Daniel Smith: From mineral to watercolour paint

I was impressed by some Daniel Smith watercolours I saw last Friday. Today you can enjoy them too!

As somebody who has studied geology in the past I'm intrigued by some of the minerals they're using. I love the names of the minerals.

What's also impressive is the level of information you get about each individual colour on the Daniel Smith website. Each colour gets an individual page with:

• an explanation about what makes the colour
• characteristics of the colour in terms of ASTM Lightfastness Rating, transparency, granulating and staining

Enjoy!

Daniel Smith watercolours - tonal value sheets and rocks

The mineral rocks are used in making watercolours.  Above these are:

• (top row) Lapis Lazuli (Lazurite), ?, Minnesota Pipestone, Hematite
• (bottom row) Rhodonite, Garnet, Sugilite, Serpentine, Malachite, Turquoise, Piemontite

Right click the image below to see a much bigger picture of the rocks.

DS Lapis Lazuli and DS Amethyst Genuine

Daniel Smith Watercolours:(top row) Black Tourmaline Genuine, Bloodstone Genuine, Hematite Violet Genuine, Mummy Bauxite, Sicklerite
(Bottom row): Hematite Burnt Scarlet, Burnt Tigers Eye Genuine, Tigers Eye Genuine, Minnesota Pipestone Genuine, Hematite Genuine
(top right) Jadeite genuine

DS Serpentine, DS Kyanite Genuine and DS Diopside Genuine

One of the things which make Daniel Smith watercolours distinctive is that they are pigment and gum arabic and that's it.  One of the things I learned on Friday is that one of the reasons that mixing brands can cause problems is because of the different ways paints are made by the different manufacturers.

I first tried them a long time ago and was immediately impressed with them - and I meet more and more artists who are adopting these paints as their brand of preference.

You can download a complete chart of all the colours they make from their website. This also provides comprehensive information about lightfastness AND the pigment used in each colour.

Many thanks to the Society of Botanical Artists who arranged for the presentation by the UK trade representative of Daniel Smith.