and wash

Tegen: Do you have any tips for creating mixing grids and how to create a good swatch? Also any tricks for getting the perfect mix?

Jane: I have created some mixing grids, but I have found that more random mixes can be more interesting to create and can allow people to see more interesting colour harmonies and combinations. If you look at this example, it could have been done with three rows – the top full strength gold through to ultramarine, the second half strength gold though ultramarine and the third washed out gold through ultramarine. That is time-consuming and gets boring (I know – I’ve done it) but if produced like this, it is just a case of making each brush-strong different. And sometimes the three or four colours that end up next to each other can be an inspiration for a while painting or study.

Colour Swatches, Jane Blundell

For the perfect swatch, start by adding a little clean water to about a third of the swatch so you see how the pigment behaves in water. Add very diluted colour first, then gradually go darker and stronger. I have created a YouTube video showing this.

For the perfect mix, you need to know what you are aiming for. A blue-green? A golden green? Weak or strong? I try to set up palettes so that only two pigments are needed to make most colours. That way, once the previous questions are answered, it is just a case of deciding how much of each colour and how much water to add to achieve the desired hue. Three colour mixes require more colour understanding and I find people generally have more trouble with that.

Tegen: You use a wide variety of media, including pencils, markers, gouache, water-soluble graphite, ink, etching, acrylic and oil, so what draws you to watercolour so strongly and do you have a second favourite medium?

Jane: Watercolour is the queen of art materials as it is the purest way to work with pigment. No other medium allows you to explore all the characteristics of a pigment the way watercolour does. So I really use the variations – granulating, opaque, non-granulating, staining, non-staining and so on in my paintings, I choose the characteristics I want to work with, not just the colour. I also love the transportability of watercolour. I carry it everywhere in a tiny palette, with a basic sketching kit. That’s far more difficult to do with other mediums.

My second favourite would be pencil or pen. I love both – pencil, whether graphite in its many forms or water-soluble graphite or pen as in fountain pen with waterproof ink. I use either depending on the subject and which it would best suit. Perhaps it is simpler to say my second favourite is drawing

This sketch features a fountain pen and grey ink to represent the deep shadows of the cliff faces.

From Pulpit Rock, Jane Blundell, 2016

Tegen: You do a lot of sketching, what is the most important thing to you in a sketch and how do you choose what to paint?

I am a realist so for me a sketch will capture what I actually see. That isn’t true for everyone and need not be, but I love the challenge of capturing the look of the sky on the day, or the texture of the stone or the colour of a flower. I like to keep a record of where I have been so will sometimes give myself a checklist of what I want to sketch. Recently in Melbourne, I decided I wanted to sketch Flinders Street Station, as it is a wonderful and distinctive building and where I entered the city by train; a bridge, as there are many and the wonderful colour beach houses on Brighton Beach in the suburbs. So that was what I did!

Sometimes I am surrounded by buildings, sometimes with flowers. It may be Autumn so there are beautiful leaves around. I’ll look for what I can draw and paint to represent where I am in the time I have. I also take a photo of what I have chosen to sketch in case I don’t have the time to finish it on the spot, or in case a van parks in front! I love to capture the beauty in the ordinary, or the elegance of decay—rust, dried out flowers, fungi—just as much as I enjoy beautiful blooms or pristine churches.

Gymea Lily, Jane Blundell

Tegen: How does working from observation affect your practice? Do you have any tips on how to “look”?

Jane: Working from observation is much richer than working from a photo. The colours are not distorted but the camera and again by the printing process (if printed) so they are true to life. It is more of a challenge as the light will change, the clouds will move, the shadows will change, but it is also more rewarding as you will look back on the sketch and remember all that went on while creating it. When working from life you need to translate a three-dimensional world onto a two-dimensional surface so there are many things you can do to help that transition. The simplest is to shut one eye to flatten the image. Squinting will also help you to notice the tones more clearly.

Boyd’s Rock Quartet, Shoalhaven River, Jane Blundell

Tegen: The paintings of your sketching tools are gorgeous, could you describe your ultimate sketching kit?

Jane: My sketching kit contains the items that I may choose to use in a sketch – which won’t be everything every time, just as I’d never use every watercolour in one painting. As a realist, I might choose a light pencil for a botanical subject or a grey ink pen for a metal bridge – whichever will best depict that subject. So I have a fountain pen with brown, with grey and with black waterproof ink, a pencil and a water-soluble graphite pencil, a few travel watercolour brushes, some brushes for removing colour and a good range of watercolours in a very compact palette. It all fits into a small leather pencil case and lives in my handbag. The best kit is with you when you need it!

Sketching kit sketch, Jane Blundell

Tegen: A hard question, but, could you choose your favourite three colours and explain why?

Jane: Depends. Favourite three for mixing the greatest range of colours? Ultramarine, Quinacridone Rose and Hansa Yellow Medium (Daniels Smith names – PB29, PV19 and PY97 pigments). While phthalo blue GS would be closer to a CYM palette, I prefer ultramarine as it is a liftable colour rather than staining. This triad is incredibly versatile and beautiful. You could paint almost anything with it.

Favourite for the characteristics or usefulness? Buff titanium, Goethite and Jane’s Grey. Buff titanium creates a wonderful granulating texture for sandstone and marble, Goethite is a gorgeous granulating pigment for sandstone, beaches and buildings and Jane’s Grey is so useful for shadows and for darkening other colours. These three are the colours I have to refill most often.

Add Burnt Sienna and you’d have 7 of my most used colours.

Mixes by Jane Blundell: Jane’s Grey added to Daniel Smith watercolours Cerulean Chromium, Phthalo Blue GS, Phthalo Green BS, Goethite, Burnt Sienna and Raw Umber, Moleskine watercolour sketchbook.

Tegen: If you could use any no longer available pigment, (whether discontinued, toxic or no longer ethically viable) what would it be?

Jane: PO49. Quinacridone Gold. Though actually, I can use it as I bought plenty before it disappeared.

I think we are very lucky to have access to an incredible range of beautiful pigments. But ones to look out for that have been recently discontinued are PY153 (New Gamboge or Indian yellow in some brands) and PB33 Manganese blue.

I would really like to try a sample fo the original mixes of Willian Payne’s ‘Payne’s Grey’, Davy’s ‘Davy’s Grey’, ‘Hooker’s Green’…the current versions are nowhere near the original pigment mixes.

Snowgum, Jane Blundell

Tegen: How does being a teacher and instructor affect your work?

Jane: A lot of my work is created while away teaching workshop somewhere so I am working in sketchbooks rather than large paintings and creating images for myself rather than for sale. Often I will work on a more detailed study before and after class, returning to the same spot to add more each time. This sketch of Pulteney Bridge in Bath was created over about 5 days, working sometimes before and sometimes after class. Sometimes having to demonstrate how to do something I have never done before creates a great challenge I may not otherwise have tackled.

Pulteney Bridge in Bath, Jane Blundell

Tegen: I’m fascinated by your handmade palettes, such as those you’ve made in lockets, cigarette cases and old cosmetic cases. How do you choose what to make them for and where did you get the idea of creating them from?

Jane: I have always loved small and compact items – mini staplers, tiny sewing kits, pocket knives. I like to be prepared! So when I see an object that might be turned into a watercolour palette I love to create something new and functional. Round tins lend themselves to segments, square tins may fit pans of some sort. I use a combination of cut up plastic, recycled lids, glue and plumber’s Polymer clay to create palettes, sometimes spraying them with an enamel coating to finish them off. It’s fiddly, but fun. I should have a sale – I have too many!

Tegen: How do you start to explain pigment characteristics and how do you use your circle palettes in demonstrations??

Jane: I explain pigment characteristics by painting out samples of the same colour in a range of characteristics. So Hansa Yellow medium next to cadmium medium to show the difference between a more opaque and a more waterproof mid yellow; Goethite next to yellow ochre to show granulation. I paint samples over a black line and after they have dried, I show how easily or readily the colour can be lifted off again.

The circle palettes hold about two full pans of watercolour in each well so lots of paint. But there is not mixing room so I wouldn’t want to use them for painting. I use them purely to demonstrate different characteristics of different pigments. So I have yellows together – a cadmium yellow deep next to a New Gamboge to show the difference between a semi opaque and a transparent pigment. I have one for yellows, one for oranges, two for reds, purples, blues, turquoises, one and a half for greens, one for yellow earths, orange earths, red earths (mostly PR101), Darks and lights/blacks and whites, greys etc and another for primateks that I rarely use, (as well as two iridescents and pearlescent that live at home – I don’t have much use for these but they come out if a student is painting shells!). So about 157 pigments in total I suppose, mostly single pigment. Maybe more. I do sometimes use them in my study as well but much more when teaching about watercolour and colour mixing or when demonstrating Daniel Smith. Brands include Daniel Smith mostly, since they have so many different pigments, plus special colours/pigment by Schmincke, Winsor & Newton, Da Vinci, Old Holland, M.Graham, Blockx.

Jane Blundell’s circle palettes

Tegen: Your blog is so informative and has a massive reach. Does this affect how you work or what you write about / test?

Jane: I started my blog (www.janeblundellart.blogspot.com) in 2012 with a number of goals in mind. Like my website, also started in 2012, I wanted it to be informative, useful, a reference. I wanted to show the whole range of every available (and some discontinued) professional watercolour in the world. I have also started to include gouache brands and coloured pencils, and a few other materials have then come up. I’ve done posts on inks, fountain pens and sketchbooks. My attitude is that if I find it interesting then others may also.

On my website, (www.janeblundellart.com) I set out to create a resource that could be added to. I want to show every single watercolour available in the world, arranged by colour and pigment. I have painted out most of them but not added them all yet – that takes such a lot of time. It is also a gallery of my paintings, sketches and colour mixing charts, and includes details of my classes and workshops.

I actually use my own blog when teaching to show colours in a range of brands as it is faster than trying to go through a manufactures website!

