The right watercolors

Well the summer time is here and the weather is unpredictable. Last weekend I had the opportunity to go horse back riding. My brother, his girlfriend and I got everything ready drove down to the field. When we got out and on the horses, the skies feel. We were soaked. It was a blast and I was sore the next day.

Those are the days you paint about. This time I am going to talk about paint. Paint is like brushes. Do your research and buy the best you can afford. Remember you get what you pay for.

When I started working in watercolor paint I bought lots of different types. I started out with Reeves, Dick Blick, Daniel Smith, and lots others. I could not figure out why they were not as bright as I had hoped for and started looking to make my own.

On doing my research this is what I found out. A tube of paint has a lot in it and some of it can not easily be created at home. Plus if you have breathing trouble, like me, you can not work with these dust without consequences.

schematic backbone composition of
a modern watercolor paint


There is lots of good information about paint out there and I will link you to a good sight at the end.

What I did learn is that for each color they tell you how much pigment is in the tube. This information can be gathered off the manufacture website. On the back of the tube also has some information. Each will have a letter like PV 1 which tells what is in it, light fastness, and hazardous for just a few things.


Notice I keep talking about tube paints. Well tubes are a different formula than the pans.  All the artist I have talked with say tubes are the way to go. In fact I use my own portable pallet and tubes instead of buying a pan set. The colors are better.

With all I tried the brand I like is Schmincke Horadam. The colors are brighter and when they dry out and you rewet them they just come back to life creamy. Please try out different types but always buy artist grade. It is not fair to compare artist grade to student grade. You would not compare a horse to a dog. No matter how big the dog is.

Well the warm snap will be here only today so plants are waiting and gardening needs to be started.

Click here for what I have on eBay.

The Butterfly is an 10 X 8 sealed watercolor on Aquaboard. Bidding starts at a penny.

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Links below for watercolor information.

Schmincke Horadam Watercolor site

Basic Watercolor Information.

the Science behind the color