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Sunday, 17 August 2014

Winsor & Newton limited edition watercolours

I received a Winsor & Newton dot card with their limited edition water colours 'inspired by the Australian outback' at a recent art society  meeting. I love to try out new colours so here they are.


...and here they are painted out. They are each single pigment colours, which is always my preference, with some interesting characteristics. 
Yellow Titanate, Transparent Orange, Indian Red Deep, Phthalo Sapphire, Gold Brown, Dark Brown Winsor & Newton watercolours

Yellow Titanate is considered an option as a Naples yellow. It is opaque and like many versions of Yellow Ochre but this is made with PBr24. Some granulation.
Transparent Orange made with PO107 is probably the most beautiful Orange I have tried. Bright and beautiful with little colour shift, it really glows. No other manufacturers have made a watercolour with this pigment though it seems to be reliable. 
Indian Red Deep is made from PBr 25. Daniel Smith have a Permanent Brown made from the same pigment - a definite red-brown. Something like a transparent Indian Red option. 
Phthalo Saphhire is similar to a Phthalo Blue Red Shade in other brands, made with PB15:6. 
Gold Brown is apparently made from PBk12, which is curious. It says it is transparent on the chart but I found it more opaque with some interesting granulation.
Dark Brown is a very opaque and unusual brown, that has some granulation.

I tested the blue and orange to see if they would neutralise each other as DS Transparent Pyrrol Orange and DS Phthalo Blue RS do, but they don't - they make an interesting range of hues but not a neutral black. I tried the orange with ultramarine and created a more neutral grey but by then I'd run out of pigment to test any further. :-)

This orange is one I would consider buying and will compare it further with Da Vinci Benzamida Orange Deep and Daniel Smith Transparent Pyrrol Orange, my other favourite single pigment oranges. DS Quinacridone Sienna is another lovely one but a two pigment mix.
The last two swatches are the W&N phthalo sapphire next to DS Phthalo Blue RS - similar but not identical.

6 comments:

  1. Hi Jane, I am doing an online class and the teacher has listed W&N transparent orange, but it doesn’t seem to be available anymore. Does the Schmincke transparent orange seem a reasonable substitute? Thanks, Ruth

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    1. The Schmincke Transparent orange is a little more on the yellow side of orange, rather than this mid orange. However you could use the Schmicnke and just add a touch of a warm red when necessary for certain mixes. Or you could use the new Roman Szmal Pyrrol Orange or Daniel Smith Transparent Pyrrol Orange.

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    2. I believe that Transparent Orange has been added to the W&N range, along with a few other favourites.

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  2. Winsor & Newton currently still lists Transparent Orange, but does not give the pigment id. They list is only as "DPP" (diketopyrrolopyrrole). I see on this blog that it's been identified as PO107 and as PO171. Where can I find confirmation?

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    1. I don't know where I was able to get the pigment information - perhaps on the website at some time - but PO107 is what I'd researched for W&N Transparent Orange. It is a very beautiful colour.

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    2. Many years too late for you, Gemma, but in case anyone else is wondering, Kim Crick discusses this here: https://www.kimcrick.com/pages/orange-art-supply-pigment-database-watercolor-acrylic-ink-pencil-color-chart-swatch

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