I try to be completely honest about what I test, but with the understanding that I am judging by my own criteria. I try to show every colour/paint as well as I can, and be positive even if it is not something I would choose to use. It is a difficult area if I have been sent something that I don’t actually like, so I have to choose whether to add it with little comment, not add it, or add it and be honest about why I don’t like it. I think that those reading it know my preferences  – lightfast pigments, easily rewet, single pigments were possible etc.

It takes a lot of time to build up and maintain the information I have been producing, which leaves less time for my own paintings, but that’s the choice I’ve made. There are so many rabbit holes – some of the most popular posts are the comparisons, and I am planning to extend these, doing posts showing every ultramarine available, or every PV19 paint etc. Another rabbit hole I haven’t fallen down yet is making my own watercolour. I have some pigments and the tools but just haven’t gone there yet. I may never come out!

Jane Blundell swatches: Ultramarine Blue Watercolours: Ultramarine Blue – QoR, Ultramarine Deep – Rembrandt, French Ultramarine – Rembrandt, Ultramarine Finest – Schmincke, French Ultramarine – Schmincke (new 2017)

Tegen: What is coming up next for you and where can we see more of your art and experiments in the flesh or online?

Jane: I’ll be teaching in Bathurst, 3 hours west of Sydney, for a week in July, then I fly to London for a few days on my way to Amsterdam to teach at the Urban Sketchers Symposium.  I’ll be sketching in London again and exploring Amsterdam in some detail as I’ll have 10 days there. I tend to post on Instagram most often, under Janeblundellart. Here’s one of St Paul’s from my last visit.

St Paul’s London, Jane Blundell

You can hear more from Jane Blundell on her website or blog, as well as finding out what workshops and demonstrations she has coming up.

Jane has just added the full range of Jackson’s Professional Watercolours to her blog, you can see the post here.

You can browse all of our professional watercolours here.

The post Jane Blundell: The Allure of Watercolour appeared first on Jackson's Art Blog.

We were interested in Danielle Pickett’s comment that Global Fluid 100 Easy Block was ‘heavy enough to accept plenty of layers for those that enjoy glazing, and it’s durable enough that you can apply pressure with your brush the scrub colour off if need be without ruining the surface’ and her comment about Mijello watercolours: ‘I’m really enjoying these paints. The colours are so rich and translucent, it makes the paint look like stained glass rather than paint on paper. I’ve not found a use for the Opera pink but the Browns are to die for! I really recommend these paints. I got them after a review video off of YouTube. ‘ We asked her to extend the customer review she left on jacksonsart.com and explain about the quality she looks for in materials.

Mijello 24 Tube Watercolour Set

Choosing a Watercolour Set

After doing some research, I had settled on a set of the Mijello Mission Gold Class paints. It’s a South Korean brand that is probably better known for its Mijello Fusion palettes but offer artist-grade watercolours that boast natural cadmium-free pigments, excellent lightfastness, competitive prices for its 15 ml single tubes compared to other professional brands in UK art retailers, and attractive bundle sets with a palette included and mixing guidelines for those that wish to mix the convenience colours that Mijello offer within their 105 strong colour range themselves rather than buy extra tubes.

I started with the 24 7ml set. Unlike some of the other sets Mijello have to offer, this set came without a palette included, but was purchased at the time for just under £43, which was roughly £1.80 per 7ml tube and cheaper than the retail price of a Winsor and Newton student grade Cotman 8ml tube at £2.30 currently advertised on the Jacksons Art website. At the time of writing this review, it is priced at £52 on Jackson’s which is £2.16 per 7ml tube, so on price alone, this brand could well appeal to any artist looking to try cheaper alternatives for their most used colours, or those looking to make the upgrade from student to artist-grade watercolours in the near future. For those on a tight budget, artists and hobbyists might well look forward to upgrading the quality of their materials without necessarily investing much more than the cost of materials they started off with.

The swatch sheet below shows the colours in the set plus a few extra tubes bought to supplement my collection.

Mijello 24 Colour Set Swatched Out

The colours included in the 24 tube set are as follows:

Chinese White, Lemon Yellow, Permanent Yellow Deep, Yellow Orange, Permanent Red, Permanent Red, Permanent Rose, Rose Madder, Bright Opera, Bright Clear Violet, Cerulean Blue, Cobalt Blue No. 1, Peacock Blue, Ultramarine Deep, Indigo, Viridian, Hooker’s Green, Sap Green, Yellow Ochre No. 1, Raw Sienna, Burnt Umber, Red Brown, Van Dyke Brown and Ivory Black.

Consider the Influences on a Watercolour Set’s Colour Palette

For those used to a western palette, you may find some surprises. Namely, the presence of an almost neon pink, and a very brilliant violet, which other artists and illustrators may appreciate but which I haven’t found a use for; and mixes of Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna, Raw Sienna and Burnt Umber which are typically derived from a single natural pigment, the latter three from PBr7 but in this set are made from a mixture of including PY150 and at least one other pigment. As for the only two pigments in the set with limited lightfastness, Bright Clear Violet and Bright Opera aren’t exclusive to Eastern hemisphere brands such as Holbein, ShinHan and Mijello—Schmincke, Daniel Smith and Winsor and Newton all offer similar colours as individual tubes–but they only seem to appear as a staple in Eastern watercolour sets, and this is probably due to the influence of acclaimed Studio Ghibli’s director Hayao Miyazaki’s inclusion of these colours as staples in his own recommended watercolour palette. So for those who are struggling to decide if it’s worth buying a set that includes colours you’re not likely to use yourself, it may be worth checking out Miyazaki’s work first and seeing just what you can achieve with an Eastern colour palette.

By Hyo Taek Kim, from “The Colors Of,” series which are inspired partially by the colour scheme of Hayao Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli films.

Mixed Pigment Colours and their Effects

As for the effect of the mixed pigment earth colours stated above, you can see the difference in colour these mixes produce when compared to their single pigmented counterparts from Western brands such as Daniel Smith (left) and Schmincke Horadam (above). You can see that they’re beautiful colours in their own right, but watercolour purists may prefer to either buy the separate single pigment 15ml tubes on Jackson’s or purchase instead the 24 15ml single pigment set that Mijello offer, which has single pigment alternatives of the yellow ochre and burnt sienna. If you’re a fan of using Burnt Umber and Raw Sienna for your mixes, you may have to either find alternative mixing colours within the set or supplement these colours with one from a different brand. With PY150 being used as the base for the mixes of these staple browns for example, you’ll be getting olive and perylene greens rather that greys when you try to neutralise them with blues.

Colour comparison of Mijello Mission Gold combined pigment earth colours to single pigment earths

Indigo is another example of where colour output differs from what we may expect: if only because it looks in colour and behaves closer to what I would imagine to be more of a Payne’s Grey and vice versa.

Mijello Mission Gold Indigo painted out

Mijello Mission Gold Payne’s Grey painted out

Putting aside some challenges with matching colours with their descriptions, the colour saturation of these paints is really quite amazing. Compared to the swatches of Daniel Smith’s Burnt Sienna and Burnt Umber taken from paint straight out of the tube, their Mijello counterparts may be off in colour comparison but are extremely saturated in colour, even when dry. One thing to consider with such saturated colours is that whilst it may be more difficult to achieve those subtler, muted colours, less effort and fewer layers will be needed to achieve that depth of colour and covering power that you may come across with other more expensive brands.

With the exception of a few heavier pigments such as the Lemon Yellow and Chinese White, you’ll find that even after months of being poured into palette wells, they’ll remain glossy in appearance and have that sticky consistency that those that have ever tried M.Graham paints may be familiar with. These paints rewet beautifully, and whilst they may retain a ‘touch ready’ consistency, they’re not runny, so they are also perfect for outdoor and travel use as well.

Mijello Mission Gold on hot pressed paper Arches showing white dots and inconsistencies of coverage

The only downside that I’ve noticed with these watercolours is their performance on some hot pressed papers. And it’s not only me that’s noticed; some of the YouTube artists that I follow have mentioned it in their own reviews of these paints. The colour swatches above were done on Arches 300gsm Hot Pressed paper, and I’ve done pieces on Global Material’s Fluid 100 HP paper as well. Both are 100% cotton, 300gsm papers, and its almost as if the pigment doesn’t quite sink into the paper, leaving almost imperceptible white dots where the paper below shows through. It’s not particularly off-putting, and it doesn’t appear on all HP papers – Mission Gold watercolours are absolutely beautiful in their translucency on Stillman and Birn’s Zeta series sketchbooks and Stonehenge 100% cotton HP watercolour paper for example–but it is something to consider when choosing your papers with these paints.

Mijello Mission Gold Watercolours

Would I recommend Mijello Mission Gold Watercolours? Absolutely!
Who would I recommend them to? Beginners, Professionals and everyone else!

Pros:
• Very Pigmented and saturated colour
• Easy to store, travel with and rewet
• A cheap artist quality paint
• The mixing sets that come with the palette are convenient and offer value for money
• They do offer a single pigment set for purists
• They look amazing on cellulose papers for those that can’t afford 100% cotton
• Excellent paints for those who prefer non-granulating colours/ paints
• Mijello do offer a stylish and portable pan set and refills for their Mission Gold and Silver series, but these aren’t widely available in the UK.

Cons:
• Some single pigment colours are made with mixed pigments and therefore don’t look like or behave how you expect them to be when put down onto paper – they’re still beautiful, and single pigment varieties are offered separately for some of these colours as 15ml tubes
• Does not seem in my current experience to play well with Fluid 100 and Arches 100% Hot Pressed papers – they do however behave beautifully on other brands of HP papers
• Mijello don’t offer a lot of granulating pigments/ colours for those that enjoy granulating pigments
• Can only buy single tubes in UK in 15ml tubes, though these are still predominantly cheaper than other artist quality watercolour brands, starting around the £4.30 mark for their A series, going up to around £14 for their E series
• Includes unconventional, non-lightfast colours in its sets (with the exception of the single pigment sent)

Looking at Global Fluid 100 Easy Block 100% Cotton Paper

Collection of watercolour papers

I originally bought the Fluid 100 6 x 8 inch 300gsm cold-pressed watercolour block under recommendation from one of the artists I follow on YouTube. Advertised at 100% cotton it was competitively priced and I was eager to see if it was a cheaper alternative to other watercolour papers I’ve tried.

