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    SCHMINCKE HORADAM AND AKADEMIE® AQUARELL WATERCOLOUR SETS

    Discover one the the finest brands of watercolour in the world: Schmincke, available in HORADAM® AQUARELL  artist quality sets and AKADEMIE® Aquarell student quality boxes.

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    Watercolours are also called “aquarelles” (aqua = Latin for water). They are composed of finely triturated pigments, a binder such as gum arabic, and a small proportion of wetting agent. They are soluble in water and remain so after drying. 

    Watercolour painting is one of the most popular painting techniques. It fascinates beginners as well as professionals and the wide range of options create ever more challenges to choose new subjects. In addition to traditional techniques such as wet-on-wet and glazing painting, more modern mixed media techniques are also gaining popularity in watercolour painting. A large number of watercolour mediums extends the range of use by many creative techniques on different grounds. Special watercolour fixatives finally ensure that the watercolours are not only protected but also retain their colour strength and brilliance. 

    Watercolours can be easily mixed with each other. A wide range of colours can be mixed just with the useful collection of colours in the Schmincke 12 set, but of course also with an individually chosen selection of colours. Due to the high number of single and double-pigment colours, mixtures produce colours of exceptional brilliance and purity. 

    High-quality working materials are another important factor in addition to high-quality colours. The brushes and papers used should be of the best quality from the start. Although high-quality materials cannot guarantee any masterpieces, without them if is almost impossible to achieve good results, brilliance, lightfastness and durability.   

    The Schmincke Aquarell range consists of:

    • HORADAM® AQUARELL  
    • AKADEMIE® Aquarell 

     HORADAM® AQUARELL

    Painting boxes

    The extensive paint box assortment contains everything demanding watercolour painters need, from the small travel box to the classic metal boxes in various configurations, numerous "supergranulation sets" (in half pans, 5- and 15-ml tubes) to elegant, richly equipped wooden boxes.

    Finest artists' watercolours

    • Pans poured 4 times in liquid state for highest yield
    • Same colour recipes for pans and tubes
    • High control of paint flow - even on soft watercolour papers
    • Fully reusable paint when dried on a palette
    • Quality assortment "Made in Germany"
    • Selected Gum arabic as binder and natural oxgall as traditional wetting agent

    Unique pigments for comprehensive colouristics

    Many colours within the range are characterised by special pigments, such as perylenes or quinacridones, or provide a perfect complement to the wide assortment due to their transparent, particularly glazing or especially luminous character.
    Some examples are:

    Quinacridones: With these highly lightfast pigments, the Quinacridone range contains 9 colours, some are evident from the name, e.g. Quinacridone red light, and some are recognisable from the pigment (e.g. ruby red or madder brown).

    Perylenes: This special series contains 4 colours formulated with new, highly lightfast perylene pigments (perylene maroon, perylene green, perylene dark red and perylene violet).

    Transparent iron oxides: Here, the 3 transparent colours transparent ochre, transparent Sienna and transparent umbercomplement the opaque colour spectrum of the iron oxides. Due to the very hard nature of the transparent pigments, which are complex to process, these colours are very rare.

    Liquid poured pans

    With the time-consuming liquid pouring of HORADAM® AQUARELL into half and whole pans, Schmincke creates an unusual and unique quality aspect. The liquid watercolour is poured into the pans in 4 stages, each with a drying time of several weeks. The result is a highly concentrated, maximum-yield watercolour that is easy to pick up and paint with a damp brush.

    Selected Gum arabic

    A key ingredient in artists' watercolours is Kordofan Gum arabic from the arid zones south of the Sahara. Like most natural products, this classic watercolour binder is subject to annual fluctuations. That is why Schmincke tests all available charges every time buying Gum arabic and selects only the best charges of the respective vintage. This brings small but noticeable quality advantages. The special method of purifying the natural product is also important. The other recipe ingredients are also carefully selected accordingly and, of course, used individually in each recipe to achieve a harmonious quality assortment that is consistently easy to pick up with a brush.

    HORADAM® AQUARELL supergranulating sets!

    Supergranulating colours are watercolours with a special property: the combination of at least 2 granulating HORADAM®pigments intensifies this effect to "supergranulation". The colours are formulated with pigments from different colour ranges, resulting in additional colour changes besides the granulation effect. For example, the shade "Deep Sea Indigo" (14 952) is a combination of violet and green pigments, while "Glacier Brown" (14 965) contains a brown and a green pigment. This novel, natural structure formation of the colours varies depending on the paper and the amount of water used. The rougher the paper, the stronger the granulating effect.

    The 40 supergranulating colours are divided into 8 thematic series of 5 colours sets available in 5ml tube sets and 15ml tube wooden box sets.

    • Deep Sea,
    • Glacier,
    • Galaxy,
    • Forest,
    • Tundra,
    • Volcano,
    • Shire and
    • Desert.

    All supergranulating HORADAM® AQUARELL colours have exclusively 4 and 5 stars lightfastness and contain only pigments already known from HORADAM®. The opacity of the colours is predominantly semi-transparent / semi-opaque. All supergranulating colours can be used on their own and perfectly in combination with all 139 HORADAM® AQUARELL watercolours as well as all AKADEMIE® Aquarell watercolours.

     

    AKADEMIE® Aquarell

    • Fully reusable, even when dried on a palette 
    • Attractive sets in various sizes, with half and full pans

    The basis range of AKADEMIE® Aquarell includes colours designed for students, comprising 24 highly concentrated watercolours (mostly 4 and 5 star lightfastness). High-quality artists' pigments and an optimum binder combination (natural gum arabic) guarantee brilliant mixtures and good applicability, even on softer watercolour papers. The sets include small and full pans in different compositions.

    AKADEMIE® Aquarell colours can be mixed and combined with HORADAM® watercolours as well as all AQUA mediums of Schmincke.

    Frequently Asked Questions:

    Are Schmincke watercolors worth it? For watercolour paint of the highest artistic calibre, this product is totally worth the cost.

    Are Schmincke paints good? There's no denying that these are stunning watercolours that have been expertly crafted. Many of Schmincke's colours are beautiful and have a soft, ethereal quality to them that I adore.

    What is the difference between Schmincke Horadam and Akademie? Because of the higher pigment concentration, Horadam pans will last longer and go further than Akademie pans. Artist quality is more easily diluted than student quality. We must emphasise that Akademie is still an excellent paint for serious beginners.

    Which brand of watercolor is best? Some of the best watercolour set brands include Schmincke Horadam Aquarell, Daniel Smith, and Sennelier, a popular French brand that also sells more professional watercolours.

    Why are Schmincke watercolors so expensive? In short because they deliver stunning results, last longer and give you brighter mixes than the crappy sets you find on Amazon or at Michael’s and Hobby Lobby. German-born Schmincke is a 130-year-old brand. Schmincke's pricey watercolours are so expensive because to their durability and sustainability attributes. They also routinely improve the quality and manufacturing procedures for their products.

    Where is Schmincke watercolor made? Germany

    Are Schmincke Watercolours lightfast? They are liquid, pigment based, highly lightfast, water-soluble, ready-to-use as well as water-thinnable watercolour.

    Who has the best prices in Canada on HORADAM® AQUARELL sets? Endeavours & ThinkPlay has the best prices in Canada on all Schmincke watercolour sets

    Who offers free shipping to Canadians on Schmincke watercolours? Endeavours ships Canada-wide with free delivery to Canadian watercolorists coast to coast.

    Who has the new Schmincke watercolour sets in Canada? Endeavours Art Supply keeps Canadians supplied with the newest AKADEMIE® Aquarell and HORADAM® AQUARELL sets

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