Paints
Paints should do more than look good. With the thought and care that goes into making a watercolor, I want to make sure the colors don’t change or fade over time.
Years of study into the chemistry of pigments and their permanence has resulted in the following approach I use when selecting watercolor paints:
Use only pigments that are exactly the same as those found in the most permanent oil paints
Select from color houses with a century or more making proven, durable artist paints
My preferred watercolor brands: all from European color houses
Examples from my palette include Cadmium Yellow Lemon, Cadmium Yellow Deep, Cerulean, and Ultramarine. There is no difference in the pigments used in these particular watercolors and their counterparts in oil. The difference is primarily in the binders used (binder is the gooey medium that allows the paint to flow and stick to surfaces). Linseed oil is the binder used in oil paint; water-soluble Arabic gum is the binder used in watercolor. Although the Linseed oil binder does offer additional protective benefits, watercolors are proven durable if properly framed behind UV glass and displayed out of direct sunlight.
The watercolor paints I prefer are imported directly from a trusted online merchant and sourced from the finest color houses in Germany, Italy and France (my favorite brands are Schmincke, MaimeriBlu, Sennelier, and Winsor & Newton*). To get the exact color desired, I hand-select preferred hues from these different brands rather than using paints from a single manufacturer.
(* Although Winsor & Newton is headquartered in England, their watercolors are made in France.)
If you would like to learn my entire palette of colors and brands, enter your email in the subscribe field at the bottom of this web page.
Note: my choice of brands is not a criticism of other brands. Daniel Smith, Holbein and other manufacturers make excellent watercolor paints. I simply prefer specific colors in the brands listed above.