The following painting was the first one I did on the block mentioned above and featured a study of Stephen King’s Pennywise from the movie IT that had just then been released. It was both drawn and painted whilst commuting to work on the train and during lunch hours with my Winsor and Newton Cotman set.

Pennywise movie study watercolour sketch

From the very first I was enamoured with this paper. I may have been a relative amateur when it came to watercolours at the time, but by this point I had already tried the more expensive brands such as Arches, Saunders Waterford and Canson blocks that were being recommended by artists during my research. It held up well to multiple washes, allowed for correction by lifting, and for me hit the sweet spot in drying time–giving me time enough to go back and rework an area or continue to block in colour without being worried about leaving undesired hard edges of colour. Most of all I appreciated how free I felt to use it without fearing that I was wasting material, which I feel is not an unusual feeling for creatives when working with such expensive materials. The block was compact enough to take on the go and cheap enough to make expressive marks and test the medium to explore the effects I can achieve with watercolour and my own desired processes without hesitation.

A painting of Spyro the Dragon for Danielle’s Spyro themed March entry in her Bullet Journal following the Spyro Reignited Trilogy release on Xbox. Painted using Permanent Rose, Manganese Blue and Prussian blue mixes for the body and Burnt Sienna, by Danielle Pickett

In fact, my only complaint was that I had to finish the painting on top before I could begin a new one, and however inspired I felt by the future projects I’d complete on this paper, it was better for my own practice to finish works rather than rush into others. I enjoyed working with this brand of watercolour paper so much that, like my experience with the Mijello Mission Gold paints (where I was quick to add to my collection of colours with individual tube paints), I ended up buying multiple blocks in different sizes.

As I’m always wary that I’m going to damage the sheet underneath when I go to remove the top sheet of a watercolour block that’s glued on all four edges, I actually preferred a block glued on just its two longest sides. It’s much easier to remove, and I found that even when using my preferred method of using multiple glazes to build up colour, the glue binding was able to hold up, even when getting banged about in my bag when I took it to work on the train with me. Even when given allowances for the sheet’s removal, the warping of the paper is very slight and could be further corrected if pressed. Of course, there are other quality papers and brands out there – and I own and have tried quite a lot of them – but in terms of finding that balance between performance and the creative freedom of knowing you’re not wasting expensive material, this paper sits within arms reach. I’d highly recommend it.

The slight warp on Global Fluid 100

Global Fluid 100 watercolour block

Pros:
• Warping is minimal for saying it’s only glued on two sides – I prefer it as I always feel as though I may damage the painting side of the next sheet of w/c paper when I remove the top sheet from a 4 side glued block
• Competitive prices for 100% cotton papers
• It’s quality paper, but doesn’t feel too precious to use!
• Handles mixed media
• Available in Hot Pressed and Cold Pressed
• Available in 300gsm in HP and CP, and 640gsm in CP
• Blocks are very easy to travel with for those that enjoy plein air painting

Cons:
• Only glued down on the two longest sides
• Not widely available in the UK
• Doesn’t play very well with Mijello Mission Gold watercolour paints

About Danielle Pickett

My name is Danielle Pickett, and I’ve been drawing since childhood. Though my parents claim they can’t draw, surprisingly both myself and my three older siblings have all possessed a talent for traditional art so I’m not sure where it’s come from. Out of the four of us, I’m the only one to carry it on into adulthood. I made the leap into acrylics in my early to mid-teens and I took my art all the way to University. After a two year hiatus, I began to practice art more seriously and joined a local Art Club who I exhibit with annually. I work primarily on illustrative pieces and portraiture, and keep up a regular creative practice whilst working full-time by keeping a bullet journal: each month I choose a theme, design the weekly spread layouts where I record and organise my days and complete a finished piece to try out everything I’ve learned that month.

I’ve been a big admirer of the watercolourists and illustrators that predominantly use that medium on YouTube, but my own expertise and learning practices throughout my early art education and university have been with opaque mediums such as acrylic, gouache and coloured pencils. Opaque mediums are generally more forgiving, but I’ve found that only with transparent water media can you achieve the luminosity and unique, unpredictable abstractions of colour and pattern that watercolours are so well known for. I made the switch to watercolour about a year ago now, and am enjoying the challenges of discovering a new medium.

You can view our range of Mijello Mission Gold Watercolour paints here and our Global Fluid watercolour pads here.

Calling all artists to share their views!

We would like to encourage you to write a review on our website of any products that you have used. Simply navigate to the product you wish to review and click on the ‘Reviews’ button beneath the product image. Be thoughtful and detailed – think about what information will be useful to others.

Each month we will be selecting several well-written examples which will be published on our blog. The writer of the best review will receive a £25 Jackson’s gift voucher plus a photograph of them in their studio (if they wish) and a link to their website will appear alongside their review.

The post Mijello Watercolour paint and Global Fluid 100 Block Reviewed appeared first on Jackson's Art Blog.

Metallic and pearlescent watercolours are becoming increasingly popular with artists who want to accentuate light and experiment with reflectivity, as well as for painters who want to emphasise a dark ground. Coliro is a favourite brand of pearlescent watercolour because the paints are luminous, intermixable, easy to manipulate and bright.

Coliro Paradise Set, Vintage Set and Galaxy Set

History

Coliro paints have been manufactured in Germany, by Finetec GmbH, since 2005. They’re made from mica-pigments and gum arabic, which makes their handling very similar to watercolour, however, they are more opaque, resembling Japanese watercolour or gouache. They can be used on paper, stone and wood and have an excellent lightfastness. They are also free from any animal ingredients.

Pearlescent, metallic and iridescent colours:

Coliro Midnight Blue, Sterling Silver and Gold Pearl Pans

Pearlescent paint is reflective, but only reflects back some of the light that hits it, allowing you to see the colour of the pigments as well as reflected light. The pigment particles are transparent and as light is reflected between their tiny layers, they emit different coloured light that “sparkles”. A little like how a cut glass prism can create rainbows, but picture thousands of microscopic prisms packed in together with minuscule spaces between them. Once dry, it produces a diffused, textured glow that is reflective without being overpowering.

Jackson’s Silver and Gold Drawing Ink mixed with Winsor and Newton Blue Ink on Black Khadi Paper

Metallic paint reflects back the maximum amount of light, evenly. This means, in bright conditions, the marks can show up as pure light and you are unable to see the colour of the paint, but get a very strong area of reflected light. Imagine the particles as mini coloured mirrors: in low light, you can see the backing colour but in bright light, you just see the reflection of the light.

Coliro Dragon, Sunbeam, Unicorn, Walnut and Dark Star

Iridescent paint varies in reflectiveness and can appear to be multiple different colours: these changes depend on the brightness and angle of the light in which its viewed, and the colour of the surface it’s painted on. It is made from fine prismatic particles: each particle has different coloured facets, through which light is refracted, giving off a different colour depending on which facet the light has travelled through and what angle the viewer is standing at.

Coliro’s range consists of all pearlescent colours, hence the name Coliro Pearlcolors, however, within the range their “shimmer” colours are both iridescent and pearlescent. For instance, Coliro’s Shimmer Fine Lilac can be both a light greenish silvery glaze but also the elusive pink of a trout’s belly. The shimmer colours leave a delicate sheen on white paper, whereas on black paper, they create vibrant colours.

Coliro Red on Stonehenge Aqua Black Paper

Coliro’s Behaviour Wet and Dry:

When used on fairly hard sized watercolour paper, the pigment stayed radiant on the surface without sinking in and dulling. Once dry, the paint stayed exactly where it was applied, even after vigorous scrubbing. This permanence is a great advantage of Coliro, as often, mica dust can remain transferable once dry, ruining clean, crisp marks and making a workspace glittery.

Tests left to right with Coliro Tibet Gold and Red on Stonehenge Aqua Black:

The first three strokes show different concentrations of Coliro washes; the next two, Coliro dropped into a wet wash; the third is Tibet Gold painted over lines of dried Red Coliro.

The last two vertical lines I went over, firstly back and forth with a wet wash, and then the next one down was made using a light wash of water.

The last stroke over the dried Coliro was to show the increase in opacity. I also tried to scrub at the dried Coliro but no dust was produced.

If dropped into wet washes, the paint barely disperses, making it surprisingly easy to control. Rewetting dried paint strokes is also easy and allows you to draw out colour later or redefine lines and boundaries as you go. Applied thickly over dried washes, it barely moves them, so you can layer highlight upon highlight. Coliro colours are brighter and more reflective once dry, so you may want to take this into account if you’re making tonal work.

Coliro can be mixed with other watercolours, in case you would like to tone down a Coliro paint or add a gentle shimmering diffusion to another watercolour or gouache. Coliro’s mica pigments are very predictable in their soft, malleable behaviour, creating washes with even coverage, unlike some metallics, with very heavy particles that can gather in the dips of paper and produce uneven marks.

Coliro Midnight Blue, Sterling Silver and Gold Pearl Pans

Opacity:
Used thickly, Coliro is incredibly opaque—perfect for adding strong, polished details to the shell of a beetle or the edge of a bee’s wing. In washes, they can create nuanced sheens, with a dappled reflectiveness that catches the eye without disrupting the cohesion of a piece. You can, also, build up their opacity in layers to create jewel-like marks.

Coliro Paradise Set, Vintage Set and Galaxy Set

Colour range:
The Coliro range includes over 46 rich, alluring colours. Collectively, they form a comprehensive palette, reducing the need to mix these pearlescent colours with normal gouache or watercolour. Most other brands that provide pearlescent or metallic versions of their watercolours and powders, typically only offer between 3 and 16 colour choices.

