I guess Im asking randomly but does anyone know a method to log back into an Instagram account? I somehow lost my password. I would appreciate any assistance you can give me.
@Decker Jadiel thanks so much for your reply. I found the site through google and Im trying it out atm. Looks like it's gonna take a while so I will reply here later with my results.
While deployed in Iraq, to keep my sanity, I painted several murals on the concrete barriers that protected our sleeping areas from projectiles, using what I could find. My predominant medium of available materials became Testors model paint thinned with WD40. Not the best option, but more therapeutic and educational than giving up painting for lack of proper materials. So when I see a gallery docent painting with Crayola-like watercolor sets I do not judge, rather I respectfully acknowledge they may just be performing art with what is available.
Well, thank you for serving first of all. You are a true artist - those that will find any means possible to express themselves with whatever is available. You're heart must truly be in it.
Jill Poyerd Fine Art Thank you for your kindness and for your videos. Of course now my watercolor paints are Winsor & Newton professional watercolors along with Arches 100% cotton paper.
It’s extremely difficult to get professional materials in my country, so I admire people who find ways around it, like you did. I remember my father using the kind of oil paint that is used to paint doors to create beautiful landscapes on wooden spoons.
This is wonderful. My dad was in the Desert Rats in the Royal Artillery, and he used to paint watercolours of the scenes round him and he used to draw pictures home to his mother. I now am artistic like him. Art is a wonderful grounding calming craziness resistance and therapy.
Ahhh...I just understood what you meant. You know, it looks like a lot of paint for sure, but because it's less intensely pigmented, it takes more paint to get a nice dense color tone. Notice how much I use when I mix the blob of paint at 2:35.
As an advanced beginner, I found one professional painter's tip very useful and he recommends getting three great primary colors and a neutral tint, and mix other colors from those. Which allows you to spend money on professional quality paints, without breaking the bank. Good brushes and artist quality paper make a huge difference as well. I wish I heard this advice and saw your video before I spent so much on inferior supplies... But I did learn a lot from cheap supplies and had some fun! Thanks for sharing your knowledge and talent 🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩
I'd like to add that it also heavily depends on how you're using your watercolors. If you want to paint wet in wet, flow, distribution and mixing on the paper are going to be important to you. If you prefer to work more precise in lots of thin layers, reactivation, opacity and absorbtion are going to be more important to you. I have a friend, for example, who used to layer her colors and then start mixing in white acrylic paint on the top coats, leading to a sort of guache-like appearance. The resulting paintings were absoluely lovely and had a unique texture to them, the characters almost looking like little figurines. She did that using the cheapest paints and brushes, from those art and crafts store sets, because lightfastness wasn't a concern as she later scanned her work for print and otherwise kept it protected in maps.
Great point, Apollo. Very true. And very interesting about your friend's work. I can almost picture it - beautiful and soft. It's a shame though that she didn't use higher quality paints as I bet she could have sold her originals as well. Sounds like she was quite talented.
Jill Poyerd Fine Art Hi, I’ve always wondered if you can preserve lightfastness of lower grade or even high grade, for that matter, watercolors by using a uv varnish or clear spray of some sort. Just curious. Loved, loved, loved your video and your voice. Soothing throughout. Is WN professional your favorite? Is Cotman a good student grade choice? Thanks so much.
I'm so glad you enjoyed it, sweetsumoo! Regarding the UV varnish, that's a good question. In my mind, it makes sense that it would help a little. It's the ultraviolet rays that cause the pigment to fade, so if by adding a coat that blocks some of those rays...you must be extending the life of the pigments underneath. To me that's logical. But it would have to be an archival UV coating. Regarding Winsor & Newton, I do like that paint a lot. Is it my favorite? It might be. But I like Daniel Smith a lot, too. Still...the majority of my paints are W&N. Is Cotman a good student paint? It's not fabulous, but if you choose your colors carefully by comparing the chosen color's pigment makeup with the professional line, you might be okay. I hate to actually recommend it though as I'm such a proponent of professional grade. You may want to look into a less expensive yet good professional grade paint such as Holbein or Da Vinci. I've used colors from both - they will perform better than student paints - and Da Vinci used to give you a lot of paint for the money. Something to check into.
I need to show this to my parents because they don't get why I buy such expensive paints and they say there all the same, I just hope it'll go well :,^)
Holy Guacamole, I thought I was still in the online course. I forgot this was a RUclips video. This is the best presentation I've seen yet explaining the differences in watercolor paint. All the other courses I've tried to take say, "Use professional paint." Period, end of story. I appreciate the time you spent explaining and SHOWING the differences in paint. I have not seen anyone else do that. I'm looking forward to finishing your course.
@@JillPoyerdFineArt My teacher never told us much about good paints so we only used the cheaper W&N brands for our projects (Cotman and Galeria Acrylics).
I've been struggling with the whole, "Why should I spend more for professional paint?", question and this was exactly what I needed to see to compare paint grades. Thank you for making this and being very methodical about your comparisons.
This explained to me a lot of things about watercolors, sometimes, in this case, is not completely you, also the quality of the paper, brushes, and paints can make a big difference in some aspects of the painting. Thank you for the educational video!
You're very welcome. Yes, I really wanted to help people not get discouraged if the process isn't performing well for them. It's amazing how product quality choice can effect things.
Something that I noticed while working on an assignment for class recently and trying out some paint from M. Graham. At this point, I have only ever used student quality and lower quality paints. I only just started to grab myself some professional tube paints after I found a local art store that sells them relatively cheap. But anyways, in addition to only ever having used student quality paints, I was already expecting to see a lot of backruns on my artwork since I'm already pretty bad with my brushwork and I was using student quality paper, so guess my shock when I actually managed to end up with fairly smooth and equal textures. It even almost made it look like I painted on watercolor paper that had some cotton content. After rewatching this video, it helped me realize that it was the paint that really helped me. It made me realize what I've been missing out on this whole time.
I love your comment, ALRB - This is one of the main reasons I put this video out (as well as a "sister" video on paper quality). I knew there were students who were likely getting discouraged when the bulk of the problem was with the choice of materials. I'm so glad you saw such improvement!
If RUclips allowed hearts instead of just one thumb up, I'd give this a bunch of hearts. It's thorough, well presented, and easy to listen to and watch. I'm so glad I stumbled onto it and am a new fan of yours. Well done!
This made me understand so much about watercolors. I've been using watercolors for a year now using a very cheap set and I couldn't achieve good results with it I almost gave up watercolors. Until I saw your video it really describes the issues I have with the academic watercolors. Thank you so much
Thank you for your patience! I speak spanish, so your rithm and explicit explanation was really clear for me. I enjoy painting a lot with my profesional grade watercolors, when I show my materials, a lot of (young or hobbyist) artist begins with "ah , but i paint with cheaper paints, so that's why you perform so well blah blah i work harder" . I don't understand when they take this info as personal. Dude, we all begin with cheaper brands, then with my hard work I bought something better. We all can buy a couple of more expensive tubes eventually, but it's not an obligation. For example, you make this great video explaining the differences, but it doesn't mean it is a pressure over the people that can`t afford it. Like, if you like your paints just paint using what you like, fine, but this is objective information about binders and pigments, THE END. I loved your voice btw, It's really nice.
My main watercolor set years ago in art class throughout high school was crayola. I recently bought student/professional grade paints and there is a world of difference. I always wondered why it was so hard to use, but I made it work at the time! I still keep a set around to make quick color studies for future pieces.
This is one of the reason I wanted to create this specific video. I knew there were a vast number of people who didn't know how watercolor paints can differ and how much more capable the higher lever paints can be. Thank you for sharing this.
There are so many comparison videos on RUclips that are not very accurate as comparisons. I always find your videos to be very well structured and actually provide very thorough and precise information that a comparison should provide. While I will use literally any tool from a BIC pen, a sharpened stick or food dye for early sketches and preliminary studies, I don’t consider these as works of art. Whenever I actually work on anything meant for sale, competition or exhibition, I choose the best materials available. Having begun my ‘formal’ art education in 1968 in NYC, I got spoiled by having access to specialist art material suppliers like Joseph Torch and New York Central who provide an incredible range of choices in nearly every media. Now it seems the choices get reduced yearly. While there is a degree of truth to the adage that a great artist can make almost anything work to create great work, it usually excludes the the qualifying statement ‘when forced to’. Thank you for your very thoughtful and serious analysis underlying your videos.
Thank you, William. I do like to be thorough because, as you suggest, it's the only way to get close to accurate. Your additional comments were so thought provoking - l enjoyed reading them.
Thanks, Jill. A more logical and methodical test protocol than most other RUclips channels, yielding more credible, useful results. While not too strictly scientific, your approach is most likely to represent the tests that many seasoned, educated pros use, simply because these are the basic performance features that affect their work. I do suggest that in a future video, you examine the crucial feature of mixing, by testing only 3 warm primary colors and 3 cool primary colors. Showing the colors that can be mixed from pro paints, compared to all others, is usually marks the most obviously valuable difference in paints. Then it is very obvious that many colors don't need to be bought at all, other than for convenience. Only those colors that can't be mixed from a basic set of about 12 to 24 pro colors needs to be bought. That affects total spending a lot! There are many factors in the art of painting; but the public's common perception that pro grade is (in the end) not a real payoff at a comparable total cost, shows that the "big picture" variables that affect the durability and final beauty of an artist's work have been overlooked or disregarded by the inexperience of the artist. IMHO You are correct about total spending being similar, when one uses fewest paints to mix colors as needed. Many popular professional artists had very amateurish habits, so pros also exist on a spectrum. I believe it was Pollack who confounded some owners of his now very pricey works, since he did some of his paintings on cardboard sheets that were inside the retail packaging of men's shirts... Yikes! Thank you for work.
I'm glad you enjoyed the presentation, Dean. I do try to be as scientific as I can while still keeping the feeling casual and (hopefully) interesting. Good point about color mixing - that would certainly show a difference. Something to keep in mind. I had actually mostly-completed a paint comparison for oil paints and in it I mix each with white. Very helpful to see how the pigment mixes. I agree that you can get away with using 12-24 paint colors (1-2 primary sets plus some earth tones). I lean closer to 12 tubes as it simplifies things and gives me more freedom to mix my own colors. The resulting colors tend to inter-relate better as well. You're right about some of the contemporary masters using less archival surfaces. So surprising! I know it struck me as I researched my Brushstrokes video. Once in a while I'd come across a master who "took chances" with his materials. Sadly, some of them have a smaller body of work today because of that. The pieces simply didn't last. Interesting discussion - thanks for the comments.
