Daniel Smith soften up so much easier than the W&N (at least true for several of the pigments) but they are a bit more opaque. Just a toss up I guess.
I do miss the Fr Ultramarine and Light Red combination. There's a chemical reaction with these two in the W&N line that I've not seen with the Daniel Smith. And although Daniel Smith's Burnt Sienna is similar to the W&N Light Red, it doesn't behave the same.
Stillman & Birn Epsilon journal
#8 Round
W&N: Winsor Bl, Cob Bl, Raw and Bt Sienna, Neutral Tint, Light Red, Indian Yellow and Scarlet Lake.
Platinum Carbon pen with Black Ink
This and the last few watercolor sketches have been practicing quick wc sketching. Not trying to be precise but to just capture the subject without a lot of fuss.
Nicely done, no matter the speed! It takes practice to just sketch and not fuss! love the one with the fire glowing inside! :)))
ReplyDeleteI have mostly painted with Daniel Smith, but the few W&N paints I've used I really like and it's caused me (just this morning, in fact!) to order the W&N versions of the tubes I'm low on (Burnt Sienna, Winsor Violet, Winsor Green). However, some paints I will hold fast to DS (Q. Gold, Sap Green, Q. Burnt Scarlet).
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't have had to buy tube paints just yet except I also want to try that Heritage/Mijello folding palette that you and Brenda Swenson enjoy so much (and I want to use fresh-squeezed paint to fill it!) I spent quite a bit of time deciding on my "final 18" colors to put in it, because once you do it's difficult to change your mind with palettes like that (I currently use the DS metal travel box that you put full or half pans in--heavy and getting rusty).
Anyway, I appreciate your desire to work on quick-sketching, and the results you achieve look great! I think approaching it this way loosens up both ourselves, and our painting.
Thank you Melody..........I have a tendency to overwork being really detailed oriented. I've been working for a long time trying to get away from that and why the quick exercises. It's just a personal thing for me. Some of the type work I love viewing of others is "painterly" and spontaneous looking and what I try to achieve. I truly appreciate your comment.
ReplyDeleteStacy.....thank you so much for your comment. I would never give up certain DS pigments either. I haven't tried the Q Bt Scarlet.
ReplyDeleteI love my palette!!! I do allow the pigments to dry though as I tend to waste paint on the brush using fresh.
That palette does have a seal but in time your paints will dry out unless you put a piece of flat wet sponge inside. Take care of molding though if you live in a very humid area.
If you ever want to use pigments that tend to stay soft like fresh, Holbein is a nice choice. They are bright and vivid but lack some of the characteristics I love in DS and W&N.....mainly granulating. But then one can always get the granulating medium to add. That reminds me........I haven't played with my Holbein in awhile.
Thanks you, Susan, for taking the time to answer me. I know what you mean about the paint being too fresh, I don't like that either for the same reason.
ReplyDeleteI live in a very dry climate (southern Arizona), so I will heed your advice about a damp flat sponge. I have also recently been trying putting a few drops of glycerin in my water spray bottle, used to spray my paints at the start of a painting session. It seems to be making a difference.
As far as Holbein goes, my first foray away from student-grade paints was into Holbein, because that is what my instructor liked. But then I studied Handprint, learned that some of my favorite Holbein paints were "fugitive" and subsequently got into Daniel Smith. However, I have recently been revisiting my old Holbein paints and discovered I can't live without Manganese Blue Nova (what I now use instead of Cerulean Blue), and even though their Permanent Rose (PR60) and Opera are supposedly fugitive, I've decided to use them sometimes anyway, because I like them. When I made my recent palette and paint tube order, I thought I'd try Holbein Ultramarine Deep to replace my almost-gone DS French Ultramarine.
Stacy....there are a lot of fugitive pigments I use and love them. wouldn't trade off for anything.......but then again, I only paint for therapeutic reasons and as a hobby. I may have to dig my Holbeins back out and play :-))
ReplyDelete