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A Question of Coffee
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Message
Posted
It's an interesting question.
I only use tubes, simply because as a beginner, that's what I bought to get started. I'm off to Malta for a holiday in a few weeks and don't think it would be practical to take tubes, brushes etc.......you know how it is. So, although I haven't tried pans, I'm looking at so called "travel" boxes. W&N do quite a nice one, with 10 pans, a couple of small brushes and a dainty little pallet lid.
Perhaps thats the answer to the question? Convinience and practicality? I'm not sure if there's a difference in quality. I suppose tubes can be a little wasteful though. I sqeeze out as much as I think I need, which is always more that gets used.
Posted
I started off with pans which were great at the time. Now I use tubes and like others have said, squeeze them into my folding palette and let them go hard. Put a few drops of water before using again and they go soft. None is wasted and you don't have to work so hard to pick up the paint as you do with pans. Also I think tubes are more economical.
Posted
Hi Claireanddaisy, I use both. They have some different qualities. With pans, dried out ones in particular, it can take some time to work up from a diluted to a saturated colour wash, whereas with tube paint, especially freshly squeezed paint, a bit of care is needed to check the wash isn't too strong for your needs. With tube paint, you can get a large quantity of strong wash rapidly.
Posted
Tubes are my only choice how ever some even use watercolour pencils for out door sketching, some even use an edge or pen knife to scrape off pigments for making washes if needed etc.
Pans are compact and easy to carry with mixing plates attached, tubes not so compact but still easy to cart ( mine are in a smallish box with mixing plates and wells ) pencils in a tube so also easy to take with you.
Posted
Pans = convenience.
Tubes = pure undiluted colour.
If you want absolutely pure colour, you really have to use tubes as the pans always get flecks of other colour in them. However, for convenience, especially field painting, you can't beat a small box of pans. I use pans, as I'm not bothered about pure colour. As far as make is concerned, White Nights produce incredibly intense colours at a very reasonable price. They're almost too intense, so it's easy to overdo things. If you prefer subtle, you're possibly better off going with Winsor&Newton.
Posted
Winsor and Newton make the Cotman colours as well, so by W & N you (Tony) mean Winsor and Newton's Artist Quality colours. In general, I'd say you were right about the intensity of colour, although I bought a full pan of W & N Artists' Quality Cadmium Yellow a while ago, and it's fabulous: can't believe the tube colour could be any richer.
Recently, I've been using Rembrandt tube watercolour - they have a very tasty range of blues. And I have quite an elderly tube of Daler Rowney tube Cadmium Red: don't use much of it, but it's gorgeous..
I just wish it were easier to get hold of 'pure' pthalo/Monestial blue, in tubes OR pans: these days it seems to be available from most manufacturers in Red or Green Shade - I can never remember which of these is nearer to the simple, straightforward pigment, and just fail to see the need for them... there does come a point when 'leave it alone' is the best advice for colourmen to follow...
Posted
Using W&N Artists Colours I find that refilling my whole pans with tube paint is the best way for me. An old brush used vigorously with some warm water before you set about painting will always soften up the colours to a pasty mix. It's probably obvious but dont undertake this with one of your best sables! I have (as probably a lot of you) found that certain colours resist softening more than others (or they dry quickly ) burnt umber being a particular culrpit from my observation, as this can almost represent baked mud after an hour painting out of doors even in our British Summer!
The other advantage (though some of you may raise your eyebrows) is that I commonly mix a whole pan of for instance Raw Sienna and Burnt Umber to create a additional mix that I frequently use for darker greens. It is a slight oddity of mine but there again I hope we are all a little odd in some way!!! But it does save a lot of time and there is no law saying we cant. In fact thinking about it there is no reason for finding ones own basic colour mixes and keeping them to your self especially if you find yourself mixing the same paints again and again. Dont forget Wesson used to use his own special "Mud" and was also (sometimes) picky about the colour of mud that he used out of his palette!
>:-)
www.bendalls-watercolour-corner.weebly.com
Posted
Ever mindful of the need to introduce new threads which are relevant to the pursuance of our art, here is a thought which, although skirted around many times, has never, to my recollection been directly pondered in these hallowed postings.
Does your coffee taste better before or after you have washed your brush in it and, if better, which are your colours of preference? In this latter respect I am mindful, not only of the taste, but also of the resultant hue of this most efficacious elixir.