I started using a really cheep bad watercolor set in the first few years of starting art- and it made me hate watercolors because I was so frustrated as to why it was so hard to work with and why if I ran my finger over it the pigment would come up, but then I got the koi watercolors maybe like 2 years ago and even tho they are not professional, you can work with them and I figured out how I like using watercolor. I was just so mad that I was using a bad watercolor set the whole time and I didn’t actually dislike watercolors-
Yes, this is one of the reasons I did this video. I knew there were people who would try the cheaper sets and simply give up, never knowing how much potential there really is. And I've actually heard good things about the Koi paints...glad to know you had luck with them as well.
Ya I get what you're saying about the cheaper paint. It is better to buy a few good paints and mix them, then to buy the cheaper ones because of the grade of the paint. There are some colors that are very hard to achieve by mixing your own paint? I've tried. Like Payne's grey or indigo. Thanks for the review 👍 though. You made the binders more clear to me and what to watch for and after the paint dryes it comes off? Who knew? Thanks again 😊
indigo is pretty much violet with a touch of white to tint the shade. Indigo isn't it's own specific color, but a variation of violet. (buy a color wheel, it helps).
both payne's grey and indigo contain black.. which many "purists" suggest you don't have, and many palettes do not contain. this is an example of why villainizing pigments is ridiculous, black is a basic shade and you can't mix if you don't have all the basic shades. if you pull up the pigments on a tube you can see what is used to mix it. WN indigo contains: PB15-Phthalo Blue PV19-Quinacridone Violet PBk6-Lamp Black
I love this. Wouldn't it be interesting to test all the professional artist quality brands? I know some websites do this. All are great depending on what you intend to paint. For instance Holbein artist quality doesn't distribute as fast wet into wet because of their lack of Ox gall or synthetic dispersant in the mix. A dispersant or extender is always used in other brands. Sometimes manufacturers use more dispersant to accelerate the mixing of pigment and vehicle; this causes the paint to diffuse more aggressively when used wet in wet. The binder is only about 65% in the formula of watercolor. Commonly, gum arabic is used, but some brands, use synthetic glycol as a pigment binder. Another component is the Humectant, of simple syrup or honey that was traditionally used but now often inexpensive corn syrup to help the paint retain moisture, especially in pan paints. Then you have a plasticizer, usually glycerin, to soften the dried gum arabic and help it redissolve. This is what helps you rewet dried paint. If you find that a tube paint is hard to rewet once dried, mix in a touch of vegetable glycerin before allowing to dry on the palette or empty pan. That is the only difference between Winser & Newton pan paints verses tube paints. Most other brands actually use the exact same amount for both pan and tubes. Then the extender or filler, such as dextrin, is used to bulk out and thicken the paint without noticeably affecting the color. The most commonly used filler is dextrin, a clear, gelatinous processed wheat or corn starch, which thickens the paint, alters the gooey stiff paint to a smooth, buttery consistency, and reduces surface gloss or bronzing in the dried color. The student grade and Academy grade has more dextrin fillers and brighteners and the use of cheaper pigments that are not as lightfast. Of course there is a bit of water in the mix as well. I find the watercolor of this day and age ingenious. Thank you for sharing this video and I hope I have added a few interesting things about whats in your watercolor formula.
Thank you for this video! My first watercolor set was the Artists Loft pan set and it almost made me give up watercolor as whole (it's an extremely frustrating set to work with) This was extremely informative on the different types and grades of watercolor and it expanded my knowledge on the medium even more and why some are so expensive but I can see that the price is worth it :^) (thankfully I've also moved on from Artists Loft and now I use Kuretake)
I'm so glad it was helpful, neroburnedrome. You're experience is a great example of why I wanted to do the two videos (paper and paint). I knew there were artists out there experiencing that and hoped to help them realize the impact of their materials. Thanks for sharing that with me.
I love professional watercolors but I also use Cotman . For field watercolor sketches they are fine. But for finishing work I go with professional watercolor.
That sounds reasonable. Absolutely! Although those new to painting would need to understand that the student paint won't always perform like the pro paint.
I live in Germany and love watercolor, but I never really had a lot of fun with it. A month ago I decided to buy a limited palette of professional colors. In Germany, the go-to pro colors are either Lukas 1862 or Schmincke. Lukas has only 24 Ml or Half Pans(I don't like pans)and was too expensive. I bought myself 7 Schmincke Colors and it was about 30 Bucks, I squeezed some in an empty tin pencil case and let them dry, then two days later I fell in love with watercolor. It just feels different looks better. So recommend getting professional colors. a limited palette is good enough and try to get single pigment colors.
I'm so glad you were able to make the change and see the difference. It's surprising, isn't it? I created those videos partly for that very reason - to help people discover the true capabilities/qualities of watercolor.
In the UK we have a chain of stores known as the "The Range" never comes up on the internet when Googling watercolor paint. It sells Winsor Newton Professional Watercolor paint cheaper than any other retailer in the UK also Winsor and Newton Paint Brushes. "The Range " has an online webshop with the prices the same as in store. Also sells the cotman paint but at those prices might as well buy the professional paint.
Now I know it is NOT paper but the Paints makes the sharp difference. So buy professional tubes which will definitely encourage you to move ahead and enjoy the beauty of your artistic pursue! Thanks a lot!
Wonderfully informative! For me, predictability would be the most important issue. I would want to use the same quality of paint all the time so that I would know what to expect it to do. Thanks!
That is a very good point, and is why many professionals tend to fix on a certain palette and then stick with it, adding or changing out an occasional pigment now and then. The predictability is important and something that only comes as you work with your paints.
i was so happy when i upgraded to cotman, but now that im using Daniel Smiths and WN.... its so different. out of quarantine curiousity i painted the same portrait one with daniel smith and one cotman and it looks like two different skill levels did it although I did them simultaneously. the cotmans just dont blend and disperse as well takes out so much dimension from my painting. so unfortunate cause cotmans are recommended everywhere as an "upgrade" but i think using them won't truly reflect your skill level
This is really useful. I had wondered why some paint was more expensive. I have been buying the Cotman paints. I had wondered why my paints didn't look too intense. The expensive paints are 3 times the price of Cotman's paints, but I think I will over time get some more expensive paints.
I'm glad it was helpful, Beaulieu. That's a good idea - to switch out your paints slowly to lessen to financial impact. I think you'll really enjoy the upgrade.
I have found that some synthetic earth colors, like py42 and pr101, in some students grades are pretty good and sometimes even identical to the brands artists grade. I suspect the iron oxide pigments (essentialy rust) are cheaper that the fillers.
It's true - you occasionally run into pretty good student paints where they use the same pigments as the professional grade. I think if someone does the right research like you have, they could integrate a few student paints successfully. Great to know your pigments and ingredients!
I'm using low cost supplies for now since pro materials (paper, brushes, paints) cost as much as a month of food for two. I hope to get better supplies when I get to find a job that lets me save some money. I got to see how much I could improve using the right materials after checking out your skillshare courses.
Certainly - I completely understand. At least you will know that if the paint doesn't perform the way you think it should, it may not be your application. Hopefully, it encourages you. Also, sometimes just using less water in your mixes and a lighter brush load can help performance when working with student grade materials. And try to limit color mixes to two paints. I hope that helps.
Jill, I have viewed this video three times now, but on this last viewing I could really understand everything that you explained. I have been picking up W&N Pro paints a tube at a time. I now have about 11 (or 9 if you don't count Chinese white and ivory black). I haven't really created anything other than test paintings. I have become familiar to the way the W&N paints work. I do have some cheep and cheeper paints, but I don't even try them. Now when I was going to order the John Pike pallet from an internet art supplier, I noticed that they had a great deal on a set of 18 Turner Artist Watercolor stated as heavy pigment. I was always curious about the turner paints and just couldn't turn down the chance to get 18 tubes for a major discount of 19.99 (stating a value of 183.00). WOW, what a deal. Well, I just spent this afternoon testing each color. I also compared them with the W&N paints of the same color. What you say is so correct. Not all the paints were that bad, in fact non of them were really bad, but they did not operate like the W&N. I could tell even in mixing water with the paint that just came out of the tube. Some of the color tests would leave brush marks and not blend in well. I did get a good deal, but some of the paints I will not use unless it is a very dulled mix, but I don't want to remember that if I use their Maya red I must really duet before use. Knowing what I now know, I wish I would had invested the 19.99 into 3 tubes of W&N. Yes, you need professional grade paints.
That's wonderful that you've been building up your supply of W&N paints, Michael. I've never tried Turner paints, but they are categorized as professional and seem to get decent reviews...and at that price, I can see why you'd want to give them a try. I'm sorry you weren't pleased with the results, but what's wonderful is that you experienced first-hand the difference in paints by brand. That's very valuable knowledge. Painful perhaps, but valuable. I'm actually glad you've held off on working with the white and black. They will dramatically influence your mixes - adding opacity and bringing down the vibrancy. This can be used for effect, of course, but I do think it's best to practice without them at first. Perhaps have a separate practice session all together when you try them out. Just my suggestion. There's a fantastic artist, Antonio Masi, that I feature in one of my videos. His watercolor technique is so unique and skillful. I can't guarantee it but I suspect he may use some black and white in his watercolors based on looking at his work. Here's a link to his website: www.antoniomasi.com/copy-of-about
@@JillPoyerdFineArt , first of all, you are on holiday and need to take a break. I was not fare to Turner. some of the colors worked very well and gave a good result, but some created brush marks on washes no matter what I did. I just ordered another pack of Arches paper. I know what you say about quality is true and important. Now. the rest is up to me. All the great paint and paper will never create a painting just sitting in the box. Soon, really soon. Again, your clases on Udemy are so great. I have involved myself with the four and am looking forward to the next one you create. Have a great new year.
@@michaelparry1383 Thank you, Micheal. Yes, I hope you have a wonderful year ahead as well. I'm always here if you need me as you proceed in your learning.
@@JillPoyerdFineArt I don't recall finding much good art supplies at my thrift store outside of a bunch of colored pencils (Crayola, Prang) or misc. paintbrushes from some craft project.
@@JillPoyerdFineArt For watercolor, I think paper is what makes the color sing. Any top brand on low quality paper and it is just a waste of time. I think you could get away with good student grade colors ( not cottmans, something like schmincke academie series ) or lower grade artist quality and good paper more then with top colors and bad paper.
@@tomislavmatic4458 I think maybe I'd tie paper and paint as far as impact, but you're right- great paints on poor paper will result in significant frustration. (I did a similar video on paper quality)
Thank you, willie. In the next few months I'll be testing professional watercolor papers, and Hahnemuhle is one of the paper manufacturers on my list. I'm guessing you meant test their paper?
