The shape of watercolor paints is a symbol of what. Which watercolor is better to choose - domestic or foreign? Semi-solid watercolor in cuvettes

The basis of watercolor paint is a colored pigment, which is in high concentration in suspension, and during the drying process it is dispersed over the entire surface of the canvas, penetrating inside and coloring it. In industrial watercolor paints, natural materials such as gum arabic or propylene glycol are most often used as a binder. Each manufacturer has its own secrets for the unique composition of the suspension - this is the main (key) composition.

Watercolor paint is a water-soluble material; this effect can be achieved thanks to the binders and pigments in its composition; they do not dissolve in water. Pigments can be divided into several categories: natural inorganic (natural or metallic pigments from natural deposits), synthetic inorganic (natural or metallic pigments formed by combining chemical reagents and ores produced in industrial production), natural organic (pigments created on the basis of animals or plant materials), synthetic organic (carbon-based pigments (most often consisting of petroleum compounds). Today, there is a practice that artists who paint their canvases mainly for sale more often use materials based on synthetic pigments in their work. In in a broad sense, it is by the amount of paint pigment that you can determine the difference between the masterpieces of professional artists and the works of students, in the paintings of painters you can observe a larger amount of pigments. If you want to learn more on this topic, we recommend reading the article “How watercolor paints are made.”

Types of watercolor paint

There are certain types of watercolor paints that are mass-produced: paints in metal tubes, similar in consistency toothpaste, similar to small pies in a small plastic form, in order to make them suitable for work - you need to add a large number of water and liquid paints.

Tubes and bowls

In the 17th and 18th centuries, artists extracted pigment from plants and minerals and tried to make it themselves from gum arabic, granulated sugar and water. First set watercolor paints, was created at the end of the 18th century by Thomas and William Reeves, and in 1832 it was modified by Winsor and Newton. They made the paints wetter and decided to replace the wooden box with a neat porcelain bowl wrapped in foil, making the paints more portable and thus easier to work with.

In 1846, paints in tubes first appeared: Winston and Newton introduced them as a more advanced version of oil paints, which the company first introduced in 1841. For more information about the invention of paint tubes and how it influenced Impressionism, see the article "Impressionism and Photography."

Liquid watercolor paints

Liquid watercolor paints are concentrated liquid substances that can range from 1 to 8 ounces (28 to 224 grams) or even smaller bottles, depending on the manufacturer's brand. They give a bright, deep color, which, when water is added, acquires some blurriness and pale shades. Such paints are more suitable for working with a spray gun than for the standard method of applying the material with a brush to canvas. The color intensity and thickness of the paint depends on the manufacturer, but based on their general characteristics, we can say that they are more suitable for primary schoolchildren than professional artists.

Dear readers, in this article we will tell you about watercolor painting, its composition, types, writing techniques and innovations in the field of painting with this material.

Characteristics of painting using watercolors

Watercolor is painting using water-soluble transparent paints.

Its properties are airiness, lightness, subtle color transitions.

Watercolor technique combines features of graphics and painting. From graphics, watercolor took the key role of paper and the absence of a relief stroke; from painting, it borrowed the construction of forms and space with color, the presence of multiple tones.

Basically, watercolors are used to paint on paper. While working, you have to moisten it with water very often. The characteristic blurry stroke can only form on wet paper. Exist different ways its wetting. The paper can be stretched onto a special frame and then moistened. It is also laid out on wet flannel or glass. The degree of wetting directly depends on the desired result. Often artists use other methods.

To ensure that the water is completely absorbed into the paper, it is recommended to leave small puddles on its surface. Thanks to this, various effects can be achieved.

Watercolor composition

Watercolor paint consists of a coloring binder pigment (dextrin and gum arabic), a plasticizer (invert sugar and glycerin) and various additives. Without using a plasticizer, the paint would quickly become brittle and dry out. By adding an antiseptic substance - phenol - the appearance of mold is prevented. Another extremely important additive that is added to prevent paint from beading is ox bile.

Types of watercolor paints

There are two types of watercolor paints: “school” and “art”.

School watercolor paints Professional watercolor paints

School paints are significantly inferior to art paints in terms of dispersion, even layer, possibility of glazing and light fastness. But the most important thing is to be able to use them. A real master can create a masterpiece using the most ordinary school paints.

New: watercolor pencils

Recently on sale watercolor pencils. You can draw with these pencils in two ways: first, paint the desired area, and then blur it with water, or wet the paper and then draw with pencils. Thanks to the second method, you can achieve a more saturated and vibrant color.

WATERCOLOR COMPOSITION

Nowadays, several types of watercolor paints are produced: 1) solid paints shaped like tiles various shapes, 2) soft paints, enclosed in earthenware cups, 3) honey paints, sold, like tempera and oil paints, in tin tubes, and 4) gouache - liquid paints, enclosed in glass jars.

Binder everyone best views watercolor paints use vegetable glue: gum arabica, dextrin, tragacanth and fruit glue (cherry); in addition, honey, glycerin, candy sugar, wax and some resins, mainly resins - balms. The purpose of the latter is to give paints the ability to not wash out so easily upon drying, which is certainly needed by those that contain too much honey, glycerin, etc.

Cheaper varieties of watercolor paints, as well as paints intended not for painting, but for drawings, etc., also include ordinary wood glue, fish glue and potato molasses as a binder.

Due to the low stability of the main binding substances of watercolor, attempts have been made repeatedly to replace them with others that have greater strength; so far, however, nothing noteworthy has been proposed. This kind of innovation includes two types of watercolors: “watercolor fixed by fire” and “watercolor on a sarcocol.” Binder for paints in this case wax and resin gums are used. Both of these techniques bear little resemblance to watercolor and, as we see, were not successful.

