I am a watercolour artist, passionate about colour. I have been painting professionally for over 40 years and love to share my discoveries, so I have created this 'Colourpedia - a swatching Wikipedia' to quote one of my YouTube followers. You can see more of my work, links to my online courses, and many resources and tutorials on my website www.janeblundellart.com. You can also find me on Facebook at Jane Blundell Artist, and on Instagram as Janeblundellart, and on YouTube as Jane Blundell
Thursday 28 December 2023
Focus on Blues
Saturday 23 December 2023
Blue Pine Arts Handmade Watercolours.
I was sent a lovely collection of Blue Pine Arts handmade watercolours from Trupti in India. There are some really playful colours that were fun to paint out. I have more to add to this post but will publish the colours so you can see them this festive season.
The effects of the two pigments in Alpine Lake green and Nebulla Green are lovely.
Thursday 21 December 2023
Arkaar Handmade Watercolour
I received a collection of handmade watercolours from India, created with love by Tripsi. It's taken a little while to paint them all out and scan them to share here.
I scan the swatches with a Canon LiDE 400 scanner, and crop and eventually individually colour match each swatch as closely as I can. However the colours are still not perfect - especially some of the yellows and yellow oranges. They frequently distort again when loading them onto this blog. I haven't had a chance to individually colour match the full range, but want to at least share the colours this year!
These are reasonably accurate until the Iso Yellow, which doesn't show the rich brightness of this colour. It's the colour of a typical cadmium yellow deep.
The rest are fairly accurate as they are.
There is more to add, but here are the colours to enjoy in time for the holidays :-)
Wednesday 20 December 2023
Kakimori Inks
Kakimori Pigmented Inks - Po, Torori, Tototo, Karari, Kuran. |
02 - Torori means "A perfect omelette reveals its deliciously soft centre. Torori is the colour of anticipation, describing a rich consistency overflowing with flavour."
03 - Tototo: "Tototo is the gentle melody of a special rosé poured in quiet company. A colour to elevate everyday life or celebrate a special occasion."
04 - Karari: "Fresh like an endlessly clear sky. Karari describes a bright, cloudless day. With this blue in hand, a break in the clouds is never far away."
05 - Kurun: "Kurun depicts the dance of a vine’s curling tendrils. A green that captures both vitality and a sense of calm."
The second sampler set has these colours.
Kakimori Pigmented Inks - Toppuri, Solo, Zabun, Mukuri, Koton. |
06 - Topperi: "Look closely and you might see the stars in the night sky. Toppuridescribes the comforting darkness that arrives after nightfall. A gentle colour that inspires reflection."
07 - Soyo: "Soyo is like a breath of fresh air. A colour that evokes the feeling of a pleasant breeze."
08 - Zabun: "Zabun is the sound of the deep, blue ocean. Listen for the lapping waves as the ink flows across the paper, awakening precious memories."
09 - Mukuri: "Mukuri describes the state of awakening, like a bear emerging from hibernation to the warm red earth. The colour signals the arrival of a new season."
10 - Koton: "The silence of the night is punctuated by koton, the sound of an ink bottle being placed on the desk. A colour for quiet contemplation."
Inks can be ordered with wood caps or an aluminium cap, and in Japan, you can refill the ink bottles and create your own custom inks.
I haven't yet tried these in a fountain pen, but will explore the Torori in as an under drawing for a floral watercolour. Drawing in a golden-yellow ink can be gorgeous.
Have a look at the website here. See my YouTube exploration here.
Happy drawing, writing or inking!
Thursday 12 October 2023
Daniel Smith Gouache
Daniel Smith Gouache has been in the pipeline for some years, with the first 22 colour selections now available. Made with concentrated pigment and gum Arabic, these paints can be used straight form the tube and dry with a matt finish.
Titanium White and Buff Titanium lend themselves to gouache as they are more opaque pigments. The yellows give a cool, medium and warm option which is very useful for mixing.
Daniel Smith Goauche - Titanium White, Buff Titanium, Hansa Yellow Light,
The scan doesn't capture the vibrancy of Pyrrol Orange. Pyrrol Scarlet is just on the orange side of red and Pyrrol Red is a rich tomato red. Quinacridone Magenta is a classic mixing red. Wisteria, like the watercolours in the same name, has added white.
52 new colours will be available at the end of this year - bringing the total to 74. I am delighted to see some cool-leaning colours in this extra range, including a number of my favourites - Phthalo Blue GS, Cerulean Chromium and Permanent Alizarin Crimson - that will aid in mixing, along with Raw Umber, Piemontite Genuine Sap Green and of course Jane's Grey and the two Jane's Blacks. You can click on any of these to see how they look on the Daniel Smith website, painted out in full strength, diluted and over black paper.
Alizarin CrimsonAlvaro’s Caliente Grey
Alvaro’s Fresco Grey
Bloodstone Genuine
Bordeaux
Cadmium Orange Hue
Cadmium Red Medium Hue
Cadmium Yellow Light Hue
Cadmium Yellow Medium Hue
Carbazole Violet
Carmine
Cerulean Blue
Cerulean Blue, Chromium
Chrome Titanate Yellow
Cobalt Teal Blue
Duochrome Mauve
Enviro-Friendly Brown Iron Oxide
Enviro-Friendly Red Iron Oxide
Enviro-Friendly Yellow Iron Oxide
Hematite Genuine
Indanthrone Blue
Indian Yellow
Iridescent Aztec Gold
Iridescent Copper
Iridescent Electric Blue
Iridescent Gold
Iridescent Moonstone
Iridescent Sunstone
Ivory Black
Jane’s Black (Blue/Orange)
Jane’s Black (Red/Green)
Jane’s Grey
King’s Royal Blue
Lemon Yellow
Moonglow
Neutral Tint
Olive Green
Opera Pink
Payne’s Gray
Pearlescent White
Permanent Alizarin Crimson
Phthalo Blue (Green Shade)
Phthalo Blue Turquoise
Phthalo Green (Blue Shade)
Piemontite Genuine
Prussian Blue
Quinacridone Purple
Raw Umber
Sap Green
Sepia
Van Dyck Brown
Venetian Red