Nice study, excellent information. One thing only: did the paper improve the performance of the cheaper paints by and large? Even the cakes didn’t seem too bad , which was a surprise to me
Good question, Mr S. Yes, the good paper did improve the performance a bit. Have you seen my video on paper quality? Towards the end, I paint student paint on student paper, etc. There was a more impressive difference seen in the academy paint on academy paper. Here's the link: ruclips.net/video/Ug2igUQ9OTg/видео.html. I did find that quality paper had a positive impact on the results, even though you could still feel and see a difference in the paint qualities.
younes zen, I would genuinely be interested to know where you got your information from. I've not heard that before. Also, ox gall tends to improve flow but the way the paint flows is different from what I experience when I use the W&N professional watercolor paints. I tend to doubt that they use it but am certainly open to the idea if you have a reliable source. Very interesting.
ruclips.net/video/SbilOHZ31s0/видео.html The first part of this video might tell you about the oxgall in artist watercolours, and why it's used. And at the 16:18 point you'll see that Winsor&Newton Professional is on the OxGall containing list.
I just watched the video. She does a great job and seems very thorough. Glad to know about the channel. I did see that she says W&N prof. paints contain ox gall and I would tend to believe her since she is so thorough. Still, I may send them an email query myself just to be sure.
hi sorry for responding so late, but yes the video shared by Sener is the one i would have refered you to have i responded earlier. However if you do send an email they'll probably respond to you with a copy paste answer listing all the vegan and non vegan products they have. The artist quality watercolors are non-vegan whereas the cottman watercolors are vegan (except for a handful pigments). I can't tell what makes the artist grade ones non vegan since there's no information on their website however i can only assume it's oxgall. It could be honey of course however if it was i don't see why they would not disclose that information. I do understand why they would not disclose the use of oxgall since it might be unsettling to use it even for non-vegans and that might turn off some customers. Many people don't know that honey is non-vegan and many brands mention its use in the packaging. Qor is the only brand i know that mentions using oxgall but it's synthetic oxgall whick makes it vegan. However i could be wrong and maybe they'll get back to you with an honest response. I myself don't mind oxgall in my paints but some people might even if they're not vegan.
This was super interesting thank you! One minor quibble tho, wish you had tried to blend the red/blue professional grade, and then did the same with the cheap stuff -- might have to try that myself later... although maybe we all already know what would happen! :-) One thing I've noticed about the Daniel Smith paint, is that many of his individual tints have a complexity which just isn't there with the cheaper stuff. His Primatek line in particular is just so captivating and addictive! :D Being a mere hobbyist on a budget tho, I'd still alternate between paint sets of varying grades, fortunately fun and learning can be had at all price points. Anyway, thanks again for the vid, very interesting!
That's true, Jasper. It might have been interesting to show the way they blend. Great point. I've not tried the DS Primatek line yet, but it does look very intriguing!
Oh boy...I'm sure you're not alone if that makes you feel any better : ) That price point does make it appealing for people, if only they knew how it would limit them.
Good explanation, but you say to the lowest color series academy, which I find very iritating. Because there is a student series from Schmincke called Academy. You can say colors for hobby, for example. :-).
Hmm...I do see that Schmincke puts out a student paint called Akademie Aquarelle. And you're right - perhaps "Hobby" might have been a better term. For some reason I wasn't thrilled with that word. I'm not sure why. I needed a term to differentiate the lesser student paints, and since Academy technically mean student, I chose it to represent those paints categorically, but didn't mean to insult specific brands. Sorry if it put you off.
sometimes some call it 'Scholastic', meant for kids, maybe proper for Crayola brand and the likes, but it might be a bit too far for Grumbacher's Academy. I'll just say that the Student grades can vary greatly, since I have Van Gogh, which is the student grade from Royal Talens, but honestly, the difference is nearly none to artist grade(on some colors, there are noticeably less-pigmented ones though), but compared to Cotman, for the same student range, they're really different, from re-wetting to spread during wet-on-wet
It was a v well-made video in every way, but I felt that you had a bias against what you were calling Academy paints from the start & for the same reason - Academy labelled products ARE student products here in Australia. I don't believe Cotman is higher quality than Schmincke Akademie & Grumbacher Academy - imho the test results didn't show a big enough difference between the 2 non-professional brands to support your findings. Differences were barely perceptible at times, but were interpreted in terms that favoured the Cotman (have a listen to how you described the visible quantities in the rub-off test). Recommending low-end student brands e.g. Reeves, Royal & Langnickel, Renoir or Micador over the higher quality of Schmincke & Grumbacher made no sense to me either. Maybe the tests should have been on a Professional, a Student & a Craft brand, or maybe a Scholastic brand (the paints used in schools) is a more appropriate substitute for Grumbacher Academy - or maybe just divide the student paints into high end & low end (like the Artist Loft you showed later)? All that aside, I did enjoy the video & it was extremely professionally produced.
The academy name schmincke choose for their less than optimum paints is a problem of the idiots at marketing they got. She (woman talking in this video) is saying well. Academy is the word used to describe the very bottom of the quality level for art supplies. Don't bitch in this video then and go and send an email to schmincke and tell them they are shooting themselves in the foot by choosing a word with so negative connotations for their student line.
Thank you for making this video. Most informative. I was wondering what the diffrence was and just how different. Is there any recommendations to seal the student paints ti prevent transmission from one paper to the other?
I do art journaling and I find that mostly the student grade watercolor will transfer onto the other page as I open and close my book. I do like to go back and rework my art but if there is a way to have a seal so the paint does not rub onto the page but I would still be able to rework it would be great.
You're quite welcome, Jean. It really does make a difference, and even though they cost a little more, the professional paints go further (last longer) in the end.
It's been a while, but I'm pretty sure it was Arches 300lb cold pressed watercolor paper. Yes, it's a great paper. My only complaint it some swelling when very wet, but it takes paint beautifully.
The mixing is very important, some pigments dont mix well, the name of the color in the tube sometimes trick students, similar name not always give similar results. Would be fun to compare professional brands and some of their colors.
I noticed that I could change the intensity and dispersity of the pigment in my Less expensive paint, by adding some glycerin and some honey to the mix. This also makes it more transparent. Just a hack if you can’t afford a more expensive stuff
Jill Poyerd Fine Art Yes, I added about two tiny drops of glycerin and one large drop of honey to each half pan then add at the paint and mixed it very well with a toothpick. After letting it dry for about a week, I noticed that the black paint was the only one that was still really crumbly. That just told me that I needed to add a little bit more honey to that one. Otherwise, they all drive down pretty well they had small fishers in them, but nothing crumbled or crack or fell out.Oddly enough, the only one I didn’t have to treat at all the dried well with no additives was the yellow ocher in this brand Called My Art Scapes Set up 24.
I want to try out tubes, I use pans usually. What’s a cheap but okay brand that I won’t cry over if it doesn’t work out? That’ll tell me if I like tube paints...
Hi Amy - I've heard that Van Gogh and Koi student paints aren't too bad. They may be a decent option for you. Just try to get a paint that uses one pigment (it'll have a code such as PR19). This will give you a better chance at selecting a good one. Also, Holbein and DaVinci professional paints are a bit less then other pro paints, so you could try one or two tubes from them. You know...you may just want to get one good tube initially and just play with it (on decent paper). I think you'll sense the difference between tube and pan paint from that single experience.
I bought Van Gogh paints after many, many years of not painting, and I grew a little frustrated at how well they lift from the paper, even after I let the paint (on the paper) dry overnight, which makes it great for beginners! I would recommend starting with VG, and if you like them, slowly replacing them with Rembrandt, which is the professional grade.
You know, someone else asked my about these paints a while back. I can't remember all that I had found through research, but I believe they had pretty good reviews. The one caution I do remember was to be careful in selecting your paints. A few of their paints use pigments that are not very lightfast - meaning the colors will fade with time. If you look at this webpage: stpetersburgwatercolours.com/colours.html. You'll see some paints have one * which according to their key at the bottom of the page means not very lightfast. Also, here's a pretty decent review of them. This artists seems very pleased with their performance: watercolorgypsy.wordpress.com/2017/01/04/paint-review-st-petersburg-white-nights-watercolors/
This is so educational. I've heard art instructors talk about the importance of quality paints, however I am cheap and thought that the pigmentation on student grade was high therefore should waste the money . Now that I see this video comparison with your wonderful narration I understand. I will be purchasing better pigments and better paper. I had no idea how much I've been limiting myself. Thanks for the awesome video.
Since this video is 3 years old I'm not sure if this question will be answered, but if anyone knows what brand of paper is used here I'll please tell me. It makes even the student grade paint look very good.
That was very helpful, thanks! But I have to say I don't agree with looking at the wording of watercolor brands. I don't think words like "quality" or "professional" or "finest pigments" are reliable indicator of good quality because these are very subjective attributes that any brand can use. I do like both the van gogh and rembrandt watercolor paints, but the wording would be similar with lesser quality paints too.
Would you consider comparing the professional paints Daniel Smith, M Graham, QOR and any others? I love how complete and full your comparisons are. Your videos have helped me tremendously! Thank you sooo much!
I'm so glad they've been so helpful! I actually plan to compare professional watercolor PAPERS sometime, so perhaps I could do the same for a few of the professional paints. I'll put it on my list of ideas.
I paint exclusively with oil paint and mostly I make my own paint (excluding cadmiums) which saves me a ton of money in the long run and I get to control whatever I put in it to fit my taste and needs. I buy my pigments from Kremer. Isn't making watercolor paint a viable option instead of buying tubes?
Absolutely! And it's so satisfying to make paint, isn't it? I've made egg tempera paint in the past and loved the whole process - very kinetic. Since watercolor at its core is pigment and gum arabic, as long as the artist gets the ratios right they can certainly make their own paint. Manufacturers may add minute amounts of additional ingredients such as stabilizers, honey, etc to improve performance but they aren't critical. The paint may just perform a little differently when home-made. Also (and I'm sure you're aware of this), when working with dried pigments it's important to make sure there's good ventilation in the room. Breathing some of the pigment dust isn't recommended. But when I've worked with it, I don't experience much kick-up of particles, do you? Thanks for the comment.