All the beauty and power of watercolor lies in its transparent colors, and therefore it is natural that it needs a special colorful material, which either by its nature would already best meet the needs of watercolor, or became such after a certain processing. Since even paints that are opaque in their essence, when finely ground, obtain a certain degree of transparency, one of the most important conditions when making watercolor paints is their finest grinding.

No method of painting requires such finely ground paints as watercolor; This is why preparing good watercolor paints by hand is not an easy task.

But in addition to fine grinding of paints, when making watercolors, another, no less important condition must be observed - the paints must be composed in such a way that their powder, when the watercolor is diluted with water most abundantly, “hangs” in the binder and does not fall out of it. Only under this condition of “hanging” and gradual settling of the paint substance onto the paper is its uniform layout obtained; otherwise, the paint is distributed unevenly, forming dots, spots, etc.

The preparation of good watercolor paints is thus achieved by grinding them as finely as possible and preparing an appropriate binder.

To give some idea of ​​the composition various types watercolor paints, below is given in general outline their description.

Solid tile paints

In the old days, only hard watercolor paints were prepared; nowadays hard paints are intended mainly for drawing work, for completing projects, plans, etc.; among the Germans they are called “Tushfarben”. The highest grade of paints of this type also serves for painting purposes; such, for example, are paints for painting miniatures. The cheapest type of paint is intended for schools and children.

Solid watercolor paints are usually produced in various grades (feine, extrafeine, etc.), and both the selection of paint material and the composition of their binder depend entirely on the type of paint. Cheap binders are more often used here: animal glue that dissolves in cold water, and potato molasses, but they also use gum arabica, tragacanth, honey, etc.

To prepare solid watercolor paints, prepare a binder for them in three types. The most important of them is a solution of gum arabica in combination with candy sugar (in the proportion of 2 parts of gum to 1 part of sugar); in addition, a solution of pure candy in water and, finally, a solution of dextrin are prepared. This is done on the basis that some of the paints, such as bistre, carmine and gum gum, do not require gum arabica at all, and one piece of candy is enough to bind them together; chrome paints, including emerald green, due to gum arabic, become completely insoluble in water over time, and therefore dextrin is used for their preparation. The quantitative ratio between the paint powder and the binder should be such that the sample of the manufactured paint changes as little as possible upon drying. This attitude is best achieved through experience. The paints in the finest powder are mixed with a binder, and then the dough is dried enough so that it can be molded using a metal mold.

Paints in tiles, tablets, etc. should not be brittle or soft. The high content of gum arabica in paints makes them very fragile; This fragility disappears if the paints contain, in addition to gum arabica, a sufficient amount of sugar. In the case where the binder of the paints consists mainly of animal glue, the paints, when somewhat damp, wrinkle in the hands.

Chinese ink

Encre de Chine. Tusche. Indian inc. China inc.

This popular paint goes on sale in finished form, that is, combined with a binder. Its preparation is a specialty of China, the birthplace of paint, where it has been manufactured since time immemorial. For a long time, however, it has been manufactured in Europe.

Real Chinese ink is obtained, according to some people, from soot obtained by burning sesame oil, into which is mixed the sap of the bark of a tree unknown to us, as well as ginger juice and an extract of plants unknown to us. Animal glue is also added here, and the whole mixture is scented with camphor or musk. According to other reports, Chinese ink is made from soot obtained from the oil of pine trees.

From the above it is clear that mascara in China is produced in various ways and from various materials, which is why the quality of the product is very diverse.

In Europe, good quality mascara is currently produced, prepared from soot according to various recipes.

One of the most important conditions for preparing good paint is to finely grind the soot. If the carbon that makes up soot is converted into a colloidal state by mechanical or chemical treatment, then the size of its grains will be smaller than the wavelength of light. In this form it exhibits the greatest coloring power and acquires a red-brown tint. Mascara prepared in this way is able to penetrate into the pores of the paper, and after drying it is no longer washed off with water. In China, mascara is crushed mechanically. In Europe, they are used for this purpose. chemical methods, thanks to which it is possible to obtain cheaper colloidal carbon.

In Europe, in recent years, mascara has been prepared mainly in a liquid state, and its binder is a solution of shellac in borax, which, when dried, is insoluble in water. The British call this mascara incom; among the French and Germans it goes by the name liquid Chinese ink.

Mascara is sold in tiles and columns, as well as in liquid form - in bottles. A good ink is one that gives a black tone on paper with a pleasant, slightly brownish, metallic tint, is homogeneous and glassy when broken, easily dissolves in water without forming sediment in it, dries quickly and does not wash off from the paper when dry, and the edges of its strokes do not spread.

Soft colors

Couleurs moites.

To prepare soft paints, which are much easier to dilute with water than hard paints, the main basic material for the binder is the same gum arabica and dextrin, to which a significant amount of honey is added (for 1 teaspoon of gum to 1 teaspoon of honey). Honey is introduced in its non-crystallizing parts, i.e. in the form of levulose. In addition to honey, or instead of it, glycerin is also used.

The binder for soft watercolor paints is composed in this way: first, honey is purified, mixed with water, which is taken four times more by weight than honey; The resulting foam is removed from the honey, and then the water is evaporated, turning the honey solution into a syrupy liquid. Honey processed in this way is mixed with a solution of gum traganta, which is taken in an amount of 1/3 of the total volume of honey.