Coliro paints come in thematic sets, such as Ocean, which could be useful for capturing the glimmering shades of the deep sea, or Candy, which provides you with the colours to produce reflective works that can describe brash boiled sweets or the metallic shine of cutlery.

Coliro Earth Set

Packaging:
The Coliro pans themselves resemble eyeshadow palettes. They are fairly large (30 mm in diameter) and are contained in circular white pans. Most of the pans have an intriguing wave pattern on the surface, this shows the glimmer of the paints when dry. When wet, the troughs in the surface act as wells with rivulets of sparkling wet colour running through them. This is useful because it is recommended to wet the pans with droplets, or a spray of water and leave them for a few minutes before you start working so that the paint is creamier to use.

Sets are plastic or metal, and the pans are held in place by a click mechanism that makes them easy to remove and exchange for another pan. All of Coliro’s colours are available to purchase individually.

Coliro Red on Stonehenge Aqua Black

Bright, reflective, lightfast and rich with pigment—the colours are true to their uniquely designed pans. The pigments are lightweight, allowing them to be washed over other layers, leaving a consistent glimmer or they can be built up for maximum impact. With a vast colour range and easy handling qualities, Coliro is ideal if you want a pearlescent paint to bring your work to life with light.

You can view our full range of Coliro Pearlcolors here.

The post Nuanced Sheens: Coliro Pearlescent Paint appeared first on Jackson's Art Blog.

Papermaker heavyweights, Legion, have rolled out an exciting new addition to their range of watercolour papers: Stonehenge Aqua Black. This 100% cotton paper, produced in 300 gsm, is a hard-wearing watercolour surface. Cold-pressed, with a medium-rough surface texture, the paper is the same quality on each side and is acid, chlorine, OBA (Optical Brightening Agent) and lignin free. This is an archivally sound watercolour paper that provides a mirror world of possibilities when painting light and shadow using water-based materials.

Stonehenge Aqua Black Paper Pads

Because it is a dense, cotton paper, with a fairly hard size, Stonehenge Aqua Black has an exceptionally short bleed that allows for superb control of almost every water-based medium, whether applied directly or diluted in a wash. When painting on a black surface, the surface itself will most likely be the darkest tonal value of your image, so you need to work in reverse to achieve a depth of tone—drawing out areas of light and building up layers from the dark. Due to the restrained bleed of Stonehenge Aqua Black and the blending control this allows, tonal values can be obtained by layering varying dilutions of paint, without them bleeding into one another.

Stonehenge Aqua Black comes as a pad or sheets rather than as a pre-stretched block. While it claims to be buckle-resistant, it is prone to very slight warping with the addition of water, when using gouache, watercolour paint, and watercolour pencil. That being said, it eventually dries to a relatively flat state, similar to that of other 300 gsm watercolour papers. Therefore, you may still want to stretch your paper before you begin painting. Samples that were left in water overnight remained black and were able to withstand scrubbing without wearing away. It would take excessive scrubbing for this paper to deteriorate.

As it has a medium-rough texture and hard size, the paper has the right level of absorbency for wet media as it can take washes while keeping pigment on the surface. This feature is very important with black paper, as it can often absorb lighter colours so much that they disappear. We found the paper’s absorbency was suitable across the variety of mediums we tested.

Jackson’s Studio Acrylic – Silver 972
 
This was one of the most satisfying mediums to apply. Because it was so easy to control, I was able to build up several layers of paint and produce a wide range of tonal values, by diluting with plenty of water. I noticed a small amount of buckling in the paper while I was working, but this flattened out once it dried. The vibrancy of the silver colour remained bright and reflective both wet and dry.

Jackson’s Studio Acrylic – Silver 972

Finetec Coliro: Mica Watercolour Paint – Moon Gold and Tibet Gold from the Vintage Pearlcolours Collection
 
With the addition of a little water, these paints burst to life, sparkling in pools in the valleyed grooves of the pan. While they are a little less easy to control than the acrylic or gouache, they handled well on the paper and had an exceptional amount of lift. Many layers could be applied without damaging the paper, though I found it had warped slightly upon drying. Stonehenge Aqua Black seems made for metallic watercolours of this kind—the bright sheen of the paint remains just as strong when dry, and is further accentuated by the matt black of the paper, which appears even darker by contrast.

Finetec Coliro: Mica Watercolour Paint – Moon Gold and Tibet Gold
from the Vintage Pearlcolours Collection

Winsor & Newton Designer Gouache – Silver
 
This was another excellent medium to work with on Stonehenge Aqua Black as it was easy to control and with an equally metallic luminescence to the acrylic. The gouache, when built up in dense layers, resembled hammered silver on the texture of the paper, or applied sparingly as a wash, appeared like distant stars. Once dried, it could be almost completely lifted from the paper and there was no sign of warping or buckling whatsoever.

Winsor & Newton Designer Gouache – Silver

Jackson’s Artist Watercolour – Chinese White 471
 
Applying watercolour paint thickly was the most effective way to avoid it absorbing into the paper too much. On the Stonehenge Aqua Black, the paint dried to a ghostly pale blue rather than a white. Unlike the metallics, the watercolour paint dried unpredictably, with irregular pooling in the texture of the surface and some slight warping in the paper. With the combination of the paper’s dry rough textured finish and the various drying tones, I found the results of the watercolour paint harder to predict, but full of potential for experimentation.

Jackson’s Artist Watercolour – Chinese White 471

Derwent Graphatint Pencil – Cloud Grey 22 and White 24
 
Applying the watercolour pencils with a light pressure prevented them from rubbing the texture of the paper flat, so it retained it’s shape, texture and absorption qualities. The pigment remained visible when wet and absorbed with a lot of coverage into the paper. Once dried to a matt finish, it was harder to lift back to the original black tones of the paper, without leaving grey smoky patches.

Derwent Graphatint Pencil – Cloud Grey 22 and White 24

Uni Posca Marker Pen – Silver 26 (bullet shaped 0.7 mm) and White 1 – (pin type 0.7 mm)
 
Using these pens on black watercolour paper felt definitive, as it was harder to conceal your marks and impossible to lift them back off the paper with water. The ink sat on the surface and lines remained sharp and clear, without bleed. Occasionally and unpredictably, the friction between the semi-rough texture of the paper and the plastic pen tip caused the nib to scratch, splatter, and spit out ink.

Uni Posca Marker Pen – Silver 26 (bullet shaped 0.7 mm)

See our video Testing Stonehenge Black Watercolour Paper on Youtube

The post Stonehenge Aqua Black: Onto the Void appeared first on Jackson's Art Blog.

Using masking fluid in a watercolour painting allows you to protect areas of the paper, in order to keep stark highlights and fiddly details. Choosing a masking fluid that works with your style and that will not damage your paper or leave gummy marks is incredibly important. Botanical artist, Sandrine Maugy explains in this review of Schmincke Masking Fluid how it handles when used for detailed illustrations.

The Suitability of Schmincke Blue Masking Fluid for Stamens

by Sandrine Maugy

Schmincke Blue Masking Fluid

Stamens can be too fiddly to paint around. Using masking fluid is sometimes a better option for producing fine, delicate lines. For this rose, I chose the Schmincke blue masking fluid. It is a removable masking fluid rather than a permanent one, which was essential for this purpose, as I needed to paint over the masked area once the petals were finished.

Schmincke Blue Masking Fluid and brush

Application

I like the level of fluidity of this masking fluid: too runny and it would be harder to keep the accuracy required for the longer lines, too thick and it would be more difficult to keep the details sharp. The medium fluidity level means that this masking fluid is too thick to be applied with a ruling pen. However, it works well with a 4/0 synthetic paintbrush.

I also like the fact that this masking fluid is coloured. Clear masking fluid can be confusing when used on a cluster of details such as these stamen. Here I could see clearly the bits I had already masked and what was left to do.

Blue Schmincke Masking Fluid applied

Removal

The Schmincke masking fluid dries quite quickly although the drying time does depend on how thickly it is applied. An hour should be enough before it is safe to paint over.

Dried masking fluid painted over

After I finished painting the petals on all the areas surrounding the masking fluid, I left it overnight before the removal. My paper was 640 gms and I painted wet-in-wet so it got soaked through. I needed to wait until it was thoroughly dried before removing the masking fluid, otherwise, I might have done some damage to the paper fibres.

Again, the blueness helps at the removal stage. It means that there is no unnecessary rubbing on large areas and that you can be certain that none is left behind.

Removal of dried masking fluid in sections

Painting over

If the masking fluid hasn’t been left any longer than necessary and the paper is completely dry before removal, the Schmincke masking fluid is very gentle on the fibres and the paper should be undamaged and smooth enough to paint the small details that were masked.

Half Painted rose masking fluid removed

Conclusion

The Schmincke blue masking fluid is easy to use and the colour makes it easier to work through the whole process. I find the fluidity is just the right level for this type of project and the paper is left undamaged.

Completed rose with the last stamens waiting to be cleared of masking fluid and painted

You can see Sandrine’s video review of the Masking Fluid on her Youtube channel below:

Sandrine Maugy

Sandrine Maugy is a well known botanical painter and a regular contributor of articles to the Artists & Illustrators Magazine, she has also published a beautifully illustrated Botanical Painting book on advanced colour-mixing theory and painting wet-in-wet when watercolour painting. She runs a very informative blog and a YouTube channel which is worth regularly checking for new advice and tips.

Visit her website and her Instagram @sandrinemaugy to see more of her work and find out about her practice.

You Can view all the Schmincke Masking Fluids we stock here, or read our article comparing different masking fluids here.

The post Schmincke Blue Masking Fluid’s Suitability for Botanical Art appeared first on Jackson's Art Blog.

