Turquoise PB16 (Pigment Blue 16)

A few months ago I purchased a few of the German Lukas paints to try. I had read some good reports about them and  they are very well priced, although the standard tube size, a large 24ml, might put some artists off - but they also have pans.  Great Art are currently running a `special' on the pans. With quality watercolour paints now excruciatingly expensive, a more economical alternative is welcome.  This is the price situation with Lukas in Europe but prices may be higher elsewhere, certainly in Australia, according to my friend John Softly.  I did cover the Lukas range in general recently (January 2013) so if interested you might  refer to that. There are certainly colours worth buying as you can mix paints from several manufacturers whatever may be said to the contrary.

 PB16 is one of the phthalocyanine pigments epitomised by the popular PB15, which appears in all ranges and comes in several versions. PB16 is described by Handprint as "a lightfast, transparent, heavily staining pigment, moderately dark to very dark valued".  Bruce also rates it as a `Top Forty' pigment.  It has been slowly gaining popularity and is available from seven manufacturers. Winsor & Newton call it `Phthalo Turquoise', Maimeri `Turquoise Green', Lukas `Turquoise', Old Holland `Caribbean Blue', Schminke `Helio Turquoise' , Holbein `Marine Blue' and Da Vinci `Phthalo Turquoise'. When Winsor & Newton introduced it Bruce McEvoy said Daniel Smith were sure to follow. So far they haven't but do have the superb Cobalt Teal Blue (PG50) which many prefer. A criticism of the Phalo pigments is that they are heavily staining and the colours can appear harsh and unnatural. On the plus side they are very lightfast and transparent. I used to think the colours were harsh but have changed my mind somewhat. They are also excellent for mixing with several other paints

The top left and middle paint are both PB16, the Lukas and Maimeri versions. I don't see much difference, the Maimeri perhaps slightly darker but that may be down to my mixing not the paint. For comparison purposes I have added the Maimeri  Primary Blue Cyan PB15:3  (Green Shade) which looks very similar and is the PB15 version most often offered. When you do swatches like this it does make one think and perhaps alter the existing perceptions you have. For example is there any point in not just having the PB15:3? Incidentally Lukas have several versions of PB15  (PB15:1 to PB15:6) in different blues as well as PB16.  Names vary with Phalo Blue, Cyan Blue as examples. I recommend always check pigments numbers and don't be seduced by names.

I gave both Yvonne Harry and Jan Weeks of Avon Valley Artists blobs of the Lukas colour to try. Yvonne liked it but is resisting buying any more colours as she has so many, and dreads me coming along - again - saying try this one! Jan much prefers Cobalt Teal Blue from Daniel Smith. I think there is room for both as the shades are distinct but certainly only in an extended palette of 20 plus colours. Look however at the W & N Cobalt Turquoise and compare it to the Daniel Smith Cobalt Teal Blue.

Just out of interest I have included a swatch of Rowney Cobalt Magenta (PV14) more for my friend John as anything else. He has been trying to find one that suits him and appears to be settling on the Graham version. John has tried Rowney, but his is the old version called Cobalt Violet while that above is from the current Rowney range. It granulates beautifully, although a rather weak colour which is a feature of PV14. I did have some little trouble with it which I related in the piece I wrote on the problems with the Graham Mineral Violet PV16  (October 2012 Problem Pigments). Compared to most other PV14 paints the Rowney and Lukas are the most economical price wise, but they are not consistent across makes, as a swatch John put on Wetcanvas of  several PV14s showed  a wide variation.

The compliment to PB16 Turquoise is orange, Handprint say Perinone Orange (PO43). I think it  great with the Schminke Transparent Orange or Lukas Permanent Orange, both PO71. 

Lukas is available from Atlantis Art in London who do mail order www.atlantisart.co.uk/ but the website  seems well out of date, Great Art www.greatart.co.uk/ and W.E Lawrence www.lawrence.co.uk/. In the USA and Canada it appears Jerry's Artarama www.lukasamerica.com/ have the franchise  If anyone has any information to add to the above or  other comments I'd be pleased to hear them.