Honey paints

The name of the paints already indicates that they should contain honey as part of their binder. The latter indeed forms the bulk of it; gum arabic is a smaller part. But, in addition to honey, this also includes glycerin, which replaces a certain amount of honey, and if you want to reduce the cost of paint, honey is replaced with potato molasses, which does not crystallize.

Paints with a high content of honey and similar substances should, upon drying, be easily dissolved in water and even spread in damp air. To avoid this, copai balsam is added to the solution of gum arabica and honey, as well as wax or mastic dissolved in essential oils. Resins and wax form an emulsion with a solution of gum arabica and honey; Honey watercolor is thus very similar in the type of composition of its binder to gum arabic tempera.

Copai balsam, wax, etc. are introduced into the watercolor binder in this way: 4 parts of Copai balsam are heated in a porcelain cup and 1 part of mastic resin and 1/4 part of bleached wax are placed in it. Keep this mixture on the fire until everything is completely dissolved in it. Then 5 parts of a thick solution of gum arabica are poured into the resulting solution, and everything is mixed until a uniform mass is obtained, resembling a white ointment and representing an emulsion.

Gouache

The composition of these watercolor paints, contained in glass jars, is close to honey paints, but they are liquid and contain more water than honey ones.

The binder of gouache can be identical to watercolor, but it can also be an emulsion. In the latter case, the gouache will have a tempera character, but its colors will lighten when drying much more than is observed in tempera.

Under the name "gouaches for decorative painting"(gouaches pour la décoration artistique) Lefran's company launched paints for painting panels, models and similar decorative works. There is no information about the binder of these paints. Most of their assortment consists of paints, apparently of coal origin.

The need for this kind of paint among artists is undeniable, since ordinary watercolor and gouache paints are completely unsuitable for the purposes mentioned above.

The binder for decorative gouache can be varied, in any case, it should be cheaper than gum arabic. Here, ordinary carpenter's glue can be used, from which the ability to gel is taken away by special treatment, or the same glue mixed with vegetable glue. The best binder for such gouache is wheat starch treated with alkali.

Wheat starch is known to be one of the most valuable types of starch. Its composition is more complex than that of potato starch, and the glue obtained from it has good binding ability, which, under certain conditions, lasts for a long time. Thus, glue obtained from wheat starch alone can already serve as a good binder for decorative gouache. It does not darken paints like dextrin and gum arabic, as a result of which they acquire a velvety matte quality that other binders do not provide.

The recipe for the starch binder will be as follows:

Water for it......................... 1300 - 1350 g.

Paints prepared with this binder apply smoothly and well - they are laid out on paper, primed cardboard, canvas and any matte surface, and they brighten greatly, acquiring a light and sonorous tone.

Colorful materials for decorative gouache can be very diverse: mineral paints and paint-varnishes that do not change from weak alkalis are also suitable here. For paints that suffer from alkalis, the binder is neutralized with hydrochloric acid, which is introduced into the binder immediately after its preparation in small portions with constant stirring. To preserve the glue in this case, 3.5 parts of formalin are added to 100 parts of starch.

For posters and similar paintings, in addition to mineral paints, you can use artificial paints of organic origin that have great sonority, such as: lithol, para-red, geranium varnish, green viridin, violet, blue, yellow varnishes, malachite green, etc. p. If you want to give greater strength to the binder of decorative gouache, you can add wood glue to the starch glue solution. The recipe will change as follows:

Wheat starch......................... 100 g.

Water for it................................... 1400 g.

Caustic soda................................... 7.2 g.

Carpenter's glue................................ 10 g.

With pure wood glue, no special disinfection is required; otherwise, phenol is used.

CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF WATER COLOR PAINTS

WATERCOLOR PAINTS

Abstracts of lecture 5.

Subject message.

Organizational part of the lesson.

Lesson structure

Lesson 5. Lecture 2.

Questions to reinforce learned material

Appendix 1

Summarizing

Summarizing the material (questions to reinforce the material – addendum 1)

Teacher__________________________

1. what brush techniques do you know;

2. what parts does the brush consist of?

3. brush shapes;

4. types of hair bundle of the brush;

Topic 2. Classification of paints for graphics. Paints – water-soluble (watercolor, gouache), tempera (oil-casein, egg, polyvinyl citrate, etc.), acrylics. Materials for oil painting.

Target: introduction to the techniques of working with watercolor, gouache, tempera, oil, acrylic.

Literature:ʼʼAdvice from the experts. Painting and graphics, A.S. Zaitsev, Len., Artist of the RSFSR, 1979

ʼʼMaterials and drawing techniquesʼʼ, tutorial, V.A. Korolev, M., Fine Arts, 1987

“Painting technique”, G.B.Nikodemi, tools, materials, methods, M., EKSMO, 2002

Type of lesson: lecture.

Method: explanation.

Checking the presence of students in classes.

Classification of paints. Watercolor, gouache, tempera, oil, acrylic.

3. Motivation educational activities:

Students should know: classification of paints, features of their use.

4. Lesson plan:

• classification of paints for graphics;
• water-soluble paints;
• tempera;
• oil;
• acrylic.

Watercolor paints belong to the group of adhesive paints. The name "watercolor" comes from Latin wordʼʼaquaʼʼ - water, since water is a solvent for this type of paint.

The binder for watercolor paints is vegetable transparent glues - gum arabic and dextrin, easily soluble in water. Watercolor paints also contain a plasticizer in the form of glycerin and invert sugar, which makes them plastic. Glycerin retains moisture and prevents paints from drying out and becoming brittle. The surfactant ‣‣‣-ox bile is also introduced into watercolor paints, which makes it easy to spread the paint on paper, since the bile prevents the paint from rolling into drops. To prevent the destruction of paints by mold, an antiseptic - phenol - is introduced into them.

