During a 2011 interview with the British newspaper The Guardian, contemporary British painter George Thomas Shaw described Payne’s Gray as “the color of English rain” (1). This simple characterization delineates the essence of a color that nearly every painter knows. And yet, most artists could not tell you who William Payne was or what pigments … Read more
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Archive | watercolor
From its introduction, QoR offered three shimmery shiny special effect colors in tube format: Iridescent Pearl, Iridescent Silver, and Iridescent Gold. The summer of 2022, QoR added three Interference paints available in the “Reflective” six pan set: Interference Violet, Interference Blue, and Interference Green. The original three Iridescent watercolors are also part of this half … Read more
Introduction When QoR Modern Watercolor was introduced to the painting world in 2014, we were so delighted with the color intensity and workability that we overlooked introducing the mediums and additives that were an integral part of the introduction of the line. So although six years later, we hope to make up for that neglect … Read more
Editor’s Note: Added April 26, 2022 For some time, our recommendation for artists using oils over acrylic has been to work over harder, matte acrylic surfaces and avoid working on softer gels and gloss products. Our intention was to optimize the level of adhesion that would be achieved on a toothier surface as well as … Read more
Whether your QoR mini needs a refill, or you wish to use QoR colors in your tried-and-true travel palette, QoR tube paints work beautifully in pans and half pans. Due to QoR’s modern formula, the dry tube paint will re-wet easily and provide the intense saturation or quiet subtlety expected of a QoR watercolor. We … Read more
Introduction: If you seek an easy way to take watercolors on plein air painting adventures, the QoR mini with its half pans of luscious watercolors is awaiting your brush! The QoR mini is a travel set that provides twelve half pans of dry QoR Modern Watercolor paints in a small closeable metal palette ready for on-site or studio … Read more
The description “earth pigment” originally indicated both a natural material mined from the earth, and ancient iron oxide colors dominated by browns, tans, golden yellows, and rusty oranges. These are the painters’ traditional Sienna, Ochre, and Umber color families. Natural pigments now have synthetic siblings that greatly expand the earth color family. Synthetic iron oxides … Read more
When painting on watercolor paper with transparent watercolor, the paper often buckles and stays that way once the painting is dry. This article offers one possible way to flatten the paper using a temporary ‘paper press.’ This method is appropriate for paintings composed of thinly applied glazes and washes of transparent watercolor on paper, and … Read more
This article briefly explores the permanent changes created by varnishing transparent watercolor on paper, in particular the aesthetic changes to color, value, texture, and sheen. Keep in mind that varnishing also changes the nature of the painting through the permanent addition of acrylic. While there are several approaches to varnishing watercolor, we only focused on … Read more
The March 2016 article “Painting on Location with QoR Modern Watercolors” included a suggested palette of six QoR paints selected for their own attributes and for their ability to create a spectrum of beautiful saturated colors. This article will first discuss the selection process, and then demonstrate the paints’ mixing potential when organized around an … Read more