Lukas

I have been thinking for a while of doing some reviews of watercolour paint manufacturers and decided upon Lukas, the comparatively little known German company, as the first. Why Lukas? Essentially because I think this is a company with a combination of quality and price that may be hard to match. I do realise this is arguable with personal preference a factor, and availability is not as widespread as many of the competing makes, but if you want a good quality product at a very keen price then read on.

The standard 24 ml tube which is the only tube size Lukas offer. Note the comparison with a Schminke 15 ml tube.They also have half and full pans. 

The four Lukas paints I have which are Turquoise, Cadmium Lemon, Cadmium Yellow and Permanent Orange. The Turquoise (PB16) and the Orange (PO71)  are two of the more interesting colours in the range. Note the greens made by mixing the Turquoise with the two yellows. I shall be posting a separate piece comparing the Permanent Orange with the Schminke Translucent Orange, both the same PO71 with this pigment only on offer (as far as I can tell) from these two.

Lukas are an established German company who have been making watercolours and other mediums, founded in 1862 by Dr.Fr.Schoenfeld, hence the name of the artists quality watercolours LUKAS Aquarelle 1862. The range was reformulated a few years ago prior to which, in 2004,  the Handprint site reviewed them.and damned them pretty thoroughly, fugitive pigments, too many brighteners and fillers etc etc. However in 2006 Bruce added a note saying  the range had been reformulated in 2005 with a slight increase in numbers to 70 and a large increase in single pigment paints. To quote him

 "All the paints I highlighted as fugitive in my 2004 paint tests and some of the dubious convenience mixtures have been discontinued. The replacement pigments...... are of excellent generic light fastness  in fact Lukas now conform to the conservative pigment choices common to other manufacturers..."

Bruce finished by saying he had not tested the new paints and signed off with a fairly negative comment as if he was disinclined to give them a second chance, although he does say past standards are not necessarily a true guide as things can and do change. 

Now to the range which comprises 70 colours of which 69% are single pigment paints. The 7.5 ml tube has been dropped and 24 ml is the standard size plus half and full pans. It is a fairly conservative one compared to the likes of Daniel Smith, Schminke, Holbein and Winsor & Newton but read on.  With the number of colours available then Daler Rowney, Graham, Maimeri, Bloxx and Rembrandt, who offer a similar number are probably fairer comparisons. We are talking here about a comparison involving a combination of quality and price. All the basic shades are well covered and as highlighted already, slightly unusual choices like Turquoise and Permanent Orange are there together with Green Yellow (PY129). There are 12 greens, half single pigment paints and a good selection of reds (11) plus purple and violet. The blues are extensive and include Manganese Blue (PB33). Note: Although Manganese Blue is still listed Rui says the true PB33 has been discontinued so the formula may be different.

The only strange choices, in my opinion, are  some of the earth shades. Burnt Umber and Raw Umber are three pigment mixes, while Neutral Tint is four. Personally I steer clear of multi-pigment paints, although there are exceptions, especially amongst Daniel Smith paints.

How do Lukas compare in price to other artists quality makes? The short answer is very favourably with cost per ml well below most others. This is partly due to the 24 ml size which is being currently sold at prices cheaper then the 15 ml, 14 ml in the case of Winsor & Newton, of other makers. It is true that Rembrandt also offer a 21 mil,and Winsor & Newton plus Da Vinci  37 ml in a limited range of paints. The complete Lukas range is on offer in 24 ml in two price series..

Where can you get Lukas paints? The only two UK sources I have found so far are Great Art www.greatart.co.uk/ and Lawrence of Hove www.lawrence.co.uk/ . Great Art  supply from Germany but have a UK telephone number and website. Current prices are £6.25p and £9.25p, Lawrence are a similar price but have an offer of a further 20% off if you buy six tubes. Lawrence charge £4.99p carriage while Great Art offer it free if the order exceeds £39. 