Watercolor is the only type of paint that is distinguished by its special transparency, purity and brightness of color. This is achieved not only by the purity of the materials used, but also by the high dispersity of the pigments, obtained by special grinding of the powders.

In cases where opacity or dullness of the paints is required, use a mixture of watercolor paints with the corresponding gouache paints or the paints are diluted in a soap solution.

Light ocher*

The paint is a cool tone, transparent, but somewhat dull in color. The great advantage of light ocher is that when it dries, it merges with the paper and becomes silky.

Light ocher is a highly light-resistant paint. Light fastness - 5 points**. It is not recommended to dilute ocher in iron dishes; this causes it to turn green.

Cadmium lemon

A specific feature of the paint is its dullness in any layer of paint in intensity, approaching gouache, although in terms of transparency and color saturation the paint is not similar to gouache Light fastness - 4 points.

Cadmium yellow

The paint is similar to cadmium lemon, but more transparent. Light fastness ‣‣‣- 5 points.

Natural sienna

The paint is yellow-brown. It should be noted that its properties are similar to light ocher, but has greater light saturation. Light fastness ‣‣‣- 5 points.

Golden yellow "LC"

It is an organic dye. The paint is very transparent, warm in tone. It spreads well on paper. The paint is silky. When adding grass green or blue FC to paint, you can get a shade of Indian yellow. Light fastness ‣‣‣- 4 points.

Cadmium orange

The texture of the paint is similar to that of cadmium lemon and yellow, but is more transparent than those of these paints. A specific feature of this paint is the occurrence of agglomeration (agglomeration - binding of pigment particles to each other) with an excess amount of water. Pigment agglomeration makes it difficult to paint evenly. To prevent it, you should use a small amount of water to dilute the paint. Light fastness - 5 points.

Red ocher

The red-brown paint is highly transparent; in thin layers gives a soft yellowish-brown tint; spreads easily on paper and washes off well. Light fastness ‣‣‣- 5 points.

Burnt sienna and iron red. .

Both red-brown intense paints differ from each other in that burnt sienna has a warm tone, and iron red has a cool tone, which is especially noticeable in the thinnest paints. Light fastness ‣‣‣- 5 points.

One of the very transparent intense bright red paints has a warm tone with a cinnabar tint. Please note that this paint quickly saturates the brush when diluted. You should work with scarlet paint carefully, since intensely colored fields of paint are difficult to wash off from the paper. Light fastness - 3 points

Kraplak red

One of the very intense red-crimson paints. This paint is applied to the brush quickly and spreads over the paper in an even layer. The applied paint is difficult to wash off from the paper. You should work with kraplak carefully. Light fastness - 3 points.

A very intense red-crimson paint, transparent, cooler in color than kraplak. It should be noted that in terms of its properties, carmine is logical to red kraplak. Light fastness - 3 points.

Kraplak purple

Purple-red paint. It should be noted that in its properties this paint is similar to red kraplak. Light fastness ‣‣‣- 2 points. Violet kraplak acquires a brown tone under the influence of ultraviolet rays. Light fastness ‣‣‣- 2 points.

Ultramarine

The paint is from the blue group, the warmest tone. Specific feature

ultramarine is its tendency to agglomerate when diluted with a small amount of water. In this regard, when working with ultramarine, it is recommended to dilute the paint with rain or distilled water, which somewhat reduces its agglomeration. Light fastness.-"3 points.

Cobalt blue

Freshly applied paint has a delicate blue color, the paint is not intense; spreads unevenly across the paper; when strongly diluted with water, it is prone to slight coagulation with the formation of flakes. Over time, cobalt blue (both in light and in a dark place) is prone to greening and darkening, which causes yellowing of the paper.

Blue “FC” (phthalocyanine)

Very intense blue paint cold tone. With a light touch of a damp brush with diluted paint, the latter is quickly applied to the brush; spreads evenly across the paper. When applying saturated layers, it is recommended to work carefully, as the paint is difficult to remove from the paper. Light fastness - 4 points.

Emerald green and green herbal

Very intense green paints, characterized by high transparency. The paints are different in color, but similar in their properties. Both spread well and blur on paper. Their specific feature is incomplete washability, and therefore you should work with these paints very carefully. Light fastness - 4 points.

Permanent green

Very rich bright green paint, the warmest of the group green paints. It has high transparency and spreads evenly across the paper; washes off paper well; The brush picks up paint quickly. Light fastness ‣‣‣-- 4 points.

Umber natural burnt umber

Natural umber - cold (tobacco) shade; burnt umber ‣‣‣ - warm (chocolate) shade. The paints are translucent; satisfactorily saturates the brush and washes off the paper satisfactorily. The color and texture are somewhat dull. Light fastness ‣‣‣- 5 points.

Mars is brown

The paint is warm in tone, but cooler than burnt umber. The paint is transparent and intense; spreads, blurs and washes off paper well. Light fastness ‣‣‣- 5 points.

A specific feature of this paint is its non-color change. In a saturated layer it is dark brown with a cold tint, in thin glaze layers it is brownish-gray, it is washed out and spreads well across the paper. Light fastness - 6 points.

Lemon hansa, yellow hansa, orange litol

All paints have a bright pure color, shades from lemon yellow to bright orange. The colors are intense, translucent, and easy to apply to the brush; spread over the paper in an even layer. Light fastness - 4 points.

