DOODLEWASH REVIEW: Winsor & Newton

The post reviews Winsor & Newton’s Professional Water Colour line and gives company background, noting that the brand has been supplying professional art materials since 1832 and that its paints are manufactured in France. It also describes the range of formats, pigment and permanence information, transparency, and the limited edition Twilight and Desert sets.

Reading notes

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• The brand is presented as a fine art manufacturer based in London, with professional materials supplied since 1832.
• The text summarizes the history of the metal paint tube, attributing its invention to John Goffe Rand and pointing to the screw cap improvement introduced by William Winsor.
• The Professional Water Colour line comes in 96 colors, with 76 single pigments, and is sold in 5 ml, 14 ml, and 37 ml tubes, as well as half pans.
• The brand also offers 48 colors in sticks and 36 in watercolour markers.
• The text says that 93 of the 96 colors in the line are classified as permanent for artistic use, with an AA or A rating.
• The transparency of the paints is attributed to the way the pigment is dispersed in manufacturing, allowing the white of the paper to show through in thin washes.
• The limited edition Twilight and Desert sets are listed with their specific colors, but the text notes that they can be hard to find, especially in the US.
• The author comments that the small 5 ml tubes have caps that are hard to open and close when they are not in a palette.
• The text mentions that the half pans have the color name printed on the side and that prices vary by format and retailer.
• There is a price comparison between brands in which Winsor & Newton appears to be more expensive than other options cited.
• Among the author’s favorite colors are Quinacridone Violet, Smalt, Yellow Titanate, and Chromium Black.
• The text uses swatches and small paintings to show the use of colors such as Smalt, Quinacridone Violet, Yellow Titanate, and the colors from the Twilight series.
• The author describes the brand as reliable, vibrant, and transparent, but expensive, and notes that it does not have as interesting mixtures nor as many granulating colors as Daniel Smith.
• There are also references to books and articles about watercolor, color theory, and pigments, including Jean Haines, Ron Ranson, John Muir Laws, and Daniel Smith.