Traditionally, watercolor artists used to prefer Gamboge, back when it was one of the only options amongst golden or deeper yellows: it offered a warm glow on its own, but most of all it was highly transparent and favored for mixing greens. This improved when the paint manufacturers were able to replicate it with a chemical that offered better lightfastness, with PY153. This is why (I think) the opacity part of your test is the most important consideration when using new gamboge. Since, the point of replacing the old single-pigment gamboge with a dual-pigment new gamboge is to *replicate* it as closely as possible... and as others have noted, this is now often a two-pigment mix. The new mix may affect your color mixing in ways that the traditional PY153 Gamboge did not. I've read from others that they no longer prefer the new gamboge two-pigment for mixing greens with. Some will paint with New Gamboge because they like the color. I applaud you for just getting to work and painting. But what I've mentioned in the above paragraphs is the historical context, as I understand a lot of painters don't know "why should I use gamboge versus permanent yellow deep?" Your reasons may be based on the pigment properties, even though the hues of two different pigments may look nearly identical.
Fun fact! New Gamboge use to be made with a single pigment, PY153. A beautiful lightfast pigment used in car manufacturing, but the warm yellow color went out of fashion with cars. It has been sadly discontinued, so we are left with mixes. Thank you for another amazing video, Oto!
PY153 is one of my favorite yellow pigments. I have some vintage New Gamboge tube watercolor paint from Winsor and Newton that is PY153, and it is one of the most beautiful yellow paints I own. It's so sad that it was discontinued:(
Lovely once again!! Incredibly useful, thank you!!! I prefer Holbein’s gamboge nova, it’s a really nice warm bright yellow, not too orangey and not opaque, I keep it on my pallets, that’s probably why I prefer it 😚
Ooh, I've been hoping for this one for a while! I'm a little surprised you didn't try "Sennelier : Yellow Light" though - Jackson's lists its pigments as solely PY153. Lukas also had a PY153 in their Gamboge or New Gamboge quite recently (like late 2022) on Jackson's, but checking now, they seem to be using a new formula. I'm realizing as I type this out I should probably pinch a couple tubes of the Sennelier before I trigger a buyout...
Fantastic! Such a clear difference displayed between them. I shall definitely be going for the Daler Rowney, it is beautiful and has what I am looking for. It will go into a W&N set though, as I ditch a horrible Aureolin. The next yellow on is very orange hued and I like this clear warm yellow. Now I have to watch the Hookers green video, as well as look into Prussian blue or even maybe various blacks to mix with warm yellows to get greens I am happy with. I was watching something about using black and yellow for satisfying realistic greens…. I am very resident to Pthalo greens right now, they really overwhelm everything. Thanks Oto for yet another interesting video, fascinating to see exactly how big the variation is with Gamboge…
Great as always, Oto! I have never used this colour...had no idea there would be such a wide range in hue and other characteristics. I'll be coming back to this video (and the next one lol) if I ever decide to add it to the collection. Thank you! :)
Wow, these are all so different. I just reopened my tube of Winsor and Newton New Gamboge and did a test block. My tube is over a year old. My test didn't have any of the streakiness or shine that yours has in the demo. I wonder if the formula changed? I love the color for painting sunflowers, as the hue goes from light lemon yellow to a rich gold. Thank you!
Every time I see anything new gamboge, I think of Teoh Yi Chie lol The color looks really good on video. Once I run out of sennelier PY153 I’ll get the DS or M Graham hue (although I’ll probs restock on the SN py153 bec I love it lol) a bit disappointed that the holbein one is lighter, since Holbein’s my go-to for cheaper paints..
Thanks for another great video! I use Daniel Smith's New Gamboge, and I'm glad I do, it's a beautiful color. I didn't realize there was so much variation among brands.
sigh, another color nerd here...my favorite warm yellow for years was W & N's New Gamboge (PY153)-always bought it in the 35 ml tube. A few years ago they switched to a new formula (PY 150,PR209)-looks like mud on my palette, diluted out it is a decent color, but lacks the vibrancy of the old one. The old formula is the exact color of marsh grass in the fall (Maine, US). Anyone know why the change?
PY153 is no longer being produced. :C The PY153 left in the world is all there will ever be, sadly. The car industry is no longer making the pigment. I'm hoarding my PY153 tubes like gold. hahah
I'd choose QoR's Permanent Gamboge. QorR WCs have a smaller drying color shift than many WCs. Its Permanent Gamboge can layer very well, uses a synthetic option to gum arabic (so no overharvesting concerns), responds very well to playing with different levels of water control, doesn't granulate, has very good transparency in layering, has fantastic flow (which interests me if used alone or if creatively used wet-into-wet with a watercolor line like Maimeri Blue), goes from a dark to an absolutely beautiful pale light (intersting in terms of luminosity/modeling), & creates wonderful color mixes.