Cinnabar (imitation)

The paint is very bright and clean, the color is ‣‣‣-orange-red; It lies evenly on the paper (without stripes or flakes), which makes it possible to blur it with transitions from intense to very weakly colored layers. The paint washes off the paper well, leaving barely noticeable marks. Light fastness - 4 points.

Pink nail polish

Bright pink paint of a cool shade, characterized by purity and richness in tone. The paint is intense, transparent, and easy to apply to the brush. When applied in a thin layer, it should be diluted with plenty of water. The paint is applied evenly to the primer and paper. When washed off the paper it leaves a mark. Light fastness - 3 points.

Tioindigo red

The color of the paint is close to light red kraplak, but differs from it in its greater warmth of tone; intense, transparent. Light fastness - 4 points.

Purple nail polish

Intense paint of a cold tone, translucent, easily washed out and spread evenly over the paper; When washed off the paper it leaves a faintly colored mark. Light fastness - 3 points.

Anthraquinone blue"

Transparent blue intense paint of a cool shade; blurs well and spreads across paper; washes off satisfactorily. Light fastness - 4 points.

Intense transparent paint, colors from a bluish-black tint in dense layers of paint to bluish-gray in thin layers. The paint is easy to apply to the brush; spreads evenly across the paper; washes off paper satisfactorily. Light fastness - 2 points.

Iron azure

Intense, bright transparent paint in a deep blue tone; clearly blurred and spread evenly across the paper. It is not washed off from paper satisfactorily and leaves a faintly colored mark. Light fastness - 2 points.

Tioindigo brown

Intense red-brown paint; transparent, washes out well on paper. In dense layers, paint is prone to agglomeration of pigment particles, but without delamination. When washed off with water, it leaves a faintly colored mark. Light fastness - 4 points.

Neutral black

The paint is highly transparent, but does not have excessive intensity of gas soot*; has greater color saturation in dense layers than burnt bone. It blurs, spreads and washes off the paper well. Light fastness - 3 points.

Gouache(from the French "gouache" - water paint) - paints, as well as works of art made with these paints.

Gouache, like watercolor, belongs to adhesive water-soluble paints, but its qualities differ sharply from watercolor, although its composition (dyes and binders) is almost the same as, for example, honey watercolor. A distinctive feature of gouache is that it is devoid of transparency. This property is associated with a significant amount (relative to the content of the binder) of pigment and filler. At the same time, for greater hiding power, many gouache paints contain white (lead, zinc, titanium, barite), which makes dried paint somewhat whitish and at the same time gives it a matte and velvety feel.

Gouache is available in two types: artistic and poster. The first is intended mainly for easel painting, the second - for design work. Poster gouache has greater covering power and color saturation, which is achieved by replacing zinc white with kaolin, which whitens the paint less and makes it more dense, rich and sonorous.

Gouache is packaged in plastic, glass and metal jars of different capacities. At the same time, in last years high-quality gouache appeared in tubes. Gouache is sold individually or in sets in cardboard boxes.

Gouache is an opaque, dense paint; As it dries, it acquires a matte velvety finish. Gouache can be used not only on paper, but also on primed (non-washable) canvas, fabric, cardboard, and plywood. Gouache consists of finely ground pigment, gum arabic binder, fruit gum, dextrin, glycerin, which serves as a plasticizer, a surfactant, which is a preparation of animal bile, alizarin oil and an antiseptic phenol.

The difference between watercolor and gouache is essentially that gouache includes a smaller amount of binder and a significant amount of pigment, in addition, for greater hiding power, many gouache paints contain white (lead, zinc, titanium or barite). This makes the dried paint somewhat whitish.

Gouache is mainly used by poster artists and graphic artists, as well as some easel painters. Gouache is widely used in decorative painting, when performing various sketches. It is often used for color sketches. Gouache is easy to use and, importantly, makes it possible to make corrections as you work. A medium-thick layer of paint dries from 30 minutes to 3 hours, depending on air humidity.

Poster gouache differs from artistic gouache in its greater covering power and color saturation, which is achieved by replacing zinc white with kaolin, which whitens the paint less and makes it more dense, rich and sonorous.

For decorative works and performance design, fluorescent gouache paints are produced. Οʜᴎ are a suspension of fluorescent pigments, where the binder is adhesives with the addition of plasticizers and antiseptics (pigments are solutions of dyes and luminophores in organic condensation resins). These paints have the ability to fluoresce under the influence of ultraviolet and visible violet, blue and green rays. As a result, the light reflected and emitted by the pigment contains significantly more yellow, orange and red rays than there are in incident daylight, due to which the brightness and saturation of the colors increases two to three times.

Fluorescent gouache has the property of increasing its brightness when exposed to artificial lighting - irradiation with ultraviolet rays; this is used for decorative effects in the dark.

Gouache fluorescent paints are diluted with water. These paints have low covering power, therefore it is recommended to apply them on a white substrate - white primer, paper, etc. which makes them brighter, while they are applied in a thin layer. When this gouache is mixed with regular gouache, the brightness decreases sharply.

Fluorescent gouache is used only for interior work.

The difficulty of working with gouache paints is that when drying they significantly change color and lightness. Lighten: chromium oxide, cadmium, cobalt, light ocher, golden ocher, emerald green; darken followed by lightening: ultramarine, specks, natural sienna, burnt sienna; darken: Hansa yellow, orange.

When working with gouache, to determine the color obtained as a result of its drying, they use pre-prepared colors (paints).