Why are greys important when painting with watercolour? Greys are the workhorse of many artists, used to create lines, shadows, details and light effects. While some painters use a basic grey (a mixture of black and white), most artists use complementary colour mixes or black pigmented paint modified with another colour to create greys with variations within them – just as grey appears in real life. Choosing whether you want a warm, cool or neutral grey can set the whole atmosphere of your painting. With that in mind Daniel Smith has collaborated with three artists to create six tube grey watercolours, each of which produces a unique effect, giving you a quick base to use by itself or to mix in with your normal watercolour palette.

• Daniel Smith New Grey Signature Series Watercolours:
• Alvaro’s Warm Grey and Cool Grey
• Jane Blundell’s Non-staining, Non-dulling Grey
• Joseph Zbukvic’s Neutral Grey, Warm Grey and Cool Grey

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Daniel Smith new Signature Series Grey Watercolours

Daniel Smith Six New Watercolour Greys

Daniel Smith have created a new signature series of colours including 6 greys, in collaboration with artists, to help encompass some of the infinite range of tones and allow artists to complete their perfect palette with premixed tubes.

These six new grey colours have been designed by three world-renowned artists so that there is a full range that artists can trust to choose from. The three artists who Daniel Smith worked with to develop these colours are Master Artist Alvaro Castagnet, Master Colourist Jane Blundell, and Master Artist Joseph Zbukvic.

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Alvaro Castagnet’s Warm Caliente Grey and Alvaro’s Cool Fresco Grey

Alvaro’s two watercolour greys painted out

Greys can be bold or subtle if mixed with careful consideration and insightful colour theory. Premixed greys are incredibly important when working plein air as they allow you to keep up with changing light and weather conditions. Alvaro has chosen his greys to work with plein air painting and to allow fast colour mixing within your colour palette.

You can see two of his mixing grids below (taken from the Daniel Smith blog) which show you how both Alvaro greys can modify and create a beautiful array of neutrals when mixed with the Daniel Smith essential watercolour set, giving you a sense of their versatility.

Alvaro’s Caliente Warm Grey Mixing Grid

Alvaro’s Fresco Cool Grey Mixing Grid

Alvaro’s greys are about, in his own words:

‘…magnetism, fury, energy…power.  You know greys… create a feeling of danger, emotion, passion… mystery…evoke things that are unknown…darkness.  I use these greys to create a painting that has a magnetism…energy, mystery, passion…something to discover, entering the unknown, darkness.  Both of these colors have just this type of feel to me.’-Alvaro Castagnet

Alvaro Castagnet, Wed in NY, 56 x 75 cm, watercolour

Alvaro’s Caliente Warm Grey:

‘[A] terrific hue, very powerful, excellent to create strong and warm paintings.  In monochrome this wonderful Grey is perfect to achieve a powerful atmosphere with amazing glow. This color is also perfect to add dramatic highlights and shadows.’-Alvaro Castagnet

Alvaro Castagnet, Paris View, painted using Alvaro’s Caliente Grey

This is a smooth, warm sift grey that tones down colours in mixes and adds a subtle warmth to them. It is semi-transparent and non-granulating (making it perfect for mixed washes), is low staining (preventing haloing) and has an excellent lightfastness. Pigments include: PBr 7, PB 29, PBk 6

Alvaro’s Caliente Grey Watercolour

Alvaro’s Fresco Cool Grey:

“A very powerful and true hue, with no artificial look to it. Passionate and mysterious, great to evoke distant elements of any kind even the unknown…I love the hue.”

Alvaro Castagnet, Genoa, painted using Alvaro’s Fresco Grey

Fresco grey is a cool dark almost black in mass tone that can be drawn out to a cool misty wash . It mixes well, toning down and adding a coolness to certain colours. It is semi-transparent, granulating (allowing for dramatic effects), low staining and has an excellent lightfastness. The pigments include PB 29, PV 15, PW 6.

Alvaro’s Fresco Grey Watercolour

About Alvaro Castagnet

Alvaro with plein air watercolour piece

Alvaro was born in Montevideo, in Urguguay. He was encouraged from a young age by his father to pursue art, he studied first at the National School of Art in Montevideo under Professor Esteban Garino and then at the Fine Arts University under Miguel Angel Pareja. He lived in Australia for 20 years and has know returned to Montevideo. He has exhibited extensively over the last 30 years and has won several awards.
He has published several books: ‘Watercolor Painting with Passion’, ‘Painting with Passion – Beyond Technique’ and ‘Watercolour Masterclass’ books. He has also featured in innumerable art books, videos, DVDs and acclaimed international art publications. His main studio is located in Montevideo, Uruguay.

You can view all of our products that Alvaro has been involved in making here, including signature Escoda brush sets, Danial Smith watercolour colours and sets, DVDs and books.

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Jane Blundell’s Non-staining , Non-dulling Grey

Jane Blundell, Looking across at Hunter’s Hill, Watercolour painted with Jane’s Grey

Artist and blogger Jane Blundell wanted to develop a grey that was non-staining (unlike those using Phthalo Blue) and that didn’t have the dulling effects of a grey which included a black pigment. It needed to be liftable and granulating to create stormy skies and soft shadows as well as being a neutral tint that could darken colours without changing their temperature.

Part of the importance of this is the desire by artists to use a grey that maintains the colour harmony within a palette and artwork – this is often done by mixing ultramarine blue and burnt sienna, however, it’s unusual to get this as a convenience colour. You can see the “recipe” in Jane’s swatches taken from her informative blog below.

Swatches for working out Jane’s Grey taken from her blog

Jane has been mixing in individual pans and palettes for years and a couple of years ago Jane also approached Daniel Smith to make available in tube form to meet the demands of her students and followers for this grey mix. It is semi-transparent, granulating, low staining and has excellent lightfastness. The pigments included are PB 29, PBr 7.

Jane’s Grey Watercolour

You can see the range of colours in can create in these mixing grids done by Jane (taken from her blog) below.

Mixing with Jane’s Grey by Jane Blundell

Mixing with Jane’s Grey by Jane Blundell

About Jane Blundell

Jane Blundell at work

Jane Blundell is a watercolour artist who is passionate about colour. She has been painting professionally for over 35 years and writes tutorials along with detailed paint descriptions on her website and blog. She teaches drawing and watercolour to artists online and at home in Australia. You can see her workshop listings here. She has written articles and pieces for several publications and has also published a book ‘The Ultimate Mixing Palette: a World of Colours’. She exhibits regularly and is a member of several art societies and institutions.

You can view Jane’s Grey here.

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Joseph Zbukvic’s Neutral Grey, Warm Grey and Cool Grey

Joseph Zbukvic comparing his three greys

Joseph Zbukvic is known for his considerate use of greys in his watercolours:
‘I’m asked endlessly what grey I use..I actually make up my own using just about every colour on my palette….’ – Joseph Zbukvic

‘As my painting style progressed over the years, I eventually found myself using many shades of grey which I always mixed myself using numerous pigments on my palette. I was constantly asked by students and other artists, what they were and how to mix them. A question almost impossible to answer. This led me to develop the three greys in collaboration with Daniel Smith. I hope they bring success to everyone using them.’ – Joseph Zbukvic

Joseph Zbukvic comparing his three greys for different light effects

Joseph recommends having a range of greys to cover different light conditions. Since light can be neutral, cool or warm he has created with Daniel Smith three greys to match each type of light. This allows you to modify other colours quickly to produce the right temperature and atmosphere throughout the piece.

They can also be used by themselves to create expressive cityscapes.

Joseph Zbukvic’s Neutral Grey Watercolour

Joseph Zbukvic painting using Joseph Z’s Neutral Grey

‘…perfect for those strong, New York type cityscapes. When undiluted it is basically black and can provide powerful monolithic shapes without looking chalky.  It gives a look of charcoal drawing or old-fashioned photographs.’ – Joseph Zbukvic

Joseph Z’s Neutral Grey is a rich black, grey that is very dark in mass tone and has virtually no colour bias meaning you can tone down colours easily. It is semi transparent, granulating, low staining and has excellent lightfastness. It includes these pigments: PB 29, PBk 9, PBk 10.

Joseph Z’s Neutral Grey Watercolour

Joseph Zbukvic’s Warm Grey

Joseph Zbukvic painting using Joseph Z’s Warm Grey

‘…perfect for strong summer light when shadows have that rich warm glow. It’s particularly useful for painting late afternoon light effects with its pinkish glow when it’s diluted into lighter washes. It can capture that evening glow perfectly.’ – Joseph Zbukvic

Joseph Z’s Warm Grey is also very dark in mass tone but had a pinkish undertone in light washes, allowing it to tone down other colours while adding slight warmth. It is semi transparent, granulating, low staining and has excellent lightfastness. The pigments included are PY 43, PV 19, PBk 6.

Joseph Z’s Warm Grey Watercolour

Joseph Zbukvic’s Cool Grey

Joseph Zbukvic painting using Joseph Z’s Cool Grey

‘…I designed this grey to use for those frosty morning and rainy winter day paintings. It has a lovely greenish sediment which is perfect for low light, early morning light effects. I think this is a must for anyone painting winter scenes.’ – Joseph Zbukvic

Joseph Z’s Cool Grey while very dark in mass tone has an unusual green violet tone, it tones down nicely other colours while adding a lush coolness. It is semi transparent, granulating, low staining and has excellent lightfastness. The pigments included are  PB 36, PV 19, PBk 6.

Joseph Z’s Cool Grey Watercolour

Below are mixing grids to demonstrate the way each grey interacts with the Daniel Smith Essentials Watercolour Set and the range they can each produce.

Joseph Zs mixing grid with his Neutral Grey and Essential Daniel Smith Mixing set

Joseph Zs mixing grid with his Warm Grey and Essential Daniel Smith Mixing set

Joseph Zs mixing grid with his Cool Grey and Essential Daniel Smith Mixing set

About Joseph Zbukvic

Joseph Zbukvic with painting

Joseph Zbukvic works mainly plein air, painting on location. He is a famous watercolourist who is held in galleries and collections worldwide. His style is lyrical and while encompassing a broad range of subjects seeks to product atmospheric, sensitive paintings. His series of DVDs are informative and seek to show other artists how to achieve their own style through using Zbukvic’s methods and sensitivity to light and surroundings.