Love the Showdowns! Thank you for noting that your tube of Turner is new. I have a tube from three years ago, but it re-wets fairly easily (I just tried it again, from a pan I dried three years ago). The pigments are the same, in the same order......so I wonder if Turner changed the binder 😐 Happy New Year, to you and yours!
Like watering a fossil! 😂 The most underrated and extremely accurate comment in this or any video mentioning paints that are hard to rewet! 😂🙌 Thank you for a great video, as always!
MaimeriBlu Gamboge is made from PY139. That s the same pigment used by Vasari for their Indian Yellow oil paint. Very curious how it would compare to these.
The artist grade Gamboge colour from the Asian brand Wichitrong with pigments PY154, PY42, and PY83 is a very good contender to the more established brands. The price I pay in Thailand is only £0.22/ml. However, I don’t know if it’s available outside Asia.
Dr Kano! I have used your brilliant website for researching colors-but now get a warning that it has been taken over to possibly steal personal information! Noooo!! I see nothing new from you, and find nothing about “where you’ve gone”. Hope you’re well-and hope there’s a way to still access your site. You’re a treasure!!
Wish you had put michael harding instead of Turner ( which i consider a student grade watercolor) please add michael harding to your line up. I end up making up my mind about buying brands from this series..well done.
Hello Dr. Kano, would you consider starting a kofi so that we can contribute without you needing to promise content in return? I hope you're able to explore new things and find joy in creation again, even if your focus doesn't return to watercolors.
I really love your website, Thank you for your objective testing. But I’m sorry to inform you that the pronounciation of the CKX of Blockx is like KS, so you say BLOKS instead of BlokEKS. Also the Dutch pronounciation of Van Gogh and Rembrandt is very different.
Don’t know if you read comments, but Prodigial Sons (Etsy) offers a genuine Gamboge and so does Rublev. 🤷🏾 I would offer a link, but I don’t want to be under spam.😂
Traditionally, watercolor artists used to prefer Gamboge, back when it was one of the only options amongst golden or deeper yellows: it offered a warm glow on its own, but most of all it was highly transparent and favored for mixing greens. This improved when the paint manufacturers were able to replicate it with a chemical that offered better lightfastness, with PY153.
This is why (I think) the opacity part of your test is the most important consideration when using new gamboge. Since, the point of replacing the old single-pigment gamboge with a dual-pigment new gamboge is to *replicate* it as closely as possible... and as others have noted, this is now often a two-pigment mix. The new mix may affect your color mixing in ways that the traditional PY153 Gamboge did not. I've read from others that they no longer prefer the new gamboge two-pigment for mixing greens with.
Some will paint with New Gamboge because they like the color. I applaud you for just getting to work and painting. But what I've mentioned in the above paragraphs is the historical context, as I understand a lot of painters don't know "why should I use gamboge versus permanent yellow deep?" Your reasons may be based on the pigment properties, even though the hues of two different pigments may look nearly identical.
Fun fact! New Gamboge use to be made with a single pigment, PY153. A beautiful lightfast pigment used in car manufacturing, but the warm yellow color went out of fashion with cars. It has been sadly discontinued, so we are left with mixes. Thank you for another amazing video, Oto!
PY153 is one of my favorite yellow pigments. I have some vintage New Gamboge tube watercolor paint from Winsor and Newton that is PY153, and it is one of the most beautiful yellow paints I own. It's so sad that it was discontinued:(
I was looking for this.. It is still availible, if you look close enough ;)
Elizabeth Keefner here…. I really appreciated the little history lesson at the very beginning. Thank you for adding that.
Lovely once again!! Incredibly useful, thank you!!!
I prefer Holbein’s gamboge nova, it’s a really nice warm bright yellow, not too orangey and not opaque, I keep it on my pallets, that’s probably why I prefer it 😚
Ooh, I've been hoping for this one for a while! I'm a little surprised you didn't try "Sennelier : Yellow Light" though - Jackson's lists its pigments as solely PY153. Lukas also had a PY153 in their Gamboge or New Gamboge quite recently (like late 2022) on Jackson's, but checking now, they seem to be using a new formula. I'm realizing as I type this out I should probably pinch a couple tubes of the Sennelier before I trigger a buyout...
You are AWESOME! You are a watercolor geek to the extreme and I'm HERE for it!