Making paint is so satisfying and comforting and I would say important for the development as an artist. The experiment might be the most important tool for learning and getting experience for an artist. The blessing with water based paints is that there are no issues with the medium. For oil there seems to be no consensus about what to use as a medium if you want to experiment past the classic linseed oil plus turp. Ventilation is a must in this environment if you use turps and resins. However, turps can be replaced with lavender spike oil which is a very powerful solvent which isn't toxic and the odor is divine, but unfortunately it's very expensive. Some paints I make outside and some I make inside. Ultramarine is a heavy pigment and if you treat it gently, it will not go airborne. However, the first time I made alizarin crimson, I made it indoors and it was a huge disaster. The powder it's so fine, it's much finer than flour. I accidentally spilled a fingernail worth of the pigment on my table without noticing and even today I'm still picking red of off the furniture when I clean it. Never again will I even open that jar indoors :)
Absolutely. In fact, as you likely know, the old masters had their protégées not just build their canvas' but also grind and mix their paints. In this way, they knew the characteristics of those pigments inside and out. What a foundation! Oh gosh - sorry about the pigment incident. Yes, some of them are incredibly fine. Ultramarine was one I worked with as well, and you're right - it was controlled. Some are so grainy it's surprising. But the very fact you can "feel" the differences as you work with the dried pigment is proof of what you were saying...an incredibly valuable learning tool.
+Weedus In the US there's no more manufacturers of turpentine and shipping this stuff is very regulated an very costly. I live in EU and for a liter of pure turp, I pay around 50 euros.
The way I save money is using both student and artist grade in the same work. Don't do this though until you really get to know how the paints work. The student quality dries a lot lighter so you need exercise good judgement and this only comes with experience. Yellows and reds are a lot better in artist quality I find, but colours like pthalo Blue, yellow ochre, black and other earths are not bad in the Cotman, Aquafine etc.
Interesting idea. I agree that you would have to get to know your paints first. Definitely. But I would also be concerned about the lightfastness of the lesser quality paints if I was doing a formal painting. You would have to do quite a bit of research on the pigments used as well, I'd say. Thanks for sharing your option.
Thanks for the reply. I would only use single pigment Cotman paints, they are the same pigment as the artist quality with just a bit of filler in them, but they still seem very transparent. I had a friend who years ago worked at Winsor and Newton in London, and he told me that earth pigments are so cheap, nearly as cheap as the filler so they can be a bit more generous with the purity of them. Most primary colours though are definitely inferior in student quality.
I enjoyed your videos very much but then I noticed you haven't posted any since a year ago. Oh well, if you happen to come back one day I'll get a notification.
lol - Seriously, the paint and paper can make an enormous difference. Many many years ago I tried to teach my niece watercolor using student paint and paper and was simply unable to make them do what I normally could make them do with professional supplies. If that's all I knew and if that's what I thought I was capable of, I would have been very discouraged. I hope it's encouraging to you.
Not only do professional paints have higher quality pigments and binders over less expensive types of paint, as @Jill Poyerd Fine Art so readily points out, they also have MORE pigments in their mixes proportionate to their amount of binder. The same holds true for building paints, so to prove this to yourself, think how much more difficult it is to wash out the pigments from a brush used in Farrow & Ball paint over Glidden paint. As a matter of fact, the F & B paint can will weight MORE than a similar type of Glidden paint because of the extra minerals that make up the pigments. Likewise, you pay more for professional watercolor paints, but you get more pigments for your money!
Hmm...I'll put that on my list for potential future videos. Perhaps a comparison with watercolor. Gouache is actually watercolor (pigment and gum arabic) but is very opaque and includes the addition of white. This is a short article, but you might find it helpful: www.mybluprint.com/article/meet-gouache-the-new-old-paint-that-will-rock-your-world
I wonder what would happen if you mixed the Crayola with the Academy, since the Crayola has the binder the Academy is lacking. What is your opinion on Koi paints and other pan solids? I'm currently studying under a master who recommends Koi and uses them in some of his mixed media pieces. I got a nice blend out of the Koi when I did a value scale for the pallet, but haven't tried the other test yet.
What an interesting thought, John. I'm really not sure, although you'd have to make sure you'd mix well. Hmm. As for Koi, I had a student ask me about this brand before. They are student grade, but I believe they get good reviews, especially for their color saturation. I don't see specific mention of the quality of their pigments, etc, so they may not be as lightfast (therefore more prone to fading), but perhaps I missed it. Another guess...they mentioned a smooth, creamy texture in their tube version. This in addition to the vibrant color makes me think they add extra binder (like the Crayola paints). Overall, it sounds like a decent brand to try as long as you know it's student grade, may perform like the Crayola did for me in the video, and may fade over time. I wouldn't want to do a great painting using them.
@@krishnagfinearts I wrote down the name and would love to try it. I may actually do the same testing with other papers at some point (plus two here that have since changed their paper creation process). If I do, I'll aim to try chitrapat. Hopefully, I can get it here in the USA.
10:50 i thought gum arabic decreased the flow? also I found the artists loft section, I was like it strangely looks the _most_ like the professional line... BAD THO
Well, in that specific situation I was referring to the fact that true gum arabic would cause a little bit of drag in the paint, not allowing the pigments to flow too quickly but at the same time allowing a nice spread. A cheaper gum arabic (or synthetic) would likely not slow the flow down as much, resulting in the speedy results of the academy grade. Does that explain it better? Yes, it's interesting that the artist loft paint has such bold color - but it doesn't perform well or distribute nicely from my experience.
Hmm, that could be interesting. Perhaps something that touches on fugitive, toxic, and other pigment characteristics, topically. Interesting. I'll put it on my list of ideas. Turner actually did you some fugitive paints - Smalt for one thing. I can't remember the other off-hand, but I believe it was one of his reds.
@@JillPoyerdFineArt If smalt, gamboge, alizarin crimson, etc are all fugitive, why didn't it fade in his paintings, same with rembrandt. Maybe the lead white protected it.
@@JillPoyerdFineArt Why does businesses on alibaba ask 10 times less for their let's say cobalt blue pigment than sennelier pigments, (for the same thing)?
@@etienne7774 I'm assuming you're referring to dry pigments as opposed to paints. Many pigments are available in different quality levels - how pure the pigment is - and this can influence price. Sennelier promotes using the purest pigments. Whether they do or whether it's hype, I can't say, but I do know it can depend on the sourcing and manufacturing process.
If Royal Talens Van Gogh and Rembrandt watercolors is student and professional watercolors, so art creation watercolors which is from Royal Talens as well is academic quality watercolors?
I actually didn't realize they had that branch of product in their selection. Yes, from what I can see online that line would be their academic version (or hobby as some think of it). That likely has the lowest price point and in order for it to be even less expensive, there will be a consequence in some way (pigment, binder, filler). I would aim for the Van Gogh line if Rembrandt is a bit too costly. Van Gogh student paints seem to have a decent reputation. Although of course, Rembrandt would be best! : )
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That was super helpful & informative. And your voice is so professional sounding & relaxing at the same time.
I'm so glad you enjoyed the video, Erin. I really did want the information to be helpful to people...glad it is.
I guess Im asking randomly but does anyone know a method to log back into an Instagram account?
I somehow lost my password. I would appreciate any assistance you can give me.
@Gunner Kayden instablaster ;)
@Decker Jadiel thanks so much for your reply. I found the site through google and Im trying it out atm.
Looks like it's gonna take a while so I will reply here later with my results.
@Decker Jadiel it worked and I now got access to my account again. I'm so happy:D
Thanks so much, you saved my account :D
While deployed in Iraq, to keep my sanity, I painted several murals on the concrete barriers that protected our sleeping areas from projectiles, using what I could find. My predominant medium of available materials became Testors model paint thinned with WD40. Not the best option, but more therapeutic and educational than giving up painting for lack of proper materials. So when I see a gallery docent painting with Crayola-like watercolor sets I do not judge, rather I respectfully acknowledge they may just be performing art with what is available.
Well, thank you for serving first of all. You are a true artist - those that will find any means possible to express themselves with whatever is available. You're heart must truly be in it.
Jill Poyerd Fine Art Thank you for your kindness and for your videos. Of course now my watercolor paints are Winsor & Newton professional watercolors along with Arches 100% cotton paper.
It’s extremely difficult to get professional materials in my country, so I admire people who find ways around it, like you did. I remember my father using the kind of oil paint that is used to paint doors to create beautiful landscapes on wooden spoons.
This is wonderful. My dad was in the Desert Rats in the Royal Artillery, and he used to paint watercolours of the scenes round him and he used to draw pictures home to his mother. I now am artistic like him. Art is a wonderful grounding calming craziness resistance and therapy.
That’s a bs story
2:53 "I'm squeezing out a small amount.."
I thought the SAME thing. It was like a half pan worth
Ahhh...I just understood what you meant. You know, it looks like a lot of paint for sure, but because it's less intensely pigmented, it takes more paint to get a nice dense color tone. Notice how much I use when I mix the blob of paint at 2:35.
ikr! i could when i saw that
jackie ml
Well to a professional artist it is 😂
As an advanced beginner, I found one professional painter's tip very useful and he recommends getting three great primary colors and a neutral tint, and mix other colors from those. Which allows you to spend money on professional quality paints, without breaking the bank. Good brushes and artist quality paper make a huge difference as well. I wish I heard this advice and saw your video before I spent so much on inferior supplies... But I did learn a lot from cheap supplies and had some fun! Thanks for sharing your knowledge and talent 🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩
I'd like to add that it also heavily depends on how you're using your watercolors.
If you want to paint wet in wet, flow, distribution and mixing on the paper are going to be important to you.
If you prefer to work more precise in lots of thin layers, reactivation, opacity and absorbtion are going to be more important to you.
I have a friend, for example, who used to layer her colors and then start mixing in white acrylic paint on the top coats, leading to a sort of guache-like appearance. The resulting paintings were absoluely lovely and had a unique texture to them, the characters almost looking like little figurines.
She did that using the cheapest paints and brushes, from those art and crafts store sets, because lightfastness wasn't a concern as she later scanned her work for print and otherwise kept it protected in maps.
Great point, Apollo. Very true. And very interesting about your friend's work. I can almost picture it - beautiful and soft. It's a shame though that she didn't use higher quality paints as I bet she could have sold her originals as well. Sounds like she was quite talented.
Jill Poyerd Fine Art
Hi, I’ve always wondered if you can preserve lightfastness of lower grade or even high grade, for that matter, watercolors by using a uv varnish or clear spray of some sort. Just curious.
Loved, loved, loved your video and your voice. Soothing throughout. Is WN professional your favorite? Is Cotman a good student grade choice? Thanks so much.