Gouache should be stored at room temperature, protecting it from freezing. Dried gouache paint is diluted with water, while it retains its quality characteristics

Based on light fastness, gouache is divided into three groups:

The 1st group, in turn, is divided into two subgroups - A and B. Subgroup A includes completely light-resistant paints (5 points), indicated by two red stars; to subgroup B - light-resistant paints (4 points), indicated by two black stars

2nd group - moderately light-resistant paints (3 points), indicated by one black asterisk.

Group 3 - slightly light-resistant paints (2 points). There are no stars on the label.

The gouache paints produced by our industry are mostly light-resistant.

Tempera(from the Latin "temperare" - to mix) - painting with paints, which precedes oil painting, has been the main type of painting for many centuries.

Tempera paints are prepared on the basis of binders, which are a natural or synthetic emulsion, which determines the type of tempera paint, egg, polyvinyl acetate, oil-casein, varnish-oil, etc.

Tempera paint occupies an intermediate position between glue (watercolor, gouache) and oil paints. Like adhesive paints, tempera paints are diluted with water, but unlike them, after drying, the resulting film is not dissolved by water. Tempera differs from oil paint in its faster drying time and, unlike gouache - the most opaque of all paints - is quite transparent in thin layers.

Tempera can be written on any substrate: wood, stone, primed and unprimed canvas, cardboard and paper.

Tempera paints combine well with almost all materials used in fine art, which makes them a very convenient and attractive material for both painting and design work.

Our industry produces two types of tempera paints: casein-oil and polyvinyl acetate (PVA).

Casein oil tempera is a water-soluble paint consisting of finely ground pigments, a binder (emulsion linseed oil in an aqueous solution of casein), emulsifier - alizarin oil, antiseptic - phenol.

When diluted with water, the quality of casein-oil tempera significantly deteriorates. In this case, cracking, peeling or chalking of paints may occur; therefore, removed paints are used to thin them. cow's milk, slightly diluted with water or a special casein-oil emulsion.

Like gouache, tempera changes its tone after drying.

The color scheme of works made with tempera is enhanced by applying one of the topcoat varnishes - pistachio, acrylic pistachio, dammar, etc.
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The varnish is diluted with pinene in a ratio of 1:1 (adding pinene reduces the shine of the varnish film).

Casein-oil tempera is sold in metal tubes, but its range is limited.

Polyvinyl acetate tempera- highly dispersed, paste-like water-based, quick-drying paint (1-2 hours in glaze (thin, transparent) layers and 3-4 hours in cabinet layers).

The PVA tempera binder consists of an aqueous emulsion, synthetic polyvinyl acetate resin with the addition of stabilizers and structuring agents.

These paints are diluted with water, they are more elastic and durable than casein-oil tempera. Distinctive feature PVA tempera - over time it does not turn yellow at all. Its disadvantages include the impossibility of using it with other water-soluble paints, since mixtures made with it do not spread well over the base, and the paints curdle.

The basis for working with polyvinyl acetate distemper is various materials: paper, cardboard, wood, concrete, glass, plaster, linoleum and a number of others. This explains its popularity, especially in decorative and applied arts.

As polyvinyl acetate tempera dries, it changes its color and tone.

When the tempera dries, the PVA becomes matte and the colors are slightly muted. To add sonority and richness to the color, PVA tempera is coated, just like casein-oil tempera, with one of the topcoat varnishes diluted with pinjene in a 1:1 ratio, but this leads to some darkening of the work.

Paints should be stored at room temperature and not below 0°C. Guaranteed shelf life 1 year.

Oil paints began to be used back in the 15th century and are currently the most commonly used in painting. They are prepared on the basis of mineral and organic dyes (finely ground powders), which have sufficient light resistance and a constant chemical composition. The binder is specially treated drying oils (usually linseed), from which the paints got their name. For whitewash and cold-color paints, a new penta-oil binder, obtained as a result of special processing of sunflower oil, has now begun to be used.

Oil paints have become so widespread due to a number of advantages compared to other paints. When dry, they do not darken or lighten, and they retain the brightness and color saturation both when applying body strokes and when glazing. Oil paints dry slowly, which allows you to make adjustments as you work, as well as achieve soft color and tonal transitions. The drying speed of paints depends on the type of pigment used (mineral or organic) and on its oil absorption. The use of some pigments speeds up the drying time (for example, lead white), while others, on the contrary, slow it down (kraplak, gas soot). The type of pigment used significantly affects the covering power of oil paints. Some pigments (white, cobalt, cadmium, black paint, chromium oxide, etc.), even in a thin layer, can cover the dried layers of the underlying paint. Other pigments that form paints (wolkonskite, yellow and orange mars), as well as all paints obtained on the basis of organic pigments, are transparent in a thin layer. They also differ in their intensity: blue and green FC, kraplak, even in small quantities, greatly change the color of any other paint, and volkonskoite, even in large quantities, will only contaminate the resulting color.

When working with oil paints, it is extremely important to remember what to mix various paints, without taking into account their chemical composition, is dangerous, as this can lead to the appearance of various defects (discoloration, fading, cracking, etc.) For example, paints made from mineral pigments should not be mixed with organic ones. In general, it is not recommended to create complex mixtures consisting of more than three colors.

Our industry produces two types of oil paints for painting: artistic and sketch.

Artistic paints are packaged in metal tubes of different capacities: 9 cm 3 - tube No. 3; 18 cm 3 - tube No. 6; 46 cm 3 - tube No. 10 - and are used mainly for painting.

Sketch paints are produced in tin or plastic cans and are used for sketching and decorative design work.

