Always fun to see these. It does drive home what good quality paints can do, and I never fail to be impressed with Paul Rubens. When I cut my strips for testing, I make an X on the back over the cutting line. That way I can tell which edges go back together. It’s surprisingly hard to tell sometimes!
I’m glad the Sennelier paints did well, especially the opera rose! It’s great seeing them all after two years, and seeing how the different brands have fared. Paul Rubens are some paints I would definitely like to get after seeing how well they’ve held up.
I love how you imagine Etchr is dutifully conducting lightfastness tests. Even Schmincke doesn't really do good ones! As far as I know, Golden is the only company to test their own paints WELL. Most companies just use the ancient ASTM tests which weren't even done on watercolor, thus the discrepancies.
Thank you! Many artists do 1-2-3 month tests, but yours is very, VERY rare and needed. Thank you for your patience and for sharing these results with us!
I painted two large watercolor paintings for my mother with Windsor and Newton Cotman in 1994, I compared the colors in the original set,yes 1994, and all colors look the same. To be honest I changed the alizaine crimson with the pro color rose from W&N. Another painting with the Royal Talens Van Gogh colors were also perfect and that one dated from 1995. All paintings receive direct sunlight for a few hours a day.
Quite informative test. I was expecting the Himi Miya to fail. The schpirrer farben is to be avoided but not the Paul Rubens'. Have a great week, Miranda.
This was great. An excellent display of patience 😊. I’m so glad i didn’t buy the Sch-Far when the more affordable paints first began showing up. And so many brands are the same. It’s disappointing because with all the $’s spent on the Pretty Excellent (I still have one as backup and am not sorry, they’re good), etc brands that came out, you could have bought Holbein or Daniel Smith or M Graham at full price, and if you went with DaVinci you could have gotten even more. Enjoyed this, and those adorable paws, sigh 😊. Thank you.
😻😸 Thanks for the update, these videos are really useful. I did some tests on my own but gave up after a year because I moved and lost the testing conditions.
I found a strip of 14 month old colour blobs and smears from a set of 18 acrylic paints. At first all seemed fine until I looked closely at the yellow which was all blob and no smear, the smear has practically disappeared. When I compared them to their unexposed counterparts I realised that light green has darkened and dark green now looks almost identical to the viridian next to it. No pigment names are listed but I'm pretty sure the culprit in all cases is hansa yellow PY1. It's mixed in with greens to lighten and make leafier colours so of course when it fades the greens look darker and more bluish. From my research by the way, the 3 main culprits for fugitive colour in cheap paint are PR21, PO13 and PY1. I'm learning to paint with acrylics although I do water them into washes or mix with acrylic inks a lot for watercolour like effects. In the beginning of course I bought quite a lot of bargainaceous craft paints, although my cutoff point quality wise has always been not to buy anything where pigments are not listed. I broke this rule in the very beginning, but I never do now. I know a lot of people seem content for their art to remain in sketchbooks but I'm not. I have always wanted some gorgeous art on my walls so I'm painting that art myself. I think if something's worth doing it's worth doing in colours that will last!
@@MirandaWatsonArt Thank you. PY1 seems to be by far the worst culprit, it's in so many cheap ready-mixed colours. I've got 2 craft acrylic sets which I still use but more cautiously. I had to go out and replace my bargain reds, oranges and yellows with better pigments. I got 4x120ml tubes so about 4ounces each from Cassart London. For anyone who's in London it's a physical store with internet prices, well worth a visit. I got 4x120mls in primary red PR5, PR122; primary yellow PY74; cad yellow hue PY74, PY83; and cad orange hue PY74, PR5 all for £10 so just over $12. Plus some Daler System 3 fluid acrylic in 30ml tubes for about £2.75 each. A big reason I'm learning pigments is so when the time comes I can mix my own. Nearly every bright(ish) leafy garden green is a pthalo green PG7 and bright hansa yellow PY3 mixture just in differing proportions. Knowing this gives me far more confidence to mix my own. A lot of the "painting" I do is really black ink sketches with dabs of colour spread so thin it's not worth mixing such tiny quantities most of the time. But I'm seriously planning to decorate my house with an art collection on every wall so one day soon I expect I'll be mixing my own (fully lightfast) colours like there's no tomorrow!🖌️🎨
@@ZadenZane I want to use acrylic paints for my really big canvases as well, so it sounds like it might be a good idea to do a lightfast test in the paints I have first. Whew. Just in time!