I'm so glad you enjoyed it, sweetsumoo! Regarding the UV varnish, that's a good question. In my mind, it makes sense that it would help a little. It's the ultraviolet rays that cause the pigment to fade, so if by adding a coat that blocks some of those rays...you must be extending the life of the pigments underneath. To me that's logical. But it would have to be an archival UV coating.
Regarding Winsor & Newton, I do like that paint a lot. Is it my favorite? It might be. But I like Daniel Smith a lot, too. Still...the majority of my paints are W&N. Is Cotman a good student paint? It's not fabulous, but if you choose your colors carefully by comparing the chosen color's pigment makeup with the professional line, you might be okay. I hate to actually recommend it though as I'm such a proponent of professional grade. You may want to look into a less expensive yet good professional grade paint such as Holbein or Da Vinci. I've used colors from both - they will perform better than student paints - and Da Vinci used to give you a lot of paint for the money. Something to check into.
One of the best videos about watercolor quality I’ve ever seen. Thank you..
Thank you so much - I'm very honored!
Dear Jill, thank you so much for this invaluable tutorial !!! Blessings...
Very glad you enjoyed it!
I need to show this to my parents because they don't get why I buy such expensive paints and they say there all the same, I just hope it'll go well :,^)
I hope it goes well, too, TheTargetedIndividuals. They are certainly not all the same. Good luck!
It depends on their income and bills.
Holy Guacamole, I thought I was still in the online course. I forgot this was a RUclips video. This is the best presentation I've seen yet explaining the differences in watercolor paint. All the other courses I've tried to take say, "Use professional paint." Period, end of story. I appreciate the time you spent explaining and SHOWING the differences in paint. I have not seen anyone else do that.
I'm looking forward to finishing your course.
Thank you so much, John. I’m so glad you benefitted from it and are enjoying the course!
I feel like I'm watching a school educational video, like in an art class. LOL
lol - I hope that's a good thing!
@@JillPoyerdFineArt My teacher never told us much about good paints so we only used the cheaper W&N brands for our projects (Cotman and Galeria Acrylics).
@@JillPoyerdFineArt it is! I want to go to this art class!
I've been struggling with the whole, "Why should I spend more for professional paint?", question and this was exactly what I needed to see to compare paint grades. Thank you for making this and being very methodical about your comparisons.
I'm so glad it was helpful, Katrina.
This explained to me a lot of things about watercolors, sometimes, in this case, is not completely you, also the quality of the paper, brushes, and paints can make a big difference in some aspects of the painting. Thank you for the educational video!
You're very welcome. Yes, I really wanted to help people not get discouraged if the process isn't performing well for them. It's amazing how product quality choice can effect things.
I’ve heard that in order of importance is 1: paper. 2: paint 3: brushes.
I’ve used that list for my needs.
This feels like an art museum curator showcasing extinct watercolours during an exhibition demo. Very calming and interesting to watch
Something that I noticed while working on an assignment for class recently and trying out some paint from M. Graham.
At this point, I have only ever used student quality and lower quality paints. I only just started to grab myself some professional tube paints after I found a local art store that sells them relatively cheap. But anyways, in addition to only ever having used student quality paints, I was already expecting to see a lot of backruns on my artwork since I'm already pretty bad with my brushwork and I was using student quality paper, so guess my shock when I actually managed to end up with fairly smooth and equal textures. It even almost made it look like I painted on watercolor paper that had some cotton content.
After rewatching this video, it helped me realize that it was the paint that really helped me. It made me realize what I've been missing out on this whole time.
I love your comment, ALRB - This is one of the main reasons I put this video out (as well as a "sister" video on paper quality). I knew there were students who were likely getting discouraged when the bulk of the problem was with the choice of materials. I'm so glad you saw such improvement!
If RUclips allowed hearts instead of just one thumb up, I'd give this a bunch of hearts. It's thorough, well presented, and easy to listen to and watch. I'm so glad I stumbled onto it and am a new fan of yours. Well done!
Thank you so much, Anita! That really means a lot...
This made me understand so much about watercolors. I've been using watercolors for a year now using a very cheap set and I couldn't achieve good results with it I almost gave up watercolors. Until I saw your video it really describes the issues I have with the academic watercolors. Thank you so much
I'm so glad you didn't give up, Carol. I knew there were many people like you who would feel that way...one of the main reasons I did this video.
Thank you for your patience! I speak spanish, so your rithm and explicit explanation was really clear for me. I enjoy painting a lot with my profesional grade watercolors, when I show my materials, a lot of (young or hobbyist) artist begins with "ah , but i paint with cheaper paints, so that's why you perform so well blah blah i work harder" . I don't understand when they take this info as personal. Dude, we all begin with cheaper brands, then with my hard work I bought something better. We all can buy a couple of more expensive tubes eventually, but it's not an obligation. For example, you make this great video explaining the differences, but it doesn't mean it is a pressure over the people that can`t afford it. Like, if you like your paints just paint using what you like, fine, but this is objective information about binders and pigments, THE END. I loved your voice btw, It's really nice.
My main watercolor set years ago in art class throughout high school was crayola. I recently bought student/professional grade paints and there is a world of difference. I always wondered why it was so hard to use, but I made it work at the time! I still keep a set around to make quick color studies for future pieces.
This is one of the reason I wanted to create this specific video. I knew there were a vast number of people who didn't know how watercolor paints can differ and how much more capable the higher lever paints can be. Thank you for sharing this.
this is the most amazing tutorial on the quality of different watercolor paints - thank you
Your videos are so helpful. I just realised a lot of problem I had handling with aquarelle paint result from the quality of the paint or paper.
That's wonderful to hear, Wer. It is surprising what a difference a few product changes can make, isn't it?
Very useful watercolor resource. The narration is very clear, relaxing and credible. Thank you sharing.
Glad you enjoyed it, Allan
There are so many comparison videos on RUclips that are not very accurate as comparisons. I always find your videos to be very well structured and actually provide very thorough and precise information that a comparison should provide. While I will use literally any tool from a BIC pen, a sharpened stick or food dye for early sketches and preliminary studies, I don’t consider these as works of art. Whenever I actually work on anything meant for sale, competition or exhibition, I choose the best materials available.
Having begun my ‘formal’ art education in 1968 in NYC, I got spoiled by having access to specialist art material suppliers like Joseph Torch and New York Central who provide an incredible range of choices in nearly every media. Now it seems the choices get reduced yearly.
While there is a degree of truth to the adage that a great artist can make almost anything work to create great work, it usually excludes the the qualifying statement ‘when forced to’.
Thank you for your very thoughtful and serious analysis underlying your videos.
Thank you, William. I do like to be thorough because, as you suggest, it's the only way to get close to accurate. Your additional comments were so thought provoking - l enjoyed reading them.
A really inspiring presentation, I've got my name down for the course and I can't wait! Thanks very much Andy, take care, David.
How nice! I hope you enjoy the class, David.
Thanks! You have explained in your paper test video and this one all the problems I've had with watercolor paper and paints.
Wonderful! I'm so glad it was helpful for you.
One of the best videos on water colors I’ve seen. Thank you
I appreciate that, Mr Ragnar...
“I’m squeezing out a small amount”: squeezes out half the tube 😂😂
But it was a small tube ;-)
This video should be watched by every beginner.
Thank you, Erin.
I wish I could have discovered your videos when I started learning about watercolor! They are so well articulated and informative! Thank you
You're welcome, Danny. I'm very glad you've been so helpful to you.
Thanks, Jill.
A more logical and methodical test protocol than most other RUclips channels, yielding more credible, useful results.
While not too strictly scientific, your approach is most likely to represent the tests that many seasoned, educated pros use, simply because these are the basic performance features that affect their work. I do suggest that in a future video, you examine the crucial feature of mixing, by testing only 3 warm primary colors and 3 cool primary colors. Showing the colors that can be mixed from pro paints, compared to all others, is usually marks the most obviously valuable difference in paints.
Then it is very obvious that many colors don't need to be bought at all, other than for convenience. Only those colors that can't be mixed from a basic set of about 12 to 24 pro colors needs to be bought. That affects total spending a lot!
There are many factors in the art of painting; but the public's common perception that pro grade is (in the end) not a real payoff at a comparable total cost, shows that the "big picture" variables that affect the durability and final beauty of an artist's work have been overlooked or disregarded by the inexperience of the artist. IMHO
You are correct about total spending being similar, when one uses fewest paints to mix colors as needed.
Many popular professional artists had very amateurish habits, so pros also exist on a spectrum.
I believe it was Pollack who confounded some owners of his now very pricey works, since he did some of his paintings on cardboard sheets that were inside the retail packaging of men's shirts... Yikes!
Thank you for work.
I'm glad you enjoyed the presentation, Dean. I do try to be as scientific as I can while still keeping the feeling casual and (hopefully) interesting. Good point about color mixing - that would certainly show a difference. Something to keep in mind. I had actually mostly-completed a paint comparison for oil paints and in it I mix each with white. Very helpful to see how the pigment mixes. I agree that you can get away with using 12-24 paint colors (1-2 primary sets plus some earth tones). I lean closer to 12 tubes as it simplifies things and gives me more freedom to mix my own colors. The resulting colors tend to inter-relate better as well.
You're right about some of the contemporary masters using less archival surfaces. So surprising! I know it struck me as I researched my Brushstrokes video. Once in a while I'd come across a master who "took chances" with his materials. Sadly, some of them have a smaller body of work today because of that. The pieces simply didn't last.
Interesting discussion - thanks for the comments.
I started using a really cheep bad watercolor set in the first few years of starting art- and it made me hate watercolors because I was so frustrated as to why it was so hard to work with and why if I ran my finger over it the pigment would come up, but then I got the koi watercolors maybe like 2 years ago and even tho they are not professional, you can work with them and I figured out how I like using watercolor. I was just so mad that I was using a bad watercolor set the whole time and I didn’t actually dislike watercolors-
Yes, this is one of the reasons I did this video. I knew there were people who would try the cheaper sets and simply give up, never knowing how much potential there really is. And I've actually heard good things about the Koi paints...glad to know you had luck with them as well.
Ya I get what you're saying about the cheaper paint. It is better to buy a few good paints and mix them, then to buy the cheaper ones because of the grade of the paint. There are some colors that are very hard to achieve by mixing your own paint? I've tried. Like Payne's grey or indigo. Thanks for the review 👍 though. You made the binders more clear to me and what to watch for and after the paint dryes it comes off? Who knew? Thanks again 😊
indigo is pretty much violet with a touch of white to tint the shade. Indigo isn't it's own specific color, but a variation of violet. (buy a color wheel, it helps).
both payne's grey and indigo contain black.. which many "purists" suggest you don't have, and many palettes do not contain. this is an example of why villainizing pigments is ridiculous, black is a basic shade and you can't mix if you don't have all the basic shades. if you pull up the pigments on a tube you can see what is used to mix it. WN indigo contains: PB15-Phthalo Blue
PV19-Quinacridone Violet
PBk6-Lamp Black
@@waymire01 that makes a whole lot more sense.