Acrylic paints appeared about 50 years ago and immediately became very popular. The success of these modern paints is due to their ease of use, versatility and quick drying. Acrylic paints dissolve in water, but after drying they become completely insoluble. They have a base of an aqueous suspension of non-yellowing synthetic resins, to which natural and synthetic coloring pigments, coalescent substances and stabilizers are added. At the same time, they are very resistant to chemical and physical influences. A characteristic feature of the paints is fast drying, good light fastness, flexibility, and elasticity. Acrylic paints adhere perfectly to any non-greasy surface: cardboard, paper, wood, plywood, plaster, faesite, clay, fabric. Can be applied with a brush, spatula, and when diluted, with an airbrush. Acrylic paints come in the most different colors and shades - from classic to fluorescent and pearlescent. Considering the speed of drying, you should close the paint immediately after work and wash the working tool. Various additives are produced for acrylic paints that slow down or speed up the drying process, and also give acrylic paints a shine, a matte appearance, like tempera, or a moiré effect, like watercolor (these additives are produced by the Spanish factory Ferrario and others.
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imported manufacturers Having many of the advantages of oil and watercolor paints, as well as a number of their own advantages, acrylic paints are versatile and easy to use. Whatever your painting preferences, it's worth trying acrylic paints. Οʜᴎ are based on plastic synthetic resin and can produce both the most exquisite glazes and the dense texture of painting.

Brushes with synthetic bristles are ideal for acrylic paints; brushes made of nylon are also quite suitable - natural bristles swell with moisture and become brittle.

Another difficulty when working with acrylic is color. The polymer binder has a semi-matte, milky tint; therefore, in the liquid state, the paint is lighter than after drying. You need to take this discrepancy into account when imagining what the color will be like in the future.

Acrylic paints have less shine than oil. To add or enhance their shine, it is extremely important to use a gel medium. It is a pure polymer binder that, when mixed with paint, adds gloss, creates transparency and slows down the drying process. There are also:

‣‣‣ gel for diluting acrylic and giving it better fluidity and spreadability;

‣‣‣ thickening gel that creates the effect of the corpus writing technique.

‣‣‣ A huge variety of means by which an artist can achieve convenience in working with acrylic paints.

CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF WATER COLOR PAINTS - concept and types. Classification and features of the category "CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF WATER COLOR PAINTS" 2017, 2018.

The very first colors that our children become acquainted with are far from the proud title of “watercolors”. Our child receives a small cute plastic box with 6-8 bright colors under a transparent lid and a terrible plastic brush inside, which is easier to spread glue on cardboard than to create masterpieces. Meanwhile, watercolor paints were also known in Ancient China, and in Egypt, and in Rome and Greece, however, they were used for the most part not for their intended purpose, but for writing and graphic illustrations for the text, then for makeup, and only then for drawing.

Painting with watercolors, as such, arose much later, only in late XVIII century. At the beginning of the 19th century, it finally took shape as an independent art form and began to be considered a subject of passion for select people who could afford to spend hours mastering this art. complex technology drawing.

The name of the technique is directly dependent on the moisture content of the paper on which the drawing is applied. Thus, the “English watercolor” technique is performed on wet paper, while the “Italian” technique is performed “dry”. The combination of these techniques produces truly beautiful works where soft color transitions outlined by strict boundaries of a different translucent tone.

A la Prima – quick writing on a wet field, creating unique streak effects, flowing from one color to another, with multi-colored tints and a transparent “glass” background. This technique requires a refined sense of color and compositional solution, because written in one session - the possibility of any corrections is excluded. This is a single layer technique.

Multilayer involves the art of glazing - a method of applying watercolor paints with translucent strokes, darker ones on lighter ones (and vice versa), already dried layers. In glazing, strokes rarely mix, often even the boundaries of the stroke itself are visible, but the gap of the paper must remain and the top color is not necessarily the same shade as the previous one.

It's just general concepts about a variety of techniques and “sub-techniques” that are accessible and understandable to artists who have chosen watercolor as their muse. But while this is still not available to the young “Michelangelo” - your child, he only has to learn how to mix colors for the chosen drawing, how to choose the appropriate brush and technique, how to find his own style of writing, so that his works can be recognized “by the hand of the master.” ”, and they knew the paintings “by sight”.

Over time, he will begin to understand paints and canvases, the tonalities of different strokes according to the degree of humidity different parts paper, etc., etc., but first he just needs to buy good watercolor paints in 12 colors of any brand you like.

On video: checking watercolor paints for quality.

Domestic watercolor

Let’s put aside the art paints for children with 6 ditches and a brush that bristles in all directions, shamelessly called a “painting brush.” Let's take a closer look at the products of OJSC Gamma (Moscow) and ZHK (Artistic Paints Plant) Nevskaya Palitra (St. Petersburg).

“Gamma” is a very good watercolor for the first steps into the world of art, but up to the level professional paints she still falls short, although she is listed as such.

But St. Petersburg watercolors are a real legend from the times of the USSR. Names such as “Sonnet”, “Neva”, “Ladoga”, “White Nights” sound like music to the ears of watercolor artists who have been familiar with bright, beautiful flowers in mini containers. This is not only the widest range color palette, this is the highest quality product!

The watercolors in the “Ladoga” set are marked as professional paints and for professional training.

“Sonnet” and “White Nights” are suitable for both cool sharks and a child to get acquainted with the canons watercolor painting. The paints are characterized by excellent miscibility and economical use.

The cuvette containers themselves are completely filled, a film with the correct names of colors in two languages ​​is placed on top, which will help the child immediately learn the name of the paint in Russian and English. 12 or 16 colors are enough for the first lessons, 36 is a lot and expensive, but it is best to purchase set of 24 cuvettes. Of course, even from 12 colors you can get a fairly large number of beautiful mixed colors with different shades, but choosing 24 will be optimal, and the price won’t hurt your pocket.