Miranda! Your cats!😂😂😂 Always want the camera ❤ they are pretty cute. I’ve always advocated for Paul Rubens-so happy to see they held up so well to our Colorado sun! Woohoo🎉🎉
OMG Clicked so fast!!!!! It's funny, you thought so many of them faded before the comparsion. I wonder if it's the faded sharpie that's making you think that! Maybe I will use pencil when I finally do this
Great project, super helpful. The only suggestion I want to leave, if I may, is to swatch colours in a gradient from masstone to diluted. I was shoked when I saw some colours stay perfect in masstone and nearly disapear when diluted or mixed. Since we mix paints way more often that pain in full strength, it is a very useful information.
Yes, most of the later ones were switched from mass tone to gradient and I think I mentioned once (very briefly) in the video that I did the beginning ones before I realized the benefit to having a gradient. All the later ones have it! Hopefully others read your suggestion, too!
It is reassuring to see these tests. I noticed lately since I've been using more brands that the PR are a bit harder to re-wet than some of my other brands, but I still enjoy them. 😉
@@MirandaWatsonArt I only tried their tubes and I think that another artist mentioned that their tubes are better than their pans. Also thank you for doing these tests 🌺
Love the cat cameo! My cats take a far less active route of participation - they just plop down on top of whatever I’m working on. Super-cool that the opera from Sennelier held up so well! Thank you as always for sharing these videos.
Chica plopped down on my swatches yesterday and some were still wet, dang cat, but she only got a *little* bit of green in the blue, lol. You're very welcome; these tests are fun to do.
Wow! If that Sennelier Opera Rose held up for two years that well, I will use it. It blows my mind. However, I'm sure it could fade a lot in lighter glazes with less saturation. Even Alizarin Crimson PR83 pigment will hold up fairly well in high saturated washes. But vanishes in lighter ones. Even the PY3 Lemon yellow has not changed. It was always considered inferior to PY154, PY95, PY151, and a few other yellow pigments. I really appreciate your video information and the time you take to do all this.
I'm a bit shook over the Opera Rose from Sennelier. I'm so used to that color being fugitive across most of the major brands that I'm not even in the habit of using it at all outside of a sketchbook. I guess I know now to use Sennelier's for the hanging artwork needing that color. Thanks for running this awesome test of all these paints. It really shows off not only the formulation of all the pigments, but which companies are more knowledged of their own products' lightfasteness and which ones aren't.
The Winsor & Newton Opera is also doing really well and I'm going to continue putting these in the window. I have so many other brands that I need to get in there, too. I'd better get busy!
So interesting to see lightfast test results! Great video! The amount of fading in one of the car paintings is quite amazing… I’m glad I don’t have that brand!!
Thanks so much for putting out these reviews! I'm going to get a set of the Paul Rubens when I have some extra cash, they look lovely and so does the tin.
I'd be interested to know if the Schpirerr-Farben palette in the video was purchased right after the paints came out or some time afterward. Why? Factories in China will often pull a switcheroo on brands for whom they're manufacturing. It is entirely possible that the Schpirerr-Farben people signed a contract for a quality product, but received a product that was inferior. Most brands just can't afford the expensive testing and in-person monitoring required to prevent this from happening, especially smaller brands like Schpirerr-Farben. The first batch of product will be good, but after that? Who even knows what pigments the manufacturer threw in there. (Hopefully Schpirerr-Farben is aware of this and will find a new manufacturer.) So. A word to the wise: when a new art supply out of China gets rave reviews, you should buy it right away before the first production run sells out. Disclaimer: I'm not some Schpirerr fan, I've just had some professional exposure to China sourcing.
As a selling artist who's always looking for lightfast aquarelle (and the info is HARD to find omg) I thank you from the bottom of my heart!!!! Can I ask you which line of Sennelier it is? Thank you so much, you're a hero
@@MirandaWatsonArt thank you for answering! Yay, it's the one I use. I'm curious about the study line though! I'm gonna start some tests now myself, you inspired me, haha
I loved the "who am i waving at over there??" And the kitty helper!! And as always, Paul Rubens for the win!!