I love this. Wouldn't it be interesting to test all the professional artist quality brands? I know some websites do this. All are great depending on what you intend to paint. For instance Holbein artist quality doesn't distribute as fast wet into wet because of their lack of Ox gall or synthetic dispersant in the mix. A dispersant or extender is always used in other brands. Sometimes manufacturers use more dispersant to accelerate the mixing of pigment and vehicle; this causes the paint to diffuse more aggressively when used wet in wet. The binder is only about 65% in the formula of watercolor. Commonly, gum arabic is used, but some brands, use synthetic glycol as a pigment binder. Another component is the Humectant, of simple syrup or honey that was traditionally used but now often inexpensive corn syrup to help the paint retain moisture, especially in pan paints. Then you have a plasticizer, usually glycerin, to soften the dried gum arabic and help it redissolve. This is what helps you rewet dried paint. If you find that a tube paint is hard to rewet once dried, mix in a touch of vegetable glycerin before allowing to dry on the palette or empty pan. That is the only difference between Winser & Newton pan paints verses tube paints. Most other brands actually use the exact same amount for both pan and tubes. Then the extender or filler, such as dextrin, is used to bulk out and thicken the paint without noticeably affecting the color. The most commonly used filler is dextrin, a clear, gelatinous processed wheat or corn starch, which thickens the paint, alters the gooey stiff paint to a smooth, buttery consistency, and reduces surface gloss or bronzing in the dried color. The student grade and Academy grade has more dextrin fillers and brighteners and the use of cheaper pigments that are not as lightfast. Of course there is a bit of water in the mix as well. I find the watercolor of this day and age ingenious. Thank you for sharing this video and I hope I have added a few interesting things about whats in your watercolor formula.
Thank you for this video! My first watercolor set was the Artists Loft pan set and it almost made me give up watercolor as whole (it's an extremely frustrating set to work with) This was extremely informative on the different types and grades of watercolor and it expanded my knowledge on the medium even more and why some are so expensive but I can see that the price is worth it :^) (thankfully I've also moved on from Artists Loft and now I use Kuretake)
I'm so glad it was helpful, neroburnedrome. You're experience is a great example of why I wanted to do the two videos (paper and paint). I knew there were artists out there experiencing that and hoped to help them realize the impact of their materials. Thanks for sharing that with me.
I love professional watercolors but I also use Cotman . For field watercolor sketches they are fine. But for finishing work I go with professional watercolor.
That sounds reasonable. Absolutely! Although those new to painting would need to understand that the student paint won't always perform like the pro paint.
I live in Germany and love watercolor, but I never really had a lot of fun with it. A month ago I decided to buy a limited palette of professional colors. In Germany, the go-to pro colors are either Lukas 1862 or Schmincke. Lukas has only 24 Ml or Half Pans(I don't like pans)and was too expensive. I bought myself 7 Schmincke Colors and it was about 30 Bucks, I squeezed some in an empty tin pencil case and let them dry, then two days later I fell in love with watercolor.
It just feels different looks better. So recommend getting professional colors. a limited palette is good enough and try to get single pigment colors.
I'm so glad you were able to make the change and see the difference. It's surprising, isn't it? I created those videos partly for that very reason - to help people discover the true capabilities/qualities of watercolor.
In the UK we have a chain of stores known as the "The Range" never comes up on the internet when Googling watercolor paint. It sells Winsor Newton Professional Watercolor paint cheaper than any other retailer in the UK also Winsor and Newton Paint Brushes. "The Range " has an online webshop with the prices the same as in store. Also sells the cotman paint but at those prices might as well buy the professional paint.
That's a wonderful bit of information to share, Paul. Thank you. Too bad I can't duplicate that in the US - lol
Now I know it is NOT paper but the Paints makes the sharp difference. So buy professional tubes which will definitely encourage you to move ahead and enjoy the beauty of your artistic pursue! Thanks a lot!
Wow. This is the best review video I ever watched. Great info and very well explained. Thank you so much for sharing this.
You're very welcome, MSKH ART. I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Wonderfully informative! For me, predictability would be the most important issue. I would want to use the same quality of paint all the time so that I would know what to expect it to do. Thanks!
That is a very good point, and is why many professionals tend to fix on a certain palette and then stick with it, adding or changing out an occasional pigment now and then. The predictability is important and something that only comes as you work with your paints.
i was so happy when i upgraded to cotman, but now that im using Daniel Smiths and WN.... its so different. out of quarantine curiousity i painted the same portrait one with daniel smith and one cotman and it looks like two different skill levels did it although I did them simultaneously. the cotmans just dont blend and disperse as well takes out so much dimension from my painting. so unfortunate cause cotmans are recommended everywhere as an "upgrade" but i think using them won't truly reflect your skill level
Thank you for presenting your findings, Mel. It's amazing, isn't it? It'll be interesting to see if your work takes off.
I have Cotmans, and thanks for reporting your findings.
This is really useful. I had wondered why some paint was more expensive. I have been buying the Cotman paints. I had wondered why my paints didn't look too intense. The expensive paints are 3 times the price of Cotman's paints, but I think I will over time get some more expensive paints.
I'm glad it was helpful, Beaulieu. That's a good idea - to switch out your paints slowly to lessen to financial impact. I think you'll really enjoy the upgrade.
I have found that some synthetic earth colors, like py42 and pr101, in some students grades are pretty good and sometimes even identical to the brands artists grade. I suspect the iron oxide pigments (essentialy rust) are cheaper that the fillers.
It's true - you occasionally run into pretty good student paints where they use the same pigments as the professional grade. I think if someone does the right research like you have, they could integrate a few student paints successfully. Great to know your pigments and ingredients!
I'm using low cost supplies for now since pro materials (paper, brushes, paints) cost as much as a month of food for two. I hope to get better supplies when I get to find a job that lets me save some money. I got to see how much I could improve using the right materials after checking out your skillshare courses.
Certainly - I completely understand. At least you will know that if the paint doesn't perform the way you think it should, it may not be your application. Hopefully, it encourages you. Also, sometimes just using less water in your mixes and a lighter brush load can help performance when working with student grade materials. And try to limit color mixes to two paints. I hope that helps.
Jill, I have viewed this video three times now, but on this last viewing I could really understand everything that you explained. I have been picking up W&N Pro paints a tube at a time. I now have about 11 (or 9 if you don't count Chinese white and ivory black). I haven't really created anything other than test paintings. I have become familiar to the way the W&N paints work. I do have some cheep and cheeper paints, but I don't even try them. Now when I was going to order the John Pike pallet from an internet art supplier, I noticed that they had a great deal on a set of 18 Turner Artist Watercolor stated as heavy pigment. I was always curious about the turner paints and just couldn't turn down the chance to get 18 tubes for a major discount of 19.99 (stating a value of 183.00). WOW, what a deal.
Well, I just spent this afternoon testing each color. I also compared them with the W&N paints of the same color. What you say is so correct. Not all the paints were that bad, in fact non of them were really bad, but they did not operate like the W&N. I could tell even in mixing water with the paint that just came out of the tube. Some of the color tests would leave brush marks and not blend in well. I did get a good deal, but some of the paints I will not use unless it is a very dulled mix, but I don't want to remember that if I use their Maya red I must really duet before use.
Knowing what I now know, I wish I would had invested the 19.99 into 3 tubes of W&N. Yes, you need professional grade paints.
That's wonderful that you've been building up your supply of W&N paints, Michael. I've never tried Turner paints, but they are categorized as professional and seem to get decent reviews...and at that price, I can see why you'd want to give them a try. I'm sorry you weren't pleased with the results, but what's wonderful is that you experienced first-hand the difference in paints by brand. That's very valuable knowledge. Painful perhaps, but valuable. I'm actually glad you've held off on working with the white and black. They will dramatically influence your mixes - adding opacity and bringing down the vibrancy. This can be used for effect, of course, but I do think it's best to practice without them at first. Perhaps have a separate practice session all together when you try them out. Just my suggestion. There's a fantastic artist, Antonio Masi, that I feature in one of my videos. His watercolor technique is so unique and skillful. I can't guarantee it but I suspect he may use some black and white in his watercolors based on looking at his work. Here's a link to his website: www.antoniomasi.com/copy-of-about
@@JillPoyerdFineArt , first of all, you are on holiday and need to take a break. I was not fare to Turner. some of the colors worked very well and gave a good result, but some created brush marks on washes no matter what I did. I just ordered another pack of Arches paper. I know what you say about quality is true and important. Now. the rest is up to me. All the great paint and paper will never create a painting just sitting in the box. Soon, really soon. Again, your clases on Udemy are so great. I have involved myself with the four and am looking forward to the next one you create. Have a great new year.
@@michaelparry1383 Thank you, Micheal. Yes, I hope you have a wonderful year ahead as well. I'm always here if you need me as you proceed in your learning.
Thrift stores have fulfilled all my art needs...and Ive found really good and professional items...even new items, very cheaply
That's wonderful, Esra! It's always nice to find such bargains.
@@JillPoyerdFineArt I don't recall finding much good art supplies at my thrift store outside of a bunch of colored pencils (Crayola, Prang) or misc. paintbrushes from some craft project.
@@JillPoyerdFineArt Of course I did take home a Bob Ross paint set they had once, just once!
Not only quality of watercolour paint matters, but also the quality of the brush.
Yes, the brush certainly has an impact, but personally I think it's easier to get away with a lesser brush than a lesser paint.
@@JillPoyerdFineArt For watercolor, I think paper is what makes the color sing. Any top brand on low quality paper and it is just a waste of time. I think you could get away with good student grade colors ( not cottmans, something like schmincke academie series ) or lower grade artist quality and good paper more then with top colors and bad paper.
@@tomislavmatic4458 I think maybe I'd tie paper and paint as far as impact, but you're right- great paints on poor paper will result in significant frustration. (I did a similar video on paper quality)
lovely to listen to and very informative
I'm glad you enjoyed it, Gerard.
Great test and comparison. Hope you can test Hahnemuhle.
Thank you, willie. In the next few months I'll be testing professional watercolor papers, and Hahnemuhle is one of the paper manufacturers on my list. I'm guessing you meant test their paper?
