Winsor & Newton’s Promarker Watercolour deliver intense colour and are a perfect partner for a sketchbook when you’re working on location, says Ian Sidaway.
Top features:
- Leak-proof
- Colours that pack a punch
- Twin-tipped for fine work and broad strokes
- Finest quality pigments
- Can be used wet and dry
- Perfect for travelling
- Lightfast
Where to buy
Available individually in 36 colours and in a variety of sets, Winsor & Newton Promarker Watercolour can be purchased from Art Supplies by clicking here and from art shops and other online retailers.
What's different about Promarker?
Marker pens that have a fixed width nib to deliver the ink have been around for decades. More recently, markers and brush pens that allow calligraphic marks to be made in varying widths have attracted a big following.
Also popular are brush pens – these have a reservoir that can be filled with water so can be used in conjunction with a box of watercolour paints or filled with ink or a dilute mixture of watercolour of choice.
However, the Winsor & Newton Promarker Watercolours not only do all of the above but add a new dimension to using watercolour.
Watercolour on the go!
The markers are made with a twin tip – a fine point at one end for detail, and a flexible brush nib at the other that allows for the blocking in of strong areas of flat colour or for making sweeping expressive marks that vary in thickness.
The markers have been specially formulated using fine quality artists’ pigment that, once on the paper, can be diluted and spread as washes using water and a brush, like traditional watercolour.
They can be used with traditional watercolour paint, be it from pans or tubes, and traditional watercolour mediums.
The watercolour markers are available in 36 bright colours, all of which offer the excellent permanence and durability that you would expect from this brand.
Artists are invariably driven people with a strong urge to create work on location or whilst travelling, in the form of visual diaries or straightforward sketchbook work.
These watercolour markers are ideal when producing work on location and, whilst not replacing traditional watercolour, will add extra potential to the medium and so will inevitably find a following.
They are leak-proof and a few carefully selected colours will fit in the pocket, making it possible to produce watercolour sketches at any given opportunity without the need for water, or with the simple addition of a water-filled brush pen.
Your questions about Promarker Watercolour answered
Q. Which surfaces work best for Promarker Watercolour?
A. Winsor & Newton Promarker Watercolour can be used on any paper but watercolour techniques such as blending and lifting are far more evident if the markers are used on traditional watercolour paper.
As with any traditional watercolour paper, the results will vary according to the characteristics of the paper used and harder-sized papers that are less absorbent would seem preferable.
For optimum results Winsor & Newton recommend using Winsor & Newton Promarker paper.
ORDER YOUR PROMARKER PAPER HERE
Q. What are the drying times for Promarker Watercolour?
A. I found that the marker paint dries slightly faster than traditional pan or tube watercolour and the blending time is variable depending on the colour.
Q. Do Promarker Watercolour dry out?
A. The marker caps should always be replaced to prevent the fibre nib or brush from drying out, although a dry marker can be reactivated by using a damp cloth on the nib.
Q. Can I clean Promarker nibs
A. Winsor & Newton advises against dipping the nibs in water. To clean the nibs, wipe with a damp cloth.
Q. How do I mix and blend Promarker Watercolour?
A. When blending, the sooner the water is applied the better the resulting washes will be. Colours can be mixed on a palette like traditional watercolour, and then applied using a brush.
Using Promarker Watercolour
Sunflowers, Winsor & Newton Water Colour Markers and watercolour, (28x38cm)
For the painting of Sunflowers, above, I used a heavy Bockingford Not surface.
- The leaves were sketched in using traditional watercolour.
- The flower heads were drawn using the brush tip of a lemon yellow hue marker and the marks made were developed with brush and water.
- Once dry, which does not take long, the petals were developed further using the cadmium yellow hue marker in the same way.
- The darker petals were then drawn or painted in using cadmium orange hue and burnt sienna markers.
- Linear marks were added using the fine line nib and brush and water diluted and spread the paint as required.
- The centres of the flowers were established using the burnt umber marker – I used a brush and water to dilute and therefore lighten the colour.
- A sepia marker was used for the dark colour in the middle and sepia was also used, diluted with water, to provide the texture on the flower centres.
- Spattered colour loosened the whole thing up.
The watercolour markers worked seamlessly alongside the traditional watercolour and the brush-shaped nib proved to be the perfect tool for making the calligraphic marks required to represent the flower petals.
Final thoughts
One of the main problems that people new to watercolour find is that paintings lack punch or suffer from overall tonal uniformity.
The intense colour delivered by Winsor & Newton’s Promarker Watercolours makes them ideal for solving this problem; they are perfect for reworking and adding vibrancy and intense colour to images that are looking tired.
Practice is needed to realise the true potential of these markers, so it is important to experiment on scrap paper first before launching yourself, markers in hand, at a work you are particularly pleased with but feel is lacking that certain something.
Read more on Winsor & Newton Promarker Watercolour with Tim Fisher by clicking here.
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