Hahaha, thank you 😊
Always fun to see these. It does drive home what good quality paints can do, and I never fail to be impressed with Paul Rubens. When I cut my strips for testing, I make an X on the back over the cutting line. That way I can tell which edges go back together. It’s surprisingly hard to tell sometimes!
It really is hard to tell sometimes, lol. Thank goodness for labeling. 😁
Them Paul Rubens 💪😎
I’m so happy to see how those bad boys performed.
Thank you😊
You bet. I was also glad to see them do so well!
I love your kitty helper :D I will never be over how not lightfast those Schpirerr-Farben paints are. They faded out to nothing.
Yeah, it's crazy how much they disappeared. I tested the car painting after only three months and it was already significantly different. Yikes.
I’m glad the Sennelier paints did well, especially the opera rose! It’s great seeing them all after two years, and seeing how the different brands have fared. Paul Rubens are some paints I would definitely like to get after seeing how well they’ve held up.
I'm so glad I put these back in the window and kept the tests going. Now to get all my new brands into the window...
I love how you imagine Etchr is dutifully conducting lightfastness tests. Even Schmincke doesn't really do good ones! As far as I know, Golden is the only company to test their own paints WELL. Most companies just use the ancient ASTM tests which weren't even done on watercolor, thus the discrepancies.
Interesting!
True true
Thank you! Many artists do 1-2-3 month tests, but yours is very, VERY rare and needed. Thank you for your patience and for sharing these results with us!
You're welcome! 😊
😂 I love your 4-legged assistant!! 😺 👍
So helpful, lol!
I painted two large watercolor paintings for my mother with Windsor and Newton Cotman in 1994, I compared the colors in the original set,yes 1994, and all colors look the same. To be honest I changed the alizaine crimson with the pro color rose from W&N.
Another painting with the Royal Talens Van Gogh colors were also perfect and that one dated from 1995.
All paintings receive direct sunlight for a few hours a day.
I wonder if the newer formulation of Cotman would do as well.
That's so good to hear.
I still have my cotman field box of 1994 and I have a new Cotman set with the same colors , I will compare the two ,I am curious too
Please keep us posted if you can. I'm so curious to know.
@@MirandaWatsonArt I will keep it posted...
Quite informative test. I was expecting the Himi Miya to fail. The schpirrer farben is to be avoided but not the Paul Rubens'. Have a great week, Miranda.
Thank you, you as well 😊
Thank you. Excellent!!
This was great. An excellent display of patience 😊.
I’m so glad i didn’t buy the Sch-Far when the more affordable paints first began showing up. And so many brands are the same. It’s disappointing because with all the $’s spent on the Pretty Excellent (I still have one as backup and am not sorry, they’re good), etc brands that came out, you could have bought Holbein or Daniel Smith or M Graham at full price, and if you went with DaVinci you could have gotten even more. Enjoyed this, and those adorable paws, sigh 😊. Thank you.
Yes, I agree. I also have my Pretty Excellent set and I plan on keeping it around. 🙂
😻😸
Thanks for the update, these videos are really useful. I did some tests on my own but gave up after a year because I moved and lost the testing conditions.
Dang, what a bummer to lose that time with your swatches, but hopefully these videos make up for it.
I found a strip of 14 month old colour blobs and smears from a set of 18 acrylic paints. At first all seemed fine until I looked closely at the yellow which was all blob and no smear, the smear has practically disappeared. When I compared them to their unexposed counterparts I realised that light green has darkened and dark green now looks almost identical to the viridian next to it. No pigment names are listed but I'm pretty sure the culprit in all cases is hansa yellow PY1. It's mixed in with greens to lighten and make leafier colours so of course when it fades the greens look darker and more bluish.
From my research by the way, the 3 main culprits for fugitive colour in cheap paint are PR21, PO13 and PY1.
