The Blue Dinghy, Royal Talens Rembrandt watercolours on Bockingford Rough 140lb (300gsm), (38 x 28cm)
Watercolourist Max Hale explores the colours and hues of Rembrandt artist-quality watercolours from Royal Talens, including their metallic paints.
If you find your watercolour washes dull or have to keep adding more pigment to acheive the strength you're looking for, Rembrandt Watercolours could be just what you're looking for!
Introduction of new colours
2019 marked 350 years since the death of the Dutch master, Rembrandt. To celebrate, Royal Talens, who have been producing the finest artist-quality paint since 1899, launched 46 new Rembrandt Watercolours and 18 improved pigment hues and Max Hale enjoyed testing out these top-quality watercolour paints.
I have used many brands of watercolours yet Rembrandt has captured my imagination, even revitalised my enthusiasm for this beautiful medium; even without the metallic colours, this is a special, quality product.
Top features:
- The paint flows freely around on the paper.
- Washes are clean, bright and vivid.
- No need for adding extra pigment.
- More personal colour mixing ability with monopigment paints.
- Innovative metallic and interference colours to explore.
- A total of 120 colours available.
- Can be purchased in sets or individual tubes and pans.
- Made using pure gum arabic.
- Offer the highest degrees of lightfastness.
Rembrandt Watercolour pigments
Rembrandt Watercolours literally push the boundaries into areas of incredibility – you can’t help being excited at what they have been developed.
Of the existing palette of colours, 18 have been reformulated so now there are more monopigments available, plus unique and innovative pigments.
What are monopigments?
What this means in real terms is that instead of buying a tube or pan of colour comprising two or more pigments pre-mixed in the factory, you can create purer, cleaner and more vibrant mixes on the palette with these monopigment paints. For the professional and serious amateur artist, this is a massive step forward, giving the artist personal control.
Stan, *watercolours by Max Hale
*not necessarily Rembrandt
The colours
As a long-time watercolour painter with an established palette, I have been experimenting with some of the new colours to try to establish how I would embrace the range. I normally use a simple set of six or a maximum of eight colours for most of my work.
- Some of the new colours introduced include transparent yellow medium, a monopigment sitting between a warm and cool with beautiful transparent qualities. I am beyond excited to try this on foliage or grass.
- Benzimidazolone orange, another monopigment, is a fabulous warm orange with an attractive yellowish undertone. I can imagine many artists using this to lift skies or to add light in buildings in the later afternoon.
- I am also excited about titanium buff, a pigment I have used in oils and acrylics; it’s a sophisticated neutral warm grey/buff and I adore it for its ability to enhance colours around it – exciting to bring into watercolours!
- Among the reds are quinacridone red – a superb monopigment that is exceptionally transparent with excellent lightfastness and brightness.
- Moving into violets and blues where colour changes are subtle and telling, especially if you paint outside in gardens or the natural world, there are seven new entries including lavender – not a monopigment but a useful one for those wishing to capture the colour of bluebells in the woods.
- There are more quinacridones – rose reddish, rose magenta and red violet.
- Continuing into the blues and turquoises there’s a new cerulean blue greenish and a cerulean blue phthalo; even the artist’s staple, French ultramarine, has been changed to make it more granulating by changing sources of pigments.
My listing hasn’t even touched on the greens or umbers, but similarly, there are improvements and introductions of new colours, to motivate all levels of artists.
All this indicates a huge injection of commitment by Royal Talens into the Rembrandt brand and secures their place in the serious watercolour area.
Discover Dusk, Metallic, Interference, Chameleon and Spark colours
1. Dusk colours
The Dusk colours have a unique pigment combination that results in a dark granulated effect with a vibrant undertone.
2. Metallic colours
The Metallic colours are silver, light gold, copper and graphite. They can be used on the usual watercolour paper but on black – yes black – watercolour paper (also by Royal Talens) the results are incredible.