In principle, no matter which of the St. Petersburg sets you like, you won’t go wrong: they are all similar to each other, they all have bright, decorative colors, and the pigments are generally the same. The only difference is the price. It is also convenient that any of the used cuvettes can be easily replaced by purchasing exactly the same one separately from the set and inserting it into the vacant slot.

Advice! Do not throw away empty cuvette trays! They will come in handy more than once to the young artist for storage mixed colors, which he will learn to compose himself.

Foreign analogues

Is there an alternative to St. Petersburg watercolors? Eat. Since we have decided on a Russian manufacturer, let’s see what watercolors our “foreign friends” offer us:

• Holland.

It is famous not only for its tulips, but also for the amazing Van Gogh watercolors produced by the Royal Talens factory. The name of this artist should signify high quality paints, and this fully justifies its name. Considering the considerable age of the brand and its steadfastness in the art products market, there is no doubt about the quality of these painting paints.

The VG brand produces pastels, paper, canvases, brushes and pencils. All paints can be either in cuvettes or in tubes (tubes).

Holland can offer another line of Royal Talens - watercolor, oil and acrylic paints Rembrandt (Rembrandt). This is the oldest brand, known since 1899, like wine - the older, the better taste(quality). This is truly a cult brand!

Produces Royal Talens and Ecoline liquid watercolors in branded square bottles.

• Germany.

It is famous for the brand of “Florentine production” - watercolors, oils, acrylics of natural and synthetic composition Da Vinci (Da Vinci). The paints are available in two sets: for professionals and beginning artists – study. But German brushes, which are made by hand from kolinsky fur, sable, arctic fox and ox bristles, have received special recognition. There are also synthetic analogues. If you have the opportunity to choose brushes, then choose them. These are the best of the best!

Among German brands, Schmincke paints are clearly the leaders - AKADEMIE® Aquarell watercolor paints (premium class). They are created according to old, one might say, family recipes. But we won’t dwell on them - the price of $130 for one cuvette does not scare off only professionals.

• France.

Presented by the Sennelier company, founded by Gustave Sennelier in 1887. Sennelier paints could well have been used by Picasso, Cezanne, Gauguin and Van Gogh himself. The company produces professional art watercolors Sennelier Artists for high professionals (another name is “L’aquarelle”) in 98 (!) colors and watercolors of a lower class - “Raphael” (Raphael). However, regardless of the class, both paints are made only on natural bases, in particular honey.

• England.

Of course, she could not stay away, and since 1832 she has been producing fantastic quality products from the Winsor & Newton company - art paints (watercolor, oil, acrylic) "Winsor & Newton" (Winsor & Newton). The triumphant march of products began with the union of the professional interests of the artist Henry Newton and the chemist William Winsor.

As is customary in many other companies, winsor newton “W&N” watercolor paint is available in two classes: “Winsor & Newton cotman” - for general works, and “Winsor&Newton artist” - for creating highly artistic watercolors. The company is also famous for its products for graphics and calligraphy. My head is spinning from the variety of watercolor delights!

Which is better to choose?

Let's conduct a small comparative casting between the most popular brands. The casting for the right to be called “The Best Watercolor Set for Beginners” includes:

• "White Nights" - BN.

• "Winsor & Newton Cotman" - W&N.

• "Van Gogh" - VG.

The palettes of all sets are bright, juicy, rich, grains are not noticeable (high-quality grinding of pigments), which means there will be no residue. When VG paper is tightly coated, the paint surface begins to shine slightly, as if covered with a thin film of varnish. Neither BN nor W&N give such an effect.

However, there is no purple in the VG set, but the heavenly shade of blue and blue is beyond praise! You will have to buy purple (from another brand) or mix it from existing colors.

Washing is used to remove the base coating (paint) from paper with a damp or wrung-out brush on the wet layer at the artist’s request. All three watercolors are easily removed, leaving behind only a faint tint - part of the pigment.

Let's try a color-to-color transition. VG watercolors have a smooth transition and blending is easy, without harshness or mud. BN gets stuck in the structure of grainy paper, and W&N demonstrates the same thing. It's not a disaster. When changing the paper field, everything goes like clockwork!

W&N paints have a less saturated green than BN and VG. To get the proper color, you have to apply the paint thicker - it is better to replace the cuvette with a tray from another set.

All three candidates, even when heavily washed out by water, showed high light fastness (the design will not fade), brightness of the coloring pigment and good transparency. All three shades are soft and interact well with each other (good mixing), high degree of viscosity. Comments on BN - they are inferior in terms of the fineness of the composition, but are significantly ahead of their “rivals” in terms of ease of application with a brush and in creating dark, deep, mesmerizing shades in the process of mixing paints.

It turns out that the process of buying a good watercolor for a child is delayed: each of the applicants is good in their own way and each has its own specific shortcomings. So what to do? Buy your child any desired set that he likes. Let him choose!

Make sure that the set contains the basic watercolor colors: cadmium yellow, orange, cadmium red, ocher, iron oxide red, kraplak (carmine), green, blue, ultramarine, emerald and burnt umber (black). The rest can be purchased separately, regardless of brands.

And - paper! The paper is very important point! It is no less important than the watercolor itself and the brushes for working with this paint. Those who have been painting with watercolors for a long time claim that 50% of success depends not on the composition or brand of paints, but on the chosen paper. Choose paper with a well-defined grain structure. Watercolor paper does not have to be perfectly smooth. Never!

Comparison of watercolors White Nights, Van Gogh and Sennelier (1 video)