I'm learning to paint with acrylics although I do water them into washes or mix with acrylic inks a lot for watercolour like effects. In the beginning of course I bought quite a lot of bargainaceous craft paints, although my cutoff point quality wise has always been not to buy anything where pigments are not listed. I broke this rule in the very beginning, but I never do now. I know a lot of people seem content for their art to remain in sketchbooks but I'm not. I have always wanted some gorgeous art on my walls so I'm painting that art myself. I think if something's worth doing it's worth doing in colours that will last!
Well-said! And good information, thank you. 😊
@@MirandaWatsonArt Thank you. PY1 seems to be by far the worst culprit, it's in so many cheap ready-mixed colours. I've got 2 craft acrylic sets which I still use but more cautiously. I had to go out and replace my bargain reds, oranges and yellows with better pigments. I got 4x120ml tubes so about 4ounces each from Cassart London. For anyone who's in London it's a physical store with internet prices, well worth a visit. I got 4x120mls in primary red PR5, PR122; primary yellow PY74; cad yellow hue PY74, PY83; and cad orange hue PY74, PR5 all for £10 so just over $12. Plus some Daler System 3 fluid acrylic in 30ml tubes for about £2.75 each.
A big reason I'm learning pigments is so when the time comes I can mix my own. Nearly every bright(ish) leafy garden green is a pthalo green PG7 and bright hansa yellow PY3 mixture just in differing proportions. Knowing this gives me far more confidence to mix my own. A lot of the "painting" I do is really black ink sketches with dabs of colour spread so thin it's not worth mixing such tiny quantities most of the time. But I'm seriously planning to decorate my house with an art collection on every wall so one day soon I expect I'll be mixing my own (fully lightfast) colours like there's no tomorrow!🖌️🎨
@@ZadenZane I want to use acrylic paints for my really big canvases as well, so it sounds like it might be a good idea to do a lightfast test in the paints I have first. Whew. Just in time!
Thank you so much, I want to get a water color palette than doesn’t fade, now I know i need to go for Paul rubbens
You're welcome; thanks for watching. 😊
Miranda! Your cats!😂😂😂 Always want the camera ❤ they are pretty cute. I’ve always advocated for Paul Rubens-so happy to see they held up so well to our Colorado sun! Woohoo🎉🎉
Aren't they silly and fun? Lol. I also love that Paul Rubens is out there, it's good, and it's affordable. So nice. 👍
That was helpful! Thank you 😊
Glad it was helpful!
Oh my gosh the cat helping is adorable ❤😂
Hahaha, I think so too! ❤️
OMG Clicked so fast!!!!!
It's funny, you thought so many of them faded before the comparsion. I wonder if it's the faded sharpie that's making you think that! Maybe I will use pencil when I finally do this
It's definitely the Sharpie line. Not going to use it again going forward, that's for sure, lol.
Love when you show the light fast results. Thank you for doing this.
You are so welcome! Hugs, Eileen.
Great project, super helpful.
The only suggestion I want to leave, if I may, is to swatch colours in a gradient from masstone to diluted. I was shoked when I saw some colours stay perfect in masstone and nearly disapear when diluted or mixed. Since we mix paints way more often that pain in full strength, it is a very useful information.
Yes, most of the later ones were switched from mass tone to gradient and I think I mentioned once (very briefly) in the video that I did the beginning ones before I realized the benefit to having a gradient. All the later ones have it! Hopefully others read your suggestion, too!
@@MirandaWatsonArt thank you for clarifying
I'm considering getting more paul rubens watercolor because I enjoy them so much, so it's nice to know that the are lightfast as well 😍
It is reassuring to see these tests. I noticed lately since I've been using more brands that the PR are a bit harder to re-wet than some of my other brands, but I still enjoy them. 😉
@@MirandaWatsonArt I only tried their tubes and I think that another artist mentioned that their tubes are better than their pans. Also thank you for doing these tests 🌺
Love the cat cameo! My cats take a far less active route of participation - they just plop down on top of whatever I’m working on. Super-cool that the opera from Sennelier held up so well! Thank you as always for sharing these videos.
Chica plopped down on my swatches yesterday and some were still wet, dang cat, but she only got a *little* bit of green in the blue, lol. You're very welcome; these tests are fun to do.
