| Author | Message | ||
  Anonymous |
I agree, but he is way off base on his review of Grumbacher finest and it is a shame he doesn't include the paints in his lists. His description of how they get hard and flow wildly is just not in keeping with my experience at all. He must have bought a ten year old batch from a store in which they never moved. The Grumbacher Finest Ultramarine, Lemon Yellow, and Thalo green are by far the best on the market according to my experience (and I tried all of his recommendations)!!! Also, M. Graham brand, which he praises, and Grumbacher were designed by the same person: M. Graham. | ||
Anonymous |
I just wanted to add a word in support of the “handprint” website. It is the BEST source for information on watercolor. No other source comes close! I always assumed, while reading anything on the handprint site, that I was reading the authors views, opinions and observations. The author always encouraged me (the reader) to do my own tests of all materials used. I would recommend the site to every watercolor artist, beginner or advanced. The in depth research recorded there is astonishing. | ||
Anonymous |
The Academy line (cheap student colors) is not to be confused with the Grumbacher "Finest" line-- there are some colors in the Finest line that are superb: The Finest watercolor Ultramarine (not French Ultramarine) is a beautiful paint that is less red in undertone and very smooth in application. It is my ultramarine of choice. The Lemon Yellow, PY3, it the Hansa Yellow Light that Wilcox recommends for a green biased yellow (only available in 2 or 3 brands, BTW)and I find this version to be very intense and smooth working. I switched from the American Journey/DaVinci (same paint) PY3 because it is chaulkier and less concentrated. The Finest Thalo Blue is made from a unique version of pthalo: pthalocyanin blue PB 15:6, a more expensive pigment that eiher PB 15 or PB 15:1 reviewed on handprint.com. It is very intense and IMHO superior to the competition. Re. Handprint-- It does a great job in reviewing the pigments, but the reviewer's own opinions and biases sometimes overwhelm the facts. For instance, he rejects Maimeri because one of the violets is less than light fast and the Raw Sienna (Zoltan's preferred) contains, according to him, some quinacridone gold (but he offers no proof that this is this case except for the greater staining capacity of the Maimeriblu Raw Sienna). That hardly makes the whole line bad (it's not; it's wonderful). He also is a less than professional quality artist (to be tactful) and that alone should cause one to be wary of any oif his personal, aesthetic judgement re. the paints and thier applications. Re. his universal rejection of Grumbacher finest, it is ironic that the paint he loves the best was designed by the same person who designed most of the Grumbacher paints--M. Graham. I have found, in spending a lot of money taking his word for certain paints, that my preferences differ greatly from his. For instance, I find both Maimeri and Daler Rowney (which he pans)watercolors to be superior in many ways to M. Graham, which he claims is the best. The proof is int he painting, afterall. | ||
drollere |
i personally don't like the grumbacher "finest" paints, for reasons stated on the handprint.com site: the paint texture is stiff, the distribution or separation among colors is poor (especially for the cadmiums and earth colors), there are too many green or dark shades, and the cadmiums and earth colors are rather dull. never used the "academy" line. it's valuable to identify a single paint that you use a lot of that is also common to most watercolor lines: cerulean blue, ultramarine, cadmium yellow, quinacridone rose, phthalo green, etc. try that paint in small tubes from different brands, and make your comparisons on that basis. if you find something you like, try other colors from the same line. paints from different manufacturers can be mixed and used together, no problem. you don't have to buy "the complete line" in order to see whether a brand interests you. if you have a couple of hours to spend, i recommend painting a "mixing wheel," explained on the handprint site in the techniques section, because it makes you use all possible combinations of 12 paints, and lets you see the complete range of color mixtures they can produce. if there is anything important to know about the paints' consistency, chroma, mixing behavior, finished color, tinting strength, etc., this will bring it to your attention for sure. | ||
waterdog |
I have checked the Wilcox paint analysis book and many of the Grumbacher paints are as good as the more expensive brands. I don't trust the Alizarin Crimson as it fades, but not only Grumbachers - most of the others do unless marked Quinacradone (or however it's spelled) or 'permanent' Can't find my sheet where I evaluated the tubes in my WC box but when I do unearth it will post what I have.... | ||
Anonymous |
I know of no one else nor have I read of any professional using these. I have tried many brands and find these to be rich and very fluid. A great paint. Any one else tried them. Your opinions, positive or negative appreciated. |