You can see Escoda brush sets Joseph Zbuknvic’s worked on, the Daniel Smith Grey Watercolours and a range of his DVDs here.

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You can view the full Daniel Smith Watercolour Signature Series here, including all the greys.

Read more about Daniel Smith’s collaboration with these artists and their full articles on the Daniel Smith Blog here.

Daniel Smith Six New Signature Greys

The post Daniel Smith’s Six New Grey Watercolours Made in Collaboration with Artists appeared first on Jackson's Art Blog.

Using masking fluid in a watercolour painting allows you to protect areas of the paper, in order to keep stark highlights and fiddly details. Choosing a masking fluid that works with your style and that will not damage your paper or leave gummy marks is incredibly important. Botanical artist, Sandrine Maugy explains in this review of Schmincke Masking Fluid how it handles when used for detailed illustrations.

The Suitability of Schmincke Blue Masking Fluid for Stamens

by Sandrine Maugy

Schmincke Blue Masking Fluid

Stamens can be too fiddly to paint around. Using masking fluid is sometimes a better option for producing fine, delicate lines. For this rose, I chose the Schmincke blue masking fluid. It is a removable masking fluid rather than a permanent one, which was essential for this purpose, as I needed to paint over the masked area once the petals were finished.

Schmincke Blue Masking Fluid and brush

Application

I like the level of fluidity of this masking fluid: too runny and it would be harder to keep the accuracy required for the longer lines, too thick and it would be more difficult to keep the details sharp. The medium fluidity level means that this masking fluid is too thick to be applied with a ruling pen. However, it works well with a 4/0 synthetic paintbrush.

I also like the fact that this masking fluid is coloured. Clear masking fluid can be confusing when used on a cluster of details such as these stamen. Here I could see clearly the bits I had already masked and what was left to do.

Blue Schmincke Masking Fluid applied

Removal

The Schmincke masking fluid dries quite quickly although the drying time does depend on how thickly it is applied. An hour should be enough before it is safe to paint over.

Dried masking fluid painted over

After I finished painting the petals on all the areas surrounding the masking fluid, I left it overnight before the removal. My paper was 640 gms and I painted wet-in-wet so it got soaked through. I needed to wait until it was thoroughly dried before removing the masking fluid, otherwise, I might have done some damage to the paper fibres.

Again, the blueness helps at the removal stage. It means that there is no unnecessary rubbing on large areas and that you can be certain that none is left behind.

Removal of dried masking fluid in sections

Painting over

If the masking fluid hasn’t been left any longer than necessary and the paper is completely dry before removal, the Schmincke masking fluid is very gentle on the fibres and the paper should be undamaged and smooth enough to paint the small details that were masked.

Half Painted rose masking fluid removed

Conclusion

The Schmincke blue masking fluid is easy to use and the colour makes it easier to work through the whole process. I find the fluidity is just the right level for this type of project and the paper is left undamaged.

Completed rose with the last stamens waiting to be cleared of masking fluid and painted

You can see Sandrine’s video review of the Masking Fluid on her Youtube channel below:

Sandrine Maugy

Sandrine Maugy is a well known botanical painter and a regular contributor of articles to the Artists & Illustrators Magazine, she has also published a beautifully illustrated Botanical Painting book on advanced colour-mixing theory and painting wet-in-wet when watercolour painting. She runs a very informative blog and a YouTube channel which is worth regularly checking for new advice and tips.

Visit her website and her Instagram @sandrinemaugy to see more of her work and find out about her practice.

You can view all the Schmincke Masking Fluids we stock here, or read our article comparing different masking fluids here.

The post Schmincke Blue Masking Fluid’s Suitability for Botanical Art appeared first on Jackson's Art Blog.

With more specialist black watercolour paper available than ever before, we decided to compare how four different brands of black paper handled with a variety of water-based mediums, including acrylic, metallic, fluorescent, opaque and transparent colours. We wanted to explore the unique characteristics of each paper and discover how the different mediums behaved on them and their visibility on the black surface of the paper.

• 12 sheets per block
• Available in A3 and A4
• 360gsm
• Cold pressed surface
• Lignin-free

Royal Talens was the heaviest weight of the four papers we tested and the second darkest black after Stonehenge. Its texture has fine parallel grooves and it has a slight sheen.

2. Stonehenge Aqua Black by Legion

• 15 sheets per block
• Available in 8 x 10 in, 9 x 12 in, 10 x 14 in, 6.3 x 9.5 cm
• 300gsm
• 100% cotton
• Acid, Chlorine, OBA, Lignin-Free
• Cold pressed.
• Buckle-Resistant, dries flat

Stonehenge Aqua Black was the third heaviest weight paper and the darkest black of all four papers we tested. Its texture is almost like pressed wool and it has the same surface on both sides.

3. Khadi Handmade Black Paper

• Single sheets
• 56 x 76 cm
• 320gsm
• 100% long fibred black cotton rag
• Internally sized with neutral pH size and acid-free
• Not lightfast – will fade in direct sunlight

More of a dark grey colour than a black, Khadi was the lightest in tone of all the papers we tested. It was the second heaviest in weight with the roughest surface texture.

4. Somerset Black Velvet Paper

• Single sheets – minimum order quantity is 5 sheets
• 56 x 76 cm
• 280 gsm
• 100% Cotton
• Acid-free
• Archival – Blue Wool scale 6+

This paper has been designed for letterpress, etching, silk screen and other relief printing techniques and has also become popular with pastel artists. We thought it would be interesting to put it to the test as a black paper for water-based mediums too. It has a very smooth, absorbent surface texture. It was the third darkest black and the lightest weight paper in our tests.

• Derwent Graphitint Water-soluble Pencil Warm Grey 19
• Derwent Graphitint Water-soluble Pencil White 24

The watercolour pencil application was smooth on both the Somerset and Stonehenge. With the addition of water, both papers produced a very short bleed and the pencil dried to a smooth matt finish with a good amount of surface coverage. On the Royal Talens and the Khadi, the rougher texture of the paper created a more uneven pencil mark, and both papers allowed barely any bleed at all when water was added. On the Royal Talens, the pencil had a slightly shinier finish than the others. Khadi’s grooved surface made the pencil catch a few times, leaving a textured, chalky finish.
 

• Uni Posca White Bullet Shaped 0.9 – 1.3 mm
• Molotow Liquid Chrome Pumpmarker 4 mm
• Molotow Shock Blue Acrylic Twin 1.5 – 4 mm

Being the darkest black of the four papers, the colour of the pens stood out the most on the Stonehenge. The pens were very smooth to apply to the Royal Talens, but scrubbed slightly on the other three papers. The pen ink seemed to absorb into the Somerset, Stonehenge and Khadi, while it remained on top of the Royal Talens and created a thicker depth of colour.
 

• Jackson’s Artist Watercolour 471 Chinese White

The Somerset was very absorbent but had the most even finish after the paint had dried. The Stonehenge had a thick, slightly speckled finish in the more diluted areas of paint, but the thicker areas of painting dried to a very smooth finish. The paint’s bleed was exceptionally short on all four of the papers, but the texture of the Royal Talens encouraged the paint to collect in blots. On the Khadi, the paint dried to a chalky finish, but it was able to take multiple washes to alter the thickness of the paint.
 

• Jackson’s Artist Watercolour Cerulean Blue 264 – Opaque
• Jackson’s Artist Watercolour Lemon Yellow 103 – Transparent
• Jackson’s Artist Watercolour Carmine 187 – Transparent

While metallics, whites, silvers and golds are always going to stand out on black surfaces more than other colours, there is definitely scope for working with regular watercolour paints on black watercolour paper. Both the opaque and transparent colours used here showed up on each paper much more than I had anticipated. Of course, the more diluted, the less visible they were and the thicker the paint, the more visible the colour. The black surface of the paper gave them each a richer feel, than the way they might appear on white paper.
 

• Winsor and Newton Designers Gouache Silver
• Turner Acryl Gouache White PW6

Both Acrylic and traditional gouache were the most compatible mediums to use with all four black watercolour papers. They seemed to bring out the best qualities in each one, mostly due to the even paint coverage, the gouache filling up space in and around the grooves of the more textured Royal Talens and Khadi. The acrylic gouache (white) was unable to be lifted once dry, but the traditional gouache was responsive to water on all four papers, even when re-wetted after having been left to dry for a few days.
 

• Jackson’s Studio Acrylic Colour Silver 972
• Vallejo Acrylic Studio Red Pink Fluro 934

I expected the silver acrylic paint to show up well on the black paper but I was intriuged to see how a fluorescent paint would appear. It was equally dull on all four papers, but, the areas where it condensed in the texture of the Khadi would suggest that if applied neat and very thickly, it could still maintain its bright fluorescence when dry. Acrylic paint is very easy to control on watercolour paper of this thickness and it is possible to work paint texture more but keep in mind, that there is no lift at all once it has dried.
 

• Coliro Pearlcolours Apple Green M020
• Coliro Pearlcolours Mermaid M023
• Coliro Pearlcolours Sky Blue M017

Metallic watercolour paint, like Coliro, is perfect for black watercolour paper as it is designed to be rich shimmering colour. Whether applied thickly or diluted, it’s iridescence remains. Due to the smoother surface texture of both the Somerset and Stonehenge, it was easy to get a good amount of lift with the Coliro. Khadi, being very absorbent and with a varied, grooved surface texture, made it harder to get a consistent lift. Royal Talens has a more consistent surface texture (parallel grooves) which made it easier to move the paint with water.
 

View each black watercolour paper in our online shop:

• Van Gogh Black Watercolour Paper by Royal Talens
• Stonehenge Aqua Black by Legion
• Khadi Handmade Black Paper
• Somerset Black Velvet Paper

For further reading about black watercolour paper and metallic paint, see:

• Stonehenge Aqua Black: Onto the Void
• Nuanced Sheens: Coliro Pearlescent Paint
• Jackson’s Metallic Watercolour Inks on Black Khadi Watercolour Paper

The post Black Watercolour Paper Comparison appeared first on Jackson's Art Blog.