Wow! If that Sennelier Opera Rose held up for two years that well, I will use it. It blows my mind. However, I'm sure it could fade a lot in lighter glazes with less saturation. Even Alizarin Crimson PR83 pigment will hold up fairly well in high saturated washes. But vanishes in lighter ones. Even the PY3 Lemon yellow has not changed. It was always considered inferior to PY154, PY95, PY151, and a few other yellow pigments. I really appreciate your video information and the time you take to do all this.
Thanks, Renee! I have a bunch of "new" brands (new to me) that I also need to get in the window ASAP, and I'm excited to see how they fare.
I'm a bit shook over the Opera Rose from Sennelier. I'm so used to that color being fugitive across most of the major brands that I'm not even in the habit of using it at all outside of a sketchbook. I guess I know now to use Sennelier's for the hanging artwork needing that color. Thanks for running this awesome test of all these paints. It really shows off not only the formulation of all the pigments, but which companies are more knowledged of their own products' lightfasteness and which ones aren't.
The Winsor & Newton Opera is also doing really well and I'm going to continue putting these in the window. I have so many other brands that I need to get in there, too. I'd better get busy!
thankyou for the video! very helpful. i love your cats too haha
Thank you. 😊
I'm always excited to see these! Paul Reubens continues to impress me!
Yes, they are great so far, but I wish I would have done the gradient swatching, darn it. Oh well
Thank you for doing this! Very interesting results.
You're welcome. It's always fun to see what the results are. 🙂
So interesting to see lightfast test results! Great video! The amount of fading in one of the car paintings is quite amazing… I’m glad I don’t have that brand!!
For sure. Thanks, FaithAnn.
WOW!!! Interesting. I'm liking your helpers :)
They are cute helpers 😸
This is a great experiment! It was great to see how it turned out. Have a great day. 😊😊😊👍👍
Thank you! You too!
Thank you for undertaking this long term project. It’s very educational to know which paints are lightfast or not. ❤
You are so welcome!
That was fun to see. Thank you so much for sharing, Miranda.
So glad you enjoyed it, Diane.
Thanks so much for putting out these reviews! I'm going to get a set of the Paul Rubens when I have some extra cash, they look lovely and so does the tin.
You're welcome - it sure is fun to see the results. I have a lot of new paint sets that I need to get into the window. I'd better get to it!
just what i was looking for, thank you for making this!!
You're welcome - more to come!
What a fun video! Thank you for sharing!!
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching!
So cool !!! Yay thanks so much !!
My pleasure. 🙂
I'd be interested to know if the Schpirerr-Farben palette in the video was purchased right after the paints came out or some time afterward. Why? Factories in China will often pull a switcheroo on brands for whom they're manufacturing. It is entirely possible that the Schpirerr-Farben people signed a contract for a quality product, but received a product that was inferior. Most brands just can't afford the expensive testing and in-person monitoring required to prevent this from happening, especially smaller brands like Schpirerr-Farben. The first batch of product will be good, but after that? Who even knows what pigments the manufacturer threw in there. (Hopefully Schpirerr-Farben is aware of this and will find a new manufacturer.) So. A word to the wise: when a new art supply out of China gets rave reviews, you should buy it right away before the first production run sells out. Disclaimer: I'm not some Schpirerr fan, I've just had some professional exposure to China sourcing.
As a selling artist who's always looking for lightfast aquarelle (and the info is HARD to find omg) I thank you from the bottom of my heart!!!! Can I ask you which line of Sennelier it is? Thank you so much, you're a hero
I'm so glad this is helpful. This is the Sennelier L'Aquarelle line. Professional-grade.
@@MirandaWatsonArt thank you for answering! Yay, it's the one I use. I'm curious about the study line though! I'm gonna start some tests now myself, you inspired me, haha
@@MirandaWatsonArt and I had to laugh so hard about your kitten, she's adorable
I have the student line and it's on the list to get to eventually... 😁
She's a hoot, lol.
Have you got a chance to test White Nights? How do they fare?
I *think* there are some White Nights watercolor lightfast test results in this video:
ua-cam.com/video/s-0Q7Y_CUE4/v-deo.html
based on this, the only truly lightfast art is the art you envision in your head but never actually paint.
You- Filming instructional video about lightfastness and its importance.
Your cat- NO WORK FOR YOU!
LOL.