Jill Poyerd Fine Art Yes, please. I believe some of my friends will love it.
Thank you for this video, it does a great job explaining these points well!
Very interesting video for students. Many thanks for sharing!
Very informative, helpful and interesting...thank you!
You're welcome, Christian
Nice study, excellent information. One thing only: did the paper improve the performance of the cheaper paints by and large? Even the cakes didn’t seem too bad , which was a surprise to me
Good question, Mr S. Yes, the good paper did improve the performance a bit. Have you seen my video on paper quality? Towards the end, I paint student paint on student paper, etc. There was a more impressive difference seen in the academy paint on academy paper. Here's the link: ruclips.net/video/Ug2igUQ9OTg/видео.html. I did find that quality paper had a positive impact on the results, even though you could still feel and see a difference in the paint qualities.
Super helpful video, thank you!!!!
very informative, amazingly explained , thank You
You're very welcome!
Your voice really reminds me of Pearl's voice from steven universe. And thanks a bunch for the very detailed explanation really helped!!
I'm so glad it was helpful, Misty
the reason why the winsor and newton professional paint flows better wet on wet is because it has oxgall in it, whereas the cottman paint does not.
younes zen, I would genuinely be interested to know where you got your information from. I've not heard that before. Also, ox gall tends to improve flow but the way the paint flows is different from what I experience when I use the W&N professional watercolor paints. I tend to doubt that they use it but am certainly open to the idea if you have a reliable source. Very interesting.
ruclips.net/video/SbilOHZ31s0/видео.html
The first part of this video might tell you about the oxgall in artist watercolours, and why it's used. And at the 16:18 point you'll see that Winsor&Newton Professional is on the OxGall containing list.
Great! Thank you. Don't have time now but I'll check it out soon and let you know what I think.
I just watched the video. She does a great job and seems very thorough. Glad to know about the channel. I did see that she says W&N prof. paints contain ox gall and I would tend to believe her since she is so thorough. Still, I may send them an email query myself just to be sure.
hi sorry for responding so late, but yes the video shared by Sener is the one i would have refered you to have i responded earlier. However if you do send an email they'll probably respond to you with a copy paste answer listing all the vegan and non vegan products they have. The artist quality watercolors are non-vegan whereas the cottman watercolors are vegan (except for a handful pigments). I can't tell what makes the artist grade ones non vegan since there's no information on their website however i can only assume it's oxgall. It could be honey of course however if it was i don't see why they would not disclose that information. I do understand why they would not disclose the use of oxgall since it might be unsettling to use it even for non-vegans and that might turn off some customers. Many people don't know that honey is non-vegan and many brands mention its use in the packaging. Qor is the only brand i know that mentions using oxgall but it's synthetic oxgall whick makes it vegan. However i could be wrong and maybe they'll get back to you with an honest response. I myself don't mind oxgall in my paints but some people might even if they're not vegan.
This was super interesting thank you! One minor quibble tho, wish you had tried to blend the red/blue professional grade, and then did the same with the cheap stuff -- might have to try that myself later... although maybe we all already know what would happen! :-) One thing I've noticed about the Daniel Smith paint, is that many of his individual tints have a complexity which just isn't there with the cheaper stuff. His Primatek line in particular is just so captivating and addictive! :D Being a mere hobbyist on a budget tho, I'd still alternate between paint sets of varying grades, fortunately fun and learning can be had at all price points. Anyway, thanks again for the vid, very interesting!
That's true, Jasper. It might have been interesting to show the way they blend. Great point. I've not tried the DS Primatek line yet, but it does look very intriguing!
Thank you for this extremely informative video! Could you perhaps make a video on how to make your own watercolors?
Wow, that would be an interesting one, wouldn't it? Perhaps some day. I'll put it on my list.
😐 ... 😲 *Runs and tosses all Artist's Loft tubes in the trash bin... 😍 Gazes lovingly at Daniel Smith tubes still in paint box.*
lol - Yes, Daniel Smith is a really good paint brand : ) Solid choice!
Ughhhh i feel stupid for wasting my money on artist loft paints instead of buying the winsor newton cotmans when they were 12 dollars.
Oh boy...I'm sure you're not alone if that makes you feel any better : ) That price point does make it appealing for people, if only they knew how it would limit them.
Much information and tipps.
A really nice and helpfull video ☺
Very glad you enjoyed it, Thomas
Good explanation, but you say to the lowest color series academy, which I find very iritating.
Because there is a student series from Schmincke called Academy. You can say colors for hobby, for example.
:-).
Hmm...I do see that Schmincke puts out a student paint called Akademie Aquarelle. And you're right - perhaps "Hobby" might have been a better term. For some reason I wasn't thrilled with that word. I'm not sure why. I needed a term to differentiate the lesser student paints, and since Academy technically mean student, I chose it to represent those paints categorically, but didn't mean to insult specific brands. Sorry if it put you off.
sometimes some call it 'Scholastic', meant for kids, maybe proper for Crayola brand and the likes, but it might be a bit too far for Grumbacher's Academy. I'll just say that the Student grades can vary greatly, since I have Van Gogh, which is the student grade from Royal Talens, but honestly, the difference is nearly none to artist grade(on some colors, there are noticeably less-pigmented ones though), but compared to Cotman, for the same student range, they're really different, from re-wetting to spread during wet-on-wet
It was a v well-made video in every way, but I felt that you had a bias against what you were calling Academy paints from the start & for the same reason - Academy labelled products ARE student products here in Australia. I don't believe Cotman is higher quality than Schmincke Akademie & Grumbacher Academy - imho the test results didn't show a big enough difference between the 2 non-professional brands to support your findings. Differences were barely perceptible at times, but were interpreted in terms that favoured the Cotman (have a listen to how you described the visible quantities in the rub-off test). Recommending low-end student brands e.g. Reeves, Royal & Langnickel, Renoir or Micador over the higher quality of Schmincke & Grumbacher made no sense to me either. Maybe the tests should have been on a Professional, a Student & a Craft brand, or maybe a Scholastic brand (the paints used in schools) is a more appropriate substitute for Grumbacher Academy - or maybe just divide the student paints into high end & low end (like the Artist Loft you showed later)? All that aside, I did enjoy the video & it was extremely professionally produced.
The academy name schmincke choose for their less than optimum paints is a problem of the idiots at marketing they got. She (woman talking in this video) is saying well. Academy is the word used to describe the very bottom of the quality level for art supplies. Don't bitch in this video then and go and send an email to schmincke and tell them they are shooting themselves in the foot by choosing a word with so negative connotations for their student line.
You are amazing Very trustworthy comparisons
Thank you, Adrin. Yes, my hope was that the visuals would speak for themselves in this video.
Thank you for making this video. Most informative. I was wondering what the diffrence was and just how different. Is there any recommendations to seal the student paints ti prevent transmission from one paper to the other?
Hi Desiree - I'd be happy to try to answer this for you, but could you explain a little bit further for me?
I do art journaling and I find that mostly the student grade watercolor will transfer onto the other page as I open and close my book. I do like to go back and rework my art but if there is a way to have a seal so the paint does not rub onto the page but I would still be able to rework it would be great.
Thank you I’m definitely going to buy professional after watching this
You're quite welcome, Jean. It really does make a difference, and even though they cost a little more, the professional paints go further (last longer) in the end.
Wow! Great information and your voice is easy to listen to!
Patg
Fantastic video well presented thank you
Brilliant series - thank you!
You're very welcome
excellent video!!
Thank you so much for this video :D
Very glad you enjoyed it, Josh
Hello! Which paper have you used? It’s very nice!
It's been a while, but I'm pretty sure it was Arches 300lb cold pressed watercolor paper. Yes, it's a great paper. My only complaint it some swelling when very wet, but it takes paint beautifully.
Excellent, thank you.
That is a super extensive review. Amazing.
I'm very glad you enjoyed it, Kevin.
I feel heavily flexed on
but this is actually a good, informational video :)
This was really helpful, thank you!
You're very welcome.
The mixing is very important, some pigments dont mix well, the name of the color in the tube sometimes trick students, similar name not always give similar results. Would be fun to compare professional brands and some of their colors.
Very true, Bruno. It would be an interesting study.
I noticed that I could change the intensity and dispersity of the pigment in my Less expensive paint, by adding some glycerin and some honey to the mix. This also makes it more transparent. Just a hack if you can’t afford a more expensive stuff
Huh, interesting. Good problem solving. I would assume you only added a touch of those additives? That would be my primary concern.
Jill Poyerd Fine Art Yes, I added about two tiny drops of glycerin and one large drop of honey to each half pan then add at the paint and mixed it very well with a toothpick. After letting it dry for about a week, I noticed that the black paint was the only one that was still really crumbly. That just told me that I needed to add a little bit more honey to that one. Otherwise, they all drive down pretty well they had small fishers in them, but nothing crumbled or crack or fell out.Oddly enough, the only one I didn’t have to treat at all the dried well with no additives was the yellow ocher in this brand Called My Art Scapes Set up 24.
I want to try out tubes, I use pans usually. What’s a cheap but okay brand that I won’t cry over if it doesn’t work out? That’ll tell me if I like tube paints...
Hi Amy - I've heard that Van Gogh and Koi student paints aren't too bad. They may be a decent option for you. Just try to get a paint that uses one pigment (it'll have a code such as PR19). This will give you a better chance at selecting a good one. Also, Holbein and DaVinci professional paints are a bit less then other pro paints, so you could try one or two tubes from them. You know...you may just want to get one good tube initially and just play with it (on decent paper). I think you'll sense the difference between tube and pan paint from that single experience.
I bought Van Gogh paints after many, many years of not painting, and I grew a little frustrated at how well they lift from the paper, even after I let the paint (on the paper) dry overnight, which makes it great for beginners! I would recommend starting with VG, and if you like them, slowly replacing them with Rembrandt, which is the professional grade.
woow ..what an information .. amazing ..please more videos
Thank you, Rafat. Plans for many more...
Speaking of professional Paint, what do you think of the Russian White nights? They're good and what I can currently afford
You know, someone else asked my about these paints a while back. I can't remember all that I had found through research, but I believe they had pretty good reviews. The one caution I do remember was to be careful in selecting your paints. A few of their paints use pigments that are not very lightfast - meaning the colors will fade with time. If you look at this webpage: stpetersburgwatercolours.com/colours.html. You'll see some paints have one * which according to their key at the bottom of the page means not very lightfast. Also, here's a pretty decent review of them. This artists seems very pleased with their performance: watercolorgypsy.wordpress.com/2017/01/04/paint-review-st-petersburg-white-nights-watercolors/
The paper you use makes a huge difference too.