Fantastic! Such a clear difference displayed between them. I shall definitely be going for the Daler Rowney, it is beautiful and has what I am looking for. It will go into a W&N set though, as I ditch a horrible Aureolin. The next yellow on is very orange hued and I like this clear warm yellow. Now I have to watch the Hookers green video, as well as look into Prussian blue or even maybe various blacks to mix with warm yellows to get greens I am happy with. I was watching something about using black and yellow for satisfying realistic greens…. I am very resident to Pthalo greens right now, they really overwhelm everything. Thanks Oto for yet another interesting video, fascinating to see exactly how big the variation is with Gamboge…
Great as always, Oto! I have never used this colour...had no idea there would be such a wide range in hue and other characteristics. I'll be coming back to this video (and the next one lol) if I ever decide to add it to the collection. Thank you! :)
Wow, these are all so different. I just reopened my tube of Winsor and Newton New Gamboge and did a test block. My tube is over a year old. My test didn't have any of the streakiness or shine that yours has in the demo. I wonder if the formula changed? I love the color for painting sunflowers, as the hue goes from light lemon yellow to a rich gold. Thank you!
Every time I see anything new gamboge, I think of Teoh Yi Chie lol The color looks really good on video. Once I run out of sennelier PY153 I’ll get the DS or M Graham hue (although I’ll probs restock on the SN py153 bec I love it lol)
a bit disappointed that the holbein one is lighter, since Holbein’s my go-to for cheaper paints..
Thanks for another great video! I use Daniel Smith's New Gamboge, and I'm glad I do, it's a beautiful color. I didn't realize there was so much variation among brands.
I use the Daniel Smith one and like it a lot. I love these showdowns because I learn so much.
sigh, another color nerd here...my favorite warm yellow for years was W & N's New Gamboge (PY153)-always bought it in the 35 ml tube. A few years ago they switched to a new formula (PY 150,PR209)-looks like mud on my palette, diluted out it is a decent color, but lacks the vibrancy of the old one. The old formula is the exact color of marsh grass in the fall (Maine, US). Anyone know why the change?
PY153 is no longer being produced. :C The PY153 left in the world is all there will ever be, sadly. The car industry is no longer making the pigment. I'm hoarding my PY153 tubes like gold. hahah
I'd choose QoR's Permanent Gamboge. QorR WCs have a smaller drying color shift than many WCs. Its Permanent Gamboge can layer very well, uses a synthetic option to gum arabic (so no overharvesting concerns), responds very well to playing with different levels of water control, doesn't granulate, has very good transparency in layering, has fantastic flow (which interests me if used alone or if creatively used wet-into-wet with a watercolor line like Maimeri Blue), goes from a dark to an absolutely beautiful pale light (intersting in terms of luminosity/modeling), & creates wonderful color mixes.
Love the Showdowns!
Thank you for noting that your tube of Turner is new. I have a tube from three years ago, but it re-wets fairly easily (I just tried it again, from a pan I dried three years ago). The pigments are the same, in the same order......so I wonder if Turner changed the binder 😐
Happy New Year, to you and yours!
I was looking if there already was such a video.. Great one! I do miss the PY153 in it ;)
Like watering a fossil! 😂 The most underrated and extremely accurate comment in this or any video mentioning paints that are hard to rewet! 😂🙌 Thank you for a great video, as always!
Happy New Year Dr. Oto Kano! So happy, as always, to be watching your videos. :)
MaimeriBlu Gamboge is made from PY139. That s the same pigment used by Vasari for their Indian Yellow oil paint. Very curious how it would compare to these.
Oh the M. Graham one is so pretty 🧡
The artist grade Gamboge colour from the Asian brand Wichitrong with pigments PY154, PY42, and PY83 is a very good contender to the more established brands. The price I pay in Thailand is only £0.22/ml. However, I don’t know if it’s available outside Asia.
That Winsor and Newton swatch looks nothing like the warm yellow with the brownish mass stone that I get when I use this paint.
Dr Kano! I have used your brilliant website for researching colors-but now get a warning that it has been taken over to possibly steal personal information! Noooo!!
I see nothing new from you, and find nothing about “where you’ve gone”. Hope you’re well-and hope there’s a way to still access your site. You’re a treasure!!
Wish you had put michael harding instead of Turner ( which i consider a student grade watercolor) please add michael harding to your line up. I end up making up my mind about buying brands from this series..well done.
lotsa blah colors there for me - think i will stick with my nickel azo yellow. tfs, as usual great vid! happy new year.
Hello Dr. Kano, would you consider starting a kofi so that we can contribute without you needing to promise content in return? I hope you're able to explore new things and find joy in creation again, even if your focus doesn't return to watercolors.
Hi! I believe Sennelier still has PY153 in its lineup.
I miss py153 as new gamboge a lot.
I really love your website, Thank you for your objective testing.
But I’m sorry to inform you that the pronounciation of the CKX of Blockx is like KS, so you say BLOKS instead of BlokEKS.
Also the Dutch pronounciation of Van Gogh and Rembrandt is very different.
Don’t know if you read comments, but Prodigial Sons (Etsy) offers a genuine Gamboge and so does Rublev. 🤷🏾 I would offer a link, but I don’t want to be under spam.😂