Artist Tonya Lee explains why she loves modern Indian Yellow watercolour pigments and how you can get the most from this unique colour. The original Indian Yellow pigment, whose history is very mysterious, went out of use before 1900 due to concerns of animal cruelty. Since then many alternatives have been developed to mimic the original colour. Tonya shares her favourite modern Indian Yellow watercolours.

By Tonya Lee

Indian Yellow Landscape, Tonya Lee

Spring announces its arrival with budding leaves and lanes of daffodils. Summer clothes itself with fiery sunsets and flowers feasted upon by bumblebees. Fall ignites entire mountains and hills in rich golds, while winter displays its gentle warmth in sunlit snowdrifts and radiant morning mists.

A perfect colour for capturing all of the seasons is Indian Yellow and this warm, adaptable yellow can be an excellent choice for a watercolour palette. The deep yellow-orange pigment used to create the colour originally dubbed “Indian Yellow” was imported from India, hence the name, and produced a paint that was hailed as bright yet luminously rich and lightfast. Throughout its long period of usage, it was beloved by many great artists such as Turner and Van Gogh.

[Editor’s note: Traditional Indian Yellow was used mainly between the 16th and 19th century. There has been much debate over how it was made and what it was made from. This is because different paint samples called Indian Yellow during this time were made from different things—some were salts, others plant dyes and some came from animal origins.
 
The Indian civil servant T. N. Mukharji recorded in the 19th century that Indian Yellow was made from the concentrated urine of cows that had been fed only on mango leaves.  Recent tests done by scientists on an Indian Yellow sample, collected by Mukharji in 1883, support his explanation for that particular sample.]

Four Colour Landscape: Only four colours were used to create this simple landscape: Indian Yellow (PY110), Cerulean Blue (PB36), Perylene Green (PBk31), and Transparent Red Oxide (PR101)

Although the origins of Indian Yellow are a bit murky and its original formulation has long since been removed from production, there are several alternatives on the market that work exceptionally well. Deep yellow-orange watercolours are still called “Indian Yellow,” but manufacturers also use names such as Turner Yellow, Yellow Deep, Gamboge, and more.

Many of these Indian Yellow substitutes are blends of two or more pigments, and although convenience shades can be useful, there are several single-pigment options available. Jackson’s along with a few other manufacturers produce a single pigment Cadmium Yellow Deep (PY35) that displays traditional yellow-orange hues, and Winsor and Newton produces a colour called Turner’s Yellow (PY216) that is based upon the classic Indian Yellow colour.

These colours may be similar to the original Indian Yellow, but their pigments are rather opaque. Although opaque pigments are perfect for certain techniques and can be very useful in a palette, transparent pigments often make better mixers and minglers overall and are much more suitable for glazing.

M. Graham Indian Yellow (PY110) watercolour swatch

Deep yellow-orange watercolours that are comprised of a single pigment and also transparent aren’t plentiful, but they can be found. A reliable Indian Yellow substitution is the yellow pigment 110, or PY110, currently produced in a single-pigment watercolour by a handful of manufacturers. PY110 is highly transparent, has little drying shift, excellent lightfast ratings, and is staining but still lifts easily even when dry.

However, PY110’s most remarkable characteristic is visible in dilution and application where it will often display a lovely luminescence, a feature that was also prized with the original Indian Yellow. It’s especially talented at imparting a realistic warmth to rural landscapes and capturing the reflective illumination of city scenes. In other words, it can make a painting glow!

Not only is PY110 highly translucent and has excellent lightfast ratings, but it also has a manageable flow rate. When dropped into wet-in-wet applications, PY110 is willing to move but not so much that a painter is forced to chase it around the page. Of course, the flow rate of any colour depends upon several factors including its manufacture and application (e.g. paper sizing and weight, saturation and humidity levels, etc) but PY110 is generally well behaved and rarely blossoms or cauliflowers without permission.

PY110 active in wet: Dispersement of PY110 when applied to wet papers. Top, applied to surfaced dampened paper with no sheen. Middle, applied to saturated paper with no sheen. Bottom, applied to saturated paper with visible sheen.

All of these properties combine to make PY110 a fantastic mixer. A quick mix for a wide range of greens from green gold to deep olive is PY110 combined with Phthalo Green, or try it with Viridian to gain similarly natural greens but with a pop of granulation. Of course, a beautiful range of natural greens can also be created by mixing PY110 with any palette blue from Cerulean to Cobalt, and mixing with blue will also produce several striking neutrals.

Combining PY110 with any red from cool to warm produces a nice range of brilliant oranges and warm reds that are useful for painting florals, butterflies, and more. PY110 along with Quinacridone Rose dropped into or pulled across a wet skyline will create an awe-inspiring sunset, and adding PY110 to warm reds like iron oxide earths results in deep golds and dusky oranges that are perfect for painting everything from pumpkins to persimmons.

PY110 mixes: Top row, PY110 mixed with Phthalo Green (PG7) with the exception of the last swatch that showcases the beautiful granulation achieved when mixing PY110 with Viridian. Middle row, a small sampling of natural greens achieved when mixing PY110 with a standard palette blue like Ultramarine (PB29). Bottom row, a gorgeous range of brilliant corals to deep earths that results when mixing PY110 with violets and reds like (from left) Quin Rose (PV19), Transparent Red Oxide (PR101), and Perylene Violet (PV29).

Regardless of PY110’s excellent mixing capabilities, this colour also works well solo and is the best way to take advantage of PY110’s transparent and luminance qualities. Straight from the tube, PY110 is perfect for painting a variety of subjects from sunflowers to traffic cones.

If you’re interested in trying this colour, Jackson’s offers a choice of brands that currently manufacture a single-pigment PY110 watercolour paint:
Daniel Smith Permanent Yellow Deep
Holbein Isoindolinone Yellow Deep
M. Graham Indian Yellow
Rembrandt Azo Yellow Deep
Schmincke Yellow Orange

Autumn Nature Journal Page (work in progress)

If your favourite watercolour brand isn’t listed, look for single-pigment PY65 colours, often labelled Hansa Yellow Deep. This yellow-orange pigment is very similar to PY110 albeit slightly less orange. However, it’s also wonderfully transparent and works very well in application. Although slightly less transparent than PY110 or PY65, another single-pigment option is PY139. All of these pigments mix extremely similar hues and are worthy considerations for a watercolour palette.

Tonya Lee

Tonya Lee is a self-taught nature sketcher and watercolour painter. She’s also the author of ScratchmadeJournal.com where you can find many more examples of modern Indian Yellows. She lives and works with her family on their small, rural farm in the U.S. Appalachian mountains.

Indian Yellow watercolours on jacksonsart.com

Other articles on watercolour colours

Why Schmincke Horadam have 20 Different Green Watercolours

Daniel Smith’s Six Grey Watercolour Made in Collaboration with Artists

Review of Daniel Smith’s Jean Haines’ Three Green Watercolours

The post Indian Yellow: The Colour That Glows appeared first on Jackson's Art Blog.

Granulation in watercolours is where un-even pigment becomes visible on the page, it is often used by watercolourists to add texture. Watercolourist Anna Zadorozhnaya explains what causes granulation, how to increase it, what it can be used for and how to use a spray to create a similar effect with non-granulating colours.

The Effect of Granulation in Watercolours

By Anna Zadorozhnaya

There is always a lot of discussion around granulation in watercolour: all watercolour artists know that some colours have a greater tendency to naturally granulate than others. But not all of them know what causes granulation and how it can be used in paintings.

Granulation is the visibly clear appearance of pigment particles in an uneven texture on the paper. Sounds complicated? Simply put, the nature of this phenomenon lies in the name itself: according to the dictionary, granulation is the formation of grains of a substance. In the case of watercolours, this substance is a pigment, and certain pigments tend to granulate, i.e. to form small dots and/or groups of flakes that are visually noticeable on paper.

An example of Ultramarine watercolour granulating

Before explaining the causes and specific applications of granulation in watercolour paintings, it is worth explaining the term “flocculation” which is associated with granulation. There is much debate among watercolourists about whether the two processes are actually different.

One theory, supported by chemists, states that granulation is the appearance of visible particles of pigment on paper due to the uneven depositing of the sediment, whereas flocculation is the mutual attraction of small particles of pigment into groups that creates patterns on the paper. This would make the two fundamentally different because of the process that causes them.

According to another theory, which also has many supporters, flocculation is a subspecies of granulation, just one of its variants. Anyway, there are those who say that it is not important because the main thing is not what this process is called, but that applying certain paints to paper creates a granulated texture.

Landscape with using Granulating pigments by Anna Zadorozhnaya

What causes granulation in watercolours?

There are three important factors.

— The nature of the pigment

The most important factor in the formation of granulation in watercolour is the paint’s pigment. There are groups of pigments that have a natural tendency to granulate because they are heavier.

These are:
Ultramarines
Cobalts (including ceruleans)
Earth tones
Blacks

[Editor’s note: Most earth pigments are now made with synthetic rather than natural pigments. Synthetic iron oxides, like Raw Sienna and Burnt Umber, granulate differently between brands with some granulating heavily and others hardly granulating at all. Many genuine mineral pigments produce dramatic granulating effects due to their larger pigment particle size. 

Ultramarine blue, PB29, is usually a granulating pigment but some versions are very finely milled which reduces granulation. Many professional watercolour manufacturers offer both French Ultramarine and Ultramarine Blue. Of the two, French Ultramarine granulates more readily. Granulation of Ultramarine Pink varies greatly across brands.
 
Of the black pigments, Ivory Black and Mars Black usually granulate. Lamp Black generally does not. 

It’s interesting to note that naturally granulating red pigments are rare.]