3. Interference colours
Interference is a range of colours that shine with an even, pearlescent sheen, allowing for some surprising effects and highlights. The best effects are achieved when used over black paper and dry paint. The intensity varies depending on the light incidence and viewing position. I found these to be beguiling. Colours available are Interference white, blue, violet and green.
4. Chameleon colours
Chameleon colours change colour as soon as you alter your viewing position or the position of the light. They are best as a thin layer on a dark ground; black watercolour paper is ideal.
5. Spark colours
Spark colours sparkle like stars. The irregular sheen in the pigment particles is fun and useful if you wish to add a final touch or a significant piece of light in your work. These come in four colours: green, blue, violet and pink.
Colour tests
This image shows swatches of Metallic silver, graphite and gold.
I really liked these colours which could be useful for areas that need a lift, such as in still life or industrial landscape.
This shows Interference colours on black paper.
Interference blue, violet green and white on black paper. Some practice is required to paint on black with these paints but they’re great fun to use.
This shows Interference violet in palette.
Interference colours such as this violet look very similar in the palette, so take care when using as colour doesn’t show well until it goes on the paper.
This shows Spark blue and green.
This swatch shows how Spark blue and green appear when angled towards the light.
Using on coloured grounds
When I was offered the option of black paper to try out the new Metallic watercolours I must say I was quite surprised, but I needn’t have been.
It is quite difficult to see the effects of these paints on the traditional white so a coloured ground is definitely required. Alternatively, painting over a darker, dried colour of watercolour on any colour paper will give interesting results.
Some of the Metallics can look similar when on the palette.
A creamy white, fairly thin reservoir of any of the Interference, Spark or Chameleon colour needs to be noted at the time of laying out, otherwise getting a blue or a violet transposed would be very easy and it could prove fatal to your painting.
A little practice will be required with the Metallics in general – they vary in use and produce unusual and fun visual effects.
Sets and colours available
In addition to the speciality colours, Rembrandt introduced eight new watercolour palette sets including:
- Monopigmented
- Speciality
- Oxide Black with ten mixing colours
- Opaque White with ten mixing colours
- Landscape
- Portrait
- Cityscape
The paints and pans also come in larger sets of 24, 36 or 48 pans. If you’d like to add more tubes or pans you can add to a set or buy them individually.
Tubes are 10ml or 20ml and pans and tubes have a total of 120 colours available.
Painting with Rembrandt Watercolours
For this painting of a blue dinghy I used the tube colours listed above all of which, with the exception of French ultramarine, were new colours for me.
Only one brush was used: a Pro Arte Prolene synthetic size 14 round.
Stage one
I drew with a soft 2B pencil onto a taped-down sheet of Bockingford paper and then worked on the harbour walls with a dark mix of French ultramarine, azo yellow deep and a touch of Davey’s grey.
TOP TIP
I used plenty of water and built the pigment into it in a wet-on-wet technique to create the texture of the bricks.
Stage two
I wanted to put some of the harbour water in so I could see which blues and greens would be suitable for my new palette.
I chose cerulean bluish green and cobalt turquoise at this early stage of the piece.
The main dinghy was also worked on to establish the strength of pigment and to set the scene of a bright sun. This was painted with a mixture of all three blues, taking note of the reflections.
The finished painting
The Blue Dinghy, Royal Talens Rembrandt watercolours on Bockingford Rough 140lb (300gsm), (38 x 28cm)
I played with blues and greens to establish the balance of light and dark.
The addition of French ultramarine gave it some strength on the shadow side of the dinghy with a touch of naphthol red.
Final thoughts
I found all the Rembrandt Watercolours exciting and easy to work with – very rich pigments with strong hues that will produce delicate washes of the required strength when diluted. Max Hale
Find out more about Rembrandt Watercolours at Royal Talens by
Max Hale studied at Harrow School of Art. He teaches workshops and painting holidays, and offers personal mentoring. Discover more on his website, www.maxhaleart.co.uk.
His DVD First Steps in Water-Mixable Oils is available from Town House Films.