Introducing…Schmincke’s YInMn Blue!

Schmincke just released a limited-edition YInMn Blue watercolor. The only drawback? A very hefty price tag. A 5ml tube will set you back $33 (or $23, if you are able to order from Jackson’s). In the US, there are seemingly only two retailers from which you can purchase: St. Louis Art Supply and Jackson’s. However, at the time I wrote this, Jackson’s was out of stock and only UK customers were permitted to reserve a tube.

This is a quick post to share my first impressions and compare it to the QoR version that was available in 2020 to early 2021. QoR has since run out of their limited supply but, according to their website, they will offer it again when they get more pigment from the manufacturer.

YInMn blue has been described as being in the middle of cobalt and ultramarine. Schmincke’s leans more toward cobalt. It’s granulating, but the pigment particles are smaller than QoR’s. In a pan, it dries a bit gummy and it’s not as easy to reactivate as other Schmincke watercolors.

Schmincke’s YInMn Blue swatched on Arches cold press.

QoR’s YInMn Blue leans more toward ultramarine than cobalt. It is heavily granulating and has a higher pigment load than the Schmincke version.

QoR’s YInMn Blue swatched on Arches cold press.

A side-by-side comparison highlights the differences between the two versions.

Wet-on-wet swatched on Arches cold press.

The difference in color is also apparent when dried in pans.

As a side note, YInMn Blue has been assigned a pigment number: PB86.

Stay tuned for a more detailed post. I’m planning to swatch this next to cobalts and ultramarines to see how it compares.

Sneak Peek – Albrecht Durer Watercolor Pencils

I’ve been spending all my free time testing my new Faber-Castell Albrecht Dürer Watercolor Pencils. I’m going to write a longer review but I wanted to share some pictures of my tests.

*Activated pencils on Canson Watercolor XL.*

The Search for the Best Colored Pencil Paper: Part 4 – Stonehenge Hot Press

It’s no secret that Stonehenge is one of my favorite brands of paper. There’s good reason for that – they make high-quality, affordable products. There are also many varieties to choose from with each option coming in a variety of sizes.

Since I primarily make tiny art, I always search for the smallest pads I can find. Legion has many of their products available in mini-sizes. This pad of hot press is 2.5″ by 3.75″ which is slightly bigger than Strathmore Artist Trading Cards. These pads are perfect if you work on a small scale.

I want to spend some time with my set of oil-based Faber-Castell Polychromos colored pencils, so this test of Stonehenge Hot Press only pertains to those.

From the very first pass, I knew I was going to love it. It has the perfect amount of texture for the oil-based pencils, which excel on a medium-tooth surface. Even though I didn’t try wax-based pencils on Stonehenge Hot Press yet, I anticipate it to be a good substrate for those as well.

The Verdict: this an excellent choice for Polychromos colored pencils (and Faber-Castell Albrecht Durer Watercolour Pencils, which I will discuss in a separate review).

*Closeup* *of burnished color. I used a wax-based Caran d’Ache* *blending stick and a felt burnisher.*

Caran d’Ache Neocolor II Swatches

Caran d’Ache products are the crème de la crème of art supplies. Any item they manufacture – whether it be colored pencils, water-soluble pencils, graphite sticks, etc. – is a shining jewel in an art supply collector’s studio.

I was introduced to the brand while meandering through my local art store and stumbling upon a giant open-stock display of Neocolor II water-soluble wax pastels. At the time, I had no idea how to use them, but the vibrant colors beckoned to me. I picked up a tin and went to my studio.

There was a bit of a learning curve. Actually, I’m still learning different techniques. Today, though, I just felt like coloring, so I did some swatches.

I used Arches Rough Watercolor Paper which turned out to be an excellent choice. Because the paper is so toothy, I only needed to make a light pass to get adequate coverage for filling in the squares.

Eventually, I’m going to cut these out and put them in my scrapbook.

First Page of my Scrapbook — DONE!

I finished the first page of my scrapbook over the weekend! The most fun part of this project is choosing the right piece of scrap to make an interesting composition.

This scrap on Arches Rough was a tester of Sennelier Indanthrene Blue mixed with Paul Rubens glitter paint and Finetec Iridescent Paint. The background is a wash of Mission Gold Indigo and Sap Green, with a little bit of Daniel Smith Mars Yellow. It looks moody, like tears, and I thought it was an apt way to start my scrapbook. I suffer from depression and art is very therapeutic for me. I don’t want the whole project to display my sadness—I want to keep it upbeat and colorful—but I do want it to be a true representation of who I am.

Anyway, here it is! I was really impressed with how the page of the Ranger Dylusions Flip Journal held up to the watercolor wash.

Search for the Best Colored Pencil Paper: Part 3 – Legion Stonehenge Aqua Cold Press

Full disclosure: I love every single Stonehenge paper product I’ve tried. They are perfection, plain and simple. The Aqua Cold Press is no exception.

*Available in pads, blocks, and sheets.*

In Part 1 of my search for the best colored pencil paper, I described the differences between the 4 brands of colored pencil I’m using in my test: Caran d’Ache Luminance, Caran d’Ache Pablo, Faber-Castell Polychromos, and Prismacolor Premier Soft Core. The differences between the properties of pencils affect the way they will perform on the paper, so it’s worth a quick read if you aren’t familiar with the pencils.

Before I did a more methodical test, I just wanted to play a bit with gradients of my two favorite pencils: Luminance (wax-based) and Polychromos (oil-based). They both preformed exceptionally well, however Luminance applied more smoothly. It’s worth noting that the scraps I used were trimmed from the edges of a watercolor I was working on and, despite being banged up, they still easily accepted thick layers of color.

*Left: Caran d’Ache Luminance; Right: Polychromo*s

Then I moved on to test all four of the brands I mentioned above. From left to right, the colors I used are as follows:

Polychromos – Rose Madder Lake
Polychromos – Skyblue
Prismacolor – Lilac
Luminance – Spring Green
Pablo – Orange *
Luminance –Anthraquinoid Pink
Luminance – Light Malachite Green
Pablo – Lemon Yellow
Prismacolor – Non-Photo Blue
Polychromos – Dark Cadmium Yellow

*I snagged the paper with a sharp pencil point on the 5th square. Despite it looking like a total mess right after it happened, I was able to use some Gamsol mineral spirits to smooth out the color.

The Verdict

Stonehenge Aqua Cold Press is an excellent choice for both oil and wax based colored pencils. I slightly preferred the wax-based pencils to the oil-based pencils, because they allowed a couple more layers of coverage. The application is velvety-smooth even after several layers of color have been added. There was virtually no wax bloom to speak of. This paper is at the top of my list for both watercolor AND colored pencil projects.

Here is a 🟢 BONUS DOT 🟢 showing 1) light, 2) medium, 3) heavy, and 4) burnished Polychromos application.