I now come to something of a mystery. I originally obtained most of the information above from the Lukas site www.lukas.eu/ This no longer appears to be active and the only reference which comes up is www.lukasamerica.com/ which seems to be part of Jerrys Artarama, a mail order art supplier. What does this indicate? Have Lukas changed ownership and will it affect future supplies? If anyone has any information please let me know. There is a lot of information including pigment information and colours on Jerrys site and, according to a contributor on Wetcanvas, you can download a pdf which seems identical to the one I originally downloaded from Lukas. She also gives the link. I actually clicked on it and it worked so if you Google Lukas watercolour paints the link to Wetcanvas should be there. Then scan the posts until you get the relevant one.. Those on Wetcanvas  who had used Lukas were quite complimentary. Note added 08/01/13: If you click on the link to lukasamerica (Jerrys Artarama) then follow watercolours through Acquarelle 1862 you'll discover the pdf downloadable file. Jerrys appear to have sole franchise on Lukas.

Daniel Smith Pt.3

Following up the previous posts on Daniel Smith the question arises are they worth the extra premium UK  and European buyers have to pay? I say this because prices in the USA are lower and in addition DS, through their retail shops and internet site, have regular special offers - lots of them in fact. If we had  similar offers then I'd not hesitate to say yes, although I like Graham and have not tried DaVinci, both highly rated by American artists. What we shouldn't lose sight of is that we have several very good manufacturers in Europe who have been making watercolour paints for a very long time, much longer in fact, and comparing quality and price there is a very good case for sticking to them, certainly on many of the standard colours.  Winsor & Newton, still and for  many years the top rated watercolours by many professional artists, are much more competitive in price here than in North America, where I sense they are losing out to the American makes. At the beginning of this year the new much higher prices for W & N made Daniel Smith  more competitive but almost immediately discounted offers appeared. Perhaps W & N realised the threat these new paints posed which they certainly do.

Previously I have noted that the DS range is split into three or four groups. The standard colours, those that follow most other makes, comprise the biggest number - 100 plus. Standard but still including some unique colours not duplicated elsewhere. The remainder include the Primateks, Duochrome and Iridescent paints. These two latter are for specialist purposes and most watercolourists would stick to the standard colours. What about the Primateks? Here I urge you to carefully  read what Bruce McEvoy of Handprint writes in a very comprehensive review  www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/primatek.html  Essentially Daniel Smith has been gathering mineral pigments from mines all over the World. They don't have pigment numbers and are expensive. 

Here is a further selection of colour swatches. I have added pigment details and will add them to the previous posts. You will note that in many instances the pigments are those in common use by the other makers.

Cobalt Blue Violet  (PV19/PB28)

Duochrome Autumn Mystery

Cobalt Teal Blue (PG50)

Garnet Genuine 

German Greenish Raw Umber (Pbr7)

Green Apatite Genuine

Lunar Blue (PBk11/PB15)

Serpentine Genuine

Undersea Green (PB29/PO49)

Hansa Yellow Medium (PY97)

Quinacridone Sienna (PO49/PR209)

Quinacridone Rose (PV19)

I could go on forever - well almost - but with the other illustrations in Pt. 1 & 2 you should have a good idea of what is available. I am personally intrigued by the number of granulating paints offered. Rui who comments on here is fulsome in his praise of the Lunar colours for their granulation properties and I intend to try some other than black which I already have.  Jan Weeks love Serpentine Green, Moonglow and Cascade Green. Rui likes them  but says you need to be careful what you mix Cascade Green with.  German Greenish Raw Umber is another favourite.

A good source of individual pigment details is; www.premiumartbrands.com/products/watercolour-tubes-15m/  For the complete range try www.danielsmith.com/item--i-G-284-600 If you print this off it runs to 19 pages! The Daniel Smith website, which is a selling site with various other brands and products is: www.danielsmith.com/ There is a mass of information including `peeks' at some DVD instructional videos they sell. In addition if you go onto Youtube `videos',and type in `Daniel Smith Watercolors' you'll get a mass of promotional videos with lots of information. In the USA the wonderful Dick Blick site has very good pigment details, although each colour has to be looked at individually.