Granulation being used in a mountain Landscape for interest, texture and tone

— Quantity and quality of water

As a rule, granulation is more visible and clear when there is a lot of water both on the paper and mixed with the paint itself. So if you would like to increase granulation, use more water.

Also, one of the factors in creating granulation is the quality of the water you use. If you use hard water, which has more minerals in it, the granulation will be more pronounced than if you used distilled or soft water.

Granulation on watercolour paper demonstrating pigment sinking into the paper texture’s dimples or ‘holes’

— Paper texture

Granulating pigment particles are heavier and coarser than finer ground, even paint pigments. Because of this, they sink into the “holes” or dimples in the texture of the watercolour paper and from this create the uneven paint layer.

So, granulation is more likely to be noticeable on cold pressed and rough textured paper than on a paper without much texture and with less dimples, such as hot pressed. Although, granulation is still possible on smooth paper it may just be less extreme.

Landscape using granulation to provide texture to the land

Granulation in Practice

All of the above is only theoretical knowledge, which is useful, but it is useless if it is not quite clear when granulation effects will be appropriate.

Most watercolourists use granulating paints or sprays in these cases:
• To vary textures (in the case of an even wash that you might want to make more interesting)
• Landscapes and everything in them (from mountainsides to describing grass, forests and water)
• Textures seen in ordinary life (rust, moss, plaster, concrete, bricks, rough surfaces, etc.)
• Abstraction (additional texture can make for more interesting stains)
• Grisaille, where you use shades of grey or another neutral greyish colour to form the whole picture (a painting that uses one colour can look more interesting if it includes granulation)
• Dark areas next to light ones (most dark paints granulate and granulation can work as a way of creating additional contrast in tone)
• To describe background elements like trees (and everything that we naturally see as blurred or like a collection of dots)

Detail of dark granulation occurring next to light patches to create additional contrast in tone

Creating a Granulation Effect in Watercolours Using a Spray

Schmincke has a special spray that can get non-granulating watercolour paints to create a granulation effect called AQUA granulation spray.

Anna’s test with Schmincke AUA Granulation Spray. On the left is a pure wash of Vermilion Light and on the right a wash with the spray applied showing the dappled granulation effect

I was given an explanation of how the granulation spray works by Schmincke’s laboratory:

“Our 50 737 AQUA granulation spray only imitates the visual effect of granulation. There is no way – without damaging the colour violently – to make a non-granulating colour granulate. It is a pigment property like lightfastness that you can’t change in any direction. The only way to imitate the granulation is to leave some small spots free from colour: the medium pushes the pigment particles away by falling on the wet colour and the resulting effect gives a granulating structure to the colour layer, while the mechanism is of course completely different.”

They also let me know that the spray should be applied to the paper from a distance of at least 20-30 cms. This is really important as if you spray it closer, it could cause the formation of a round spot in the centre of where you sprayed or an unwanted layering of paint.

Left: Vermilion Light and Cadmium Orange Deep Schmincke Watercolour pure wash. Right: Vermilion Light and Cadmium Orange Deep Schmincke Watercolour wash with Schmincke Aqua Granulation spray applied

The picture shows the same paint on the left side of the picture with an even wash and on the right with the spray applied. Of course, natural granulation looks even more spectacular, but in a situation where you want to create additional texture and an even more interesting wash with a non-granulating watercolour, this spray is really useful.

Anna Zadorozhnaya’s Instagram

Schmincke Aqua Watercolour Granulation Spray on jacksonsart.com

Watercolours on jacksonsart.com

Additional Reading

Review of Schmincke Granulation Spray

Anna Zadorozhnaya’s Review of Jackson’s Watercolours, Paper and Brushes

Anna Zadorozhnaya Paints a Watercolour Mountain Landscape

Granulation used to describe the texture of clouds and emphasise tonal values

The post Granulation in Watercolours: What is it and How to use it? appeared first on Jackson's Art Blog.

Schmincke Aqua Drop liquid watercolour uses lightfast, artist-quality pigments in a fluid, watercolour binder. The range includes 24 transparent colours, 13 of which are single pigments, and an opaque white.

When using traditional watercolours, water is used to either re-wet the colour in the pan, or extend tubed watercolour to reach a usable consistency. The more water is added to the paint, the more dilute the pigment. Aqua Drop, on the other hand, can be used straight from the bottle, with minimal dilution with water, for maximum pigment concentration.

Jade Green Aqua Drop, painted out on watercolour paper

I want to explore what these new paints offer from the perspective of a watercolourist. How can they be used alongside traditional watercolours, and do they provide possibilities for techniques and effects that can enrich watercolour painting? I put brush to paper to find out.

They are intermixable with traditional watercolours

The pipette bottle makes it easy to add Aqua Drop colour to the palette

Aqua Drop liquid watercolours can be used alongside, and combined with, traditional watercolour paints to create pigment-rich mixtures. The pipette in the bottle is useful for dropping the liquid watercolour directly into a palette and the fluid consistency of Aqua Drop helps loosen tubed watercolour without the need to add much water. I tried three mixes, starting with a pea-sized amount of tubed watercolour in a palette and adding Aqua Drop, one drop at a time. Aqua Drop was integrated seamlessly into the watercolour, and the mixtures produced smooth washes.

Colour mixing with traditional watercolour and Aqua Drop liquid watercolour. From top to bottom: Quinacridone Magenta watercolour with Cyan Blue, Ultramarine Blue watercolour with Indian Yellow, Cadmium Red watercolour with Lemon Yellow

They are transparent and non-granulating

For many artists, watercolour painting relies on the interplay between the properties of different pigments, and so most watercolour ranges use a variety of pigments with different characteristics; from opaque to transparent, staining to non-staining and granulating to non-granulating pigments. The Aqua Drop range is designed to have more consistent handling qualities and all of the colours, except the opaque white, are formulated to be transparent and non-granulating.

From left to right: Emerald Green, Indian Yellow, Cyan Blue, Scarlet Red, Magenta, Neutral Grey and Burnt Sienna

In the above swatches, which were made on cold pressed Canson Moulin du Roy watercolour paper, each colour produces a smooth, non-textural wash. I also tested their lifting ability by allowing the colours to dry completely and then using a firm, wet brush to rework part of the colour before blotting it away with a cloth. All of the colours I tried were difficult to lift away, and the paper began to pill before I could take up much colour. From looking at the pigments used in the Aqua Drop range, which include phthalo, dioxazine and quinacridone pigments, resistance to lifting is to be expected. Pigments that are transparent and non-granulating tend to have small pigment particles, and these kinds of pigments are usually difficult to lift because they penetrate the paper fibres more easily than those with larger pigment particles. This property makes Aqua Drop ideal for underpainting and glazing techniques, because they will not move easily under new layers of paint.

It is important to note, however, that how easily a colour lifts depends not only on the pigment, but on how absorbent the surface is. A lifting preparation, such as Schmincke’s Lift-Off Medium, can be applied to paper before the paint is applied to make it easier for the pigment to be lifted away if needed.

Aqua Drop produces interesting effects when used wet-in-wet

Wet-in-wet painting is one of the most effective and popular techniques in watercolour. The paper is wetted, either with water or with a dilute wash of colour, and paint is applied to the wet surface where it diffuses, creating feather-like textures. Aqua Drop liquid watercolours come into their own when they are dropped, straight from the bottle, onto wet paint. The colours don’t mix immediately, and Aqua Drop immediately seems to ‘push’ the paint away, creating a halo effect around the Aqua Drop as it blossoms outwards, as seen below where Burnt Sienna is dropped into Ink Blue:

Wet in wet painting with Aqua Drop liquid watercolour. Burnt Sienna is dropped into a dilute wash of Ink Blue.

The halo effect is caused by diffusion: thicker concentrations of paint try to diffuse into more dilute concentrations. As the pure Aqua Drop colour, which is more highly pigmented than the dilute wash on the paper, diffuses outwards it pushes the dilute paint away. If this effect is unwanted it can be easily blended out, but for some artists these unexpected outcomes are part of the excitement of wet-in-wet painting.

Another discovery was that the pipette makes an excellent tool for drawing with the paint straight from the bottle onto wet or dry paper, just like using ink.

Drawing with Burnt Sienna Aqua Drop using the pipette

With their bright colours, non-granulating washes and ability to be used undiluted, Aqua Drop liquid watercolours seem to have a lot in common with drawing inks. The key difference is that many drawing inks are dye-based. Dyes produce vibrant, luminous colour but they are likely to fade or change colour upon exposure to light. Aqua Drop liquid watercolours use pigments with high lightfastness ratings. Because the pigment is suspended in the solution, Aqua Drop colours must be shaken before use. Each bottle contains a ball bearing to help move any settled pigment and ensure that it is distributed evenly throughout the binder.

The colours glow when they are wet but, of the colours I tried, some lost their saturation after drying. This is due to the pigments used, which tend to undergo a drying shift when used in watercolour. The drying shift was much more noticeable when used on absorbent paper and, for this reason, I recommend that they are used on watercolour paper or other relatively non-absorbent surfaces.

Aqua Drop Liquid watercolours in the studio

Their ability to be used undiluted gives Aqua Drop colours a high concentration of pigment that is difficult to achieve with traditional watercolours. Whether embracing the unpredictability of wet-in-wet painting, or using transparent glazes to build up layers in a painting, they can be incorporated seamlessly into a watercolour painting practice.

Schmincke Aqua Drop on jacksonsart.com

As well as watercolour painting, their ink-like consistency makes them suitable for a range of techniques, including calligraphy, hand lettering and airbrush.

More articles about Schmincke watercolours and inks:

• Why Schmincke Horadam have 20 Different Green Watercolours
• Schmincke Aero Colour: Properties and Applications
• Schmincke Granulation Medium: A Special Effect

Handprint.com was a very useful resource when writing this article, particularly the pages on wet in wet painting and pigment particle size.

The post Schmincke Aqua Drop: Liquid watercolours that can be used undiluted appeared first on Jackson's Art Blog.