This is so educational. I've heard art instructors talk about the importance of quality paints, however I am cheap and thought that the pigmentation on student grade was high therefore should waste the money . Now that I see this video comparison with your wonderful narration I understand. I will be purchasing better pigments and better paper. I had no idea how much I've been limiting myself. Thanks for the awesome video.
I'm so glad it was helpful to you, Tiffany. I think you'll notice quite a difference when you work with your new materials.
Very interesting video. But holy cow, how much paper did you get through!?
lol! Well....quite a bit. But it was for a good cause.
Since this video is 3 years old I'm not sure if this question will be answered, but if anyone knows what brand of paper is used here I'll please tell me. It makes even the student grade paint look very good.
Sure - It should be Arches Aquarelle cold-pressed paper, unless otherwise specified.
Amazing video, very informative!
Thank you, Marco
This was so informative.
That was very helpful, thanks! But I have to say I don't agree with looking at the wording of watercolor brands. I don't think words like "quality" or "professional" or "finest pigments" are reliable indicator of good quality because these are very subjective attributes that any brand can use. I do like both the van gogh and rembrandt watercolor paints, but the wording would be similar with lesser quality paints too.
That's a fair comment. It can be subjective, for sure, but it's good to have a starting point or point of reference.
I really like your voice. you should read audio books or something like that:D it is very calming
Thank you, ET - very kind.
Would you consider comparing the professional paints Daniel Smith, M Graham, QOR and any others? I love how complete and full your comparisons are. Your videos have helped me tremendously! Thank you sooo much!
I'm so glad they've been so helpful! I actually plan to compare professional watercolor PAPERS sometime, so perhaps I could do the same for a few of the professional paints. I'll put it on my list of ideas.
Graham tube caps always break!
thank you!
I paint exclusively with oil paint and mostly I make my own paint (excluding cadmiums) which saves me a ton of money in the long run and I get to control whatever I put in it to fit my taste and needs. I buy my pigments from Kremer. Isn't making watercolor paint a viable option instead of buying tubes?
Absolutely! And it's so satisfying to make paint, isn't it? I've made egg tempera paint in the past and loved the whole process - very kinetic. Since watercolor at its core is pigment and gum arabic, as long as the artist gets the ratios right they can certainly make their own paint. Manufacturers may add minute amounts of additional ingredients such as stabilizers, honey, etc to improve performance but they aren't critical. The paint may just perform a little differently when home-made. Also (and I'm sure you're aware of this), when working with dried pigments it's important to make sure there's good ventilation in the room. Breathing some of the pigment dust isn't recommended. But when I've worked with it, I don't experience much kick-up of particles, do you? Thanks for the comment.
Making paint is so satisfying and comforting and I would say important for the development as an artist. The experiment might be the most important tool for learning and getting experience for an artist. The blessing with water based paints is that there are no issues with the medium. For oil there seems to be no consensus about what to use as a medium if you want to experiment past the classic linseed oil plus turp. Ventilation is a must in this environment if you use turps and resins. However, turps can be replaced with lavender spike oil which is a very powerful solvent which isn't toxic and the odor is divine, but unfortunately it's very expensive.
Some paints I make outside and some I make inside. Ultramarine is a heavy pigment and if you treat it gently, it will not go airborne. However, the first time I made alizarin crimson, I made it indoors and it was a huge disaster. The powder it's so fine, it's much finer than flour. I accidentally spilled a fingernail worth of the pigment on my table without noticing and even today I'm still picking red of off the furniture when I clean it. Never again will I even open that jar indoors :)
Absolutely. In fact, as you likely know, the old masters had their protégées not just build their canvas' but also grind and mix their paints. In this way, they knew the characteristics of those pigments inside and out. What a foundation! Oh gosh - sorry about the pigment incident. Yes, some of them are incredibly fine. Ultramarine was one I worked with as well, and you're right - it was controlled. Some are so grainy it's surprising. But the very fact you can "feel" the differences as you work with the dried pigment is proof of what you were saying...an incredibly valuable learning tool.
+Weedus In the US there's no more manufacturers of turpentine and shipping this stuff is very regulated an very costly. I live in EU and for a liter of pure turp, I pay around 50 euros.
The way I save money is using both student and artist grade in the same work. Don't do this though until you really get to know how the paints work. The student quality dries a lot lighter so you need exercise good judgement and this only comes with experience. Yellows and reds are a lot better in artist quality I find, but colours like pthalo Blue, yellow ochre, black and other earths are not bad in the Cotman, Aquafine etc.
Interesting idea. I agree that you would have to get to know your paints first. Definitely. But I would also be concerned about the lightfastness of the lesser quality paints if I was doing a formal painting. You would have to do quite a bit of research on the pigments used as well, I'd say. Thanks for sharing your option.
Thanks for the reply. I would only use single pigment Cotman paints, they are the same pigment as the artist quality with just a bit of filler in them, but they still seem very transparent. I had a friend who years ago worked at Winsor and Newton in London, and he told me that earth pigments are so cheap, nearly as cheap as the filler so they can be a bit more generous with the purity of them. Most primary colours though are definitely inferior in student quality.
I enjoyed your videos very much but then I noticed you haven't posted any since a year ago. Oh well, if you happen to come back one day I'll get a notification.
I'm still here - I've just had multiple things in my life that have prevented production. I'm hoping to begin on a new video very, very soon...
Okay so I don't suck at watercolour, I've just been using cheap paint ( ರ ͜ʖರ)
lol - Seriously, the paint and paper can make an enormous difference. Many many years ago I tried to teach my niece watercolor using student paint and paper and was simply unable to make them do what I normally could make them do with professional supplies. If that's all I knew and if that's what I thought I was capable of, I would have been very discouraged. I hope it's encouraging to you.
Not only do professional paints have higher quality pigments and binders over less expensive types of paint, as @Jill Poyerd Fine Art so readily points out, they also have MORE pigments in their mixes proportionate to their amount of binder. The same holds true for building paints, so to prove this to yourself, think how much more difficult it is to wash out the pigments from a brush used in Farrow & Ball paint over Glidden paint. As a matter of fact, the F & B paint can will weight MORE than a similar type of Glidden paint because of the extra minerals that make up the pigments. Likewise, you pay more for professional watercolor paints, but you get more pigments for your money!
Great example/analogy! Thanks for that.
I would love to see a video like this on Gouache Paint, it would be so much more helpful finding out if i should try the medium or not.
Hmm...I'll put that on my list for potential future videos. Perhaps a comparison with watercolor. Gouache is actually watercolor (pigment and gum arabic) but is very opaque and includes the addition of white. This is a short article, but you might find it helpful: www.mybluprint.com/article/meet-gouache-the-new-old-paint-that-will-rock-your-world
I wonder what would happen if you mixed the Crayola with the Academy, since the Crayola has the binder the Academy is lacking.
What is your opinion on Koi paints and other pan solids? I'm currently studying under a master who recommends Koi and uses them in some of his mixed media pieces. I got a nice blend out of the Koi when I did a value scale for the pallet, but haven't tried the other test yet.
What an interesting thought, John. I'm really not sure, although you'd have to make sure you'd mix well. Hmm.
As for Koi, I had a student ask me about this brand before. They are student grade, but I believe they get good reviews, especially for their color saturation. I don't see specific mention of the quality of their pigments, etc, so they may not be as lightfast (therefore more prone to fading), but perhaps I missed it. Another guess...they mentioned a smooth, creamy texture in their tube version. This in addition to the vibrant color makes me think they add extra binder (like the Crayola paints). Overall, it sounds like a decent brand to try as long as you know it's student grade, may perform like the Crayola did for me in the video, and may fade over time. I wouldn't want to do a great painting using them.
very helpful video thanks
Glad it was helpful, krishna
please test chitrapat paper 🙏
indian watercolor paper
rough 270 gsm
I would love to hear the reviews. thank you
it is a famous Indian watercolor paper nowadays
@@krishnagfinearts I wrote down the name and would love to try it. I may actually do the same testing with other papers at some point (plus two here that have since changed their paper creation process). If I do, I'll aim to try chitrapat. Hopefully, I can get it here in the USA.
Do you have a similar video for chalk/soft pastels?
Hi Linda - I'm afraid I don't. I don't actually work in pastel, although I love the medium.
Thank you@@JillPoyerdFineArt I like your videos and let others know about them.
10:50 i thought gum arabic decreased the flow?
also I found the artists loft section, I was like it strangely looks the _most_ like the professional line... BAD THO
Well, in that specific situation I was referring to the fact that true gum arabic would cause a little bit of drag in the paint, not allowing the pigments to flow too quickly but at the same time allowing a nice spread. A cheaper gum arabic (or synthetic) would likely not slow the flow down as much, resulting in the speedy results of the academy grade. Does that explain it better? Yes, it's interesting that the artist loft paint has such bold color - but it doesn't perform well or distribute nicely from my experience.
Can you make a video of all the fugitive colors. I guess all these toxic paints Turner used were lightfast.
Hmm, that could be interesting. Perhaps something that touches on fugitive, toxic, and other pigment characteristics, topically. Interesting. I'll put it on my list of ideas. Turner actually did you some fugitive paints - Smalt for one thing. I can't remember the other off-hand, but I believe it was one of his reds.
@@JillPoyerdFineArt If smalt, gamboge, alizarin crimson, etc are all fugitive, why didn't it fade in his paintings, same with rembrandt. Maybe the lead white protected it.
@@etienne7774 My understanding is that they did fade, but they used more than one red, yellow, and blue - stable pigments.
@@JillPoyerdFineArt Why does businesses on alibaba ask 10 times less for their let's say cobalt blue pigment than sennelier pigments, (for the same thing)?
@@etienne7774 I'm assuming you're referring to dry pigments as opposed to paints. Many pigments are available in different quality levels - how pure the pigment is - and this can influence price. Sennelier promotes using the purest pigments. Whether they do or whether it's hype, I can't say, but I do know it can depend on the sourcing and manufacturing process.
If Royal Talens Van Gogh and Rembrandt watercolors is student and professional watercolors, so art creation watercolors which is from Royal Talens as well is academic quality watercolors?
I actually didn't realize they had that branch of product in their selection. Yes, from what I can see online that line would be their academic version (or hobby as some think of it). That likely has the lowest price point and in order for it to be even less expensive, there will be a consequence in some way (pigment, binder, filler). I would aim for the Van Gogh line if Rembrandt is a bit too costly. Van Gogh student paints seem to have a decent reputation. Although of course, Rembrandt would be best! : )