In September of last year, I was able to snag two tubes of QoR’s YInMn Blue. Several years ago, I learned about the fascinating history of the pigment and was hoping that I could get my hands on it someday. Thank you, QoR, for making my dreams come true.
The interesting story of this new blue pigment began in a lab at Oregon State University. It was discovered by accident by chemists who were working on an unrelated project. It took several years for companies to start producing artists’ paints because the materials (Yttrium, Indium and Manganese) are expensive to procure. An Artnet article explains the history in more detail if you are interested.
Fast forward to 2020 — QoR announces that they are producing a limited quantity of YInMn Blue watercolor, acrylic, and oil paints. As soon as the announcement was made, I called them to reserve 2 tubes. It took a couple months, but they finally showed up at my doorstep.
As far as I know, they are still producing the color in small batches. It is not available in stores, so if you are interested you have to contact QoR directly. You can call them at 800-959-6543 to try to order. The tubes are a little pricey ($14 for a 5ml tube), but they are worth it.
In future posts, I will share my thoughts on the paint but in the meantime, here is a swatch so you can see how beautiful it is.
If you are going to try to get some from QoR, I wish you the best of luck! I heard the waiting list is long, but it’s worth it!
The Color Chronicles 
I put my name on their list for this pigment awhile back, but I’m thinking that I need to call them instead.
How does the QoR watercolor version perform? I’ve got some of the other QoR watercolor paints and find most of them very difficult to control due to the Aquazol binder, as they instantly bloom across the full width of any wet surface, like a wash or other colors that have already been laid down on the paper.
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It performs the generally same way as other QoR watercolors, except this one is much more granulating. Since the pigment particles are so large and heavy, it seems to slow down the dispersion a bit.
I was watching a Daniel Smith video a couple weeks ago, and the owner said they made a YInMn prototype paint. They aren’t sure if they want to sell it commercially because the pigment is so expensive. I hope they do because I prefer them to QoR. It would be nice to try this color in a paint that uses a traditional binder.
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Interesting. I’m guessing that it will behave similarly to their Cobalt Violet then, because that color is very granulating as well.
Cobalt Violet is the only QoR color that I’ve kept in my primary palette, as I find that the Aquazol binder is actually an improvement over other brands without it. For some reason, the PV14 and PV49 pigments not only granulate on paper, but they clump on the brush like my wife’s mascara — regardless of brand and type of binder (gum arabic, honey, etc.). But the QoR version of PV49 with the Aquazol binder actually behaves more like a typical Daniel Smith or Schmincke paint with gum arabic binder — certainly an improvement. As an aside, Cobalt Violet is one color I absolutely love and always keep in my primary palette, because it’s utterly unique — it cannot be mixed from any other colors.
I know that Daniel Smith sent one of their prototype YInMn tubes to Jane Blundell (https://www.janeblundellart.com/my-palettes.html), which you can read about on her site. I think that she said it washes out to a thin gray, rather than a light blue. I, too, would pay money to try it from Daniel Smith for the experience of using it with gum arabic.
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Cobalt Violet has a permanent place on my palette as well for the reason you mentioned. The QoR version has been on my wish list, but I’ve been holding off, as I am not fond of the inorganic binder. I’m going to purchase it now based on your description.
I’ve been collecting different brands of Cobalt Violet and after I get a few more I’ll do a swatch comparison. I’m especially interested in the Holbein version because it uses PV47 instead of PV49.
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I’ve got the Holbein version of Cobalt Violet; it’s bluer than the Daniel Smith or QoR versions. I’ve got the M. Graham version too, but it just *doesn’t* want to dry in a half-pan, so I can’t use it in my field kit.
So far I’m really pleased with the QoR Cobalt Violet, but I haven’t had it for as long as all of the other versions — so it hasn’t stood the test of time yet.
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Hey Anna — I just received written confirmation via email that Schmincke is going to do a limited edition run of YInMn Blue as one of their Horadam watercolors sometime in the future (date yet TBD). Probably a 5ml tube, like many of their limited edition pigments are — but I still plan on buying it.
Just thought I’d let you know!
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