Finally quality versus price? Are Daniel Smith watercolours worth the extra premium we are charged in the UK and Europe? As things stand Daniel Smith are the most expensive watercolours in the UK. Winsor & Newton are cheaper, certainly while the special offers continue. It isn't straightforward to compare them as the number of price categories vary manufacturer by manufacturer. Daniel Smith, Holbein and Old Holland have six, Sennelier five, Maimeri, Winsor & Newton, Bloxx, Schminke four while Daler Rowney and Rembrandt only three, although in reality Daler Rowney have only two prices as has Lukas.  Graham and DaVinci are only available from one source, Lawrence of Hove who have a fixed carriage charge on top of the prices but they do offer 20% off for 6 or more tubes. This is further complicated in that manufacturers don't all sing from the same song sheet. Apart from basic colours like the earths, usually in the cheapest category, other colour ratings vary from one make to another. In order to get an accurate picture you must compare them not just by colour, which can confuse, but more accurately by pigment numbers. Some manufacturers Winsor & Newton, Lukas, Sennelier, DaVinci and Rembrandt offer larger tube sizes that are cheaper per ml. This is another factor although personally I think W & N would have been far better with a 21ml or 24ml large size rather than 37ml. The further I get into this the more complicated it becomes so I'll leave it at that and may return to the subject at a later date. 

So are Daniel Smith paints worth the cost? Are they better than the paints from say Winsor & Newton or some of the others listed? They are good but so are most of the other artists quality makes and in the end it comes down to the depth of your pocket and personal preferences. For the average watercolour painter probably not, but they do have a whole range of wonderful, often unique, colours  so I shall continue to buy them, although selectively. For impulse buyers like me they are very seductive. As for the other makes Daler Rowney, Lukas, Rembrandt and Maimeri are very well priced and offer good quality with a choice of around 70 colours. 

Latest Special Offers

It seems the slowdown in the economies of Western Europe is beginning to show in the increasing number of  special offers. As art materials are very expensive, especially for watercolour artists, this is to be welcomed.

Great Art are offering until 31st August Daler Rowney artists quality watercolours at 50% off. This applies to all sizes and means the 15ml tubes cost £5.10p for the A,B colours and £7.25 for C. This is an incredibly good offer. In addition Great Art have reduced the minimum £ amount for free delivery to £24.95p. Check them out because there are other offers. www.greatart.co.uk

Lawrence of Hove www.lawrence.co.uk/ are becoming more competitive on price and next to Jacksons have the largest number of artist quality watercolour brands. These include Lukas, Art Spectrum, Old Holland, Da Vinci and Graham. They are the only UK source of Graham and Da Vinci and you won't find Art Spectrum very often. To my mind Art Spectrum are overpriced and I have no experience of them. They do seem to have a lot of mixed pigment paints in their range.

With Graham Lawrence have increased their offer when you buy 6 tubes from 20% to 30%. This makes the price of this highly regarded American brand competitive with Winsor & Newton. Prices  range from £7.95p to £12.95p (30% off £5.56p - £9.06p). The website www.mgraham.com/ has a very good accurate colour chart and details, pigments etc, of the watercolours. The offer is now back to 20% off if you buy 6 tubes and the extra 10% has expired. 4/09/11

Da Vinci have both 15ml and 37ml tubes, the latter in a limited number of colours. Prices range from £7.95p to £14.95p (20% off for 6 - £5.50p to £11.96p). The 37ml tubes start at £10.95p to £25.50 (20% off £8.76p to £20.40).  The new Da Vinci range is highly regarded in America and £8.76p for 37ml!!!. The Da Vinci website is also very good www.davincipaints.com/ with an excellent colour chart, again with pigment details.

That isn't all. Lawrence, together with Great Art, also sell the German Lukas brand in 24ml tubes. Prices are very competitive from £5.50p to £7.95p. The Lukas website has details of the watercolour range, colours, pigments etc, which can be downloaded as a pdf. www.lukas.eu/

In addition for this weekend only Lawrence are offering a further 10% of all purchases. The only downside is they have a fixed carriage charge of £4.99p so this has to be added. Why can't they follow the lead of Jacksons, Bromley and Great Art and have a minimum price over which carriage is free? I would certainly buy more if they were to do so.