Written by Happy New Year! I thought I’d start out the first review of 2017 with something bright. There is also an announcement at the end.
Today I present the Kissho Gansai LUMI Accent Colors watercolor. Pow! Hold on to your retinas. Those dreams of colors to paint safety vests, road hazard cones, and 80s fashion are about to come true 😉
“Gansai” translates in English to “paint(s)” or “color pigment.” I’ve had these for quite some time. I’m glad I waited to review them because now they are available on Amazon. The set I have was ordered from a Japanese website (I don’t remember which one). The sets available on Amazon look like they are also shipping from Japan. At the time of writing this, LUMI sets were about $18 with “free” shipping. Something tells me the shipping is combined in the pricing. On the supplier site, they are listed at ¥1,300 yen, that’s a little over $11 US dollars, depending on exchange rate.
These are similar to the creamy consistency and quality of Kuretake Gansai Tambi Watercolors. I haven’t reviewed the Gansai Tambi because I figured everybody and their brothers and sisters had reviewed those.
These are opaque. I have mostly used them in mandalas. I will say, the color intensity in these photos varied depending on what monitor/screen I was looking on.
So super fun. This little watercolor journal is a Pentalic Aqua Journal that I used during the first official World Watercolor Month, in July of 2016.
The pans are large and contain a lot of paint. The box they come in is cardboard, getting it wet will affect it. The labeling on the back packaging is in Japanese, I’m not sure what it says. I like bright colors and these are fun! I like watching them blend into each other.
The six colors are: Opera, Rose, Orange, Yellow, Light Orange, Pink
The second color- Rose, seems more like a purple shade to me. A green and blue would be nice to have in the set.
These swatches are in a Canson XL Mixed Media journal
Fluorescent pigments are not typically lightfast. For some reason, I can’t write the word fluorescent, without having this Wham! song enter my head. Oh George Michael, such a cutie, all that frosted hair and careless whispering back in the day 😉 Anywho, moving on…
The Kissho Nihonga site says this about the paints:
“The fluorescent pigment used as a raw material is characterized by vivid colors and robust light fastness, giving the work brilliance and keeping the beauty of the finish.”
I would not trust this statement on lightfastness, and translation is also not always clear. I could be wrong, but I have never heard of fluorescent/neon pigments being lightfast. I have neon color in other media, pastels as an example, none are lightfast. Even the paint manufacturer Golden, does not claim their fluorescent products to be lightfast. Because there is not a lot of information available on these paints, I want you to be aware of the possibly that the vibrancy of these colors may not withstand the test of time. I found this article about fluorescent pigments interesting, although it is addressing acrylic paints.
Did you see Pantone’s 2017 Color of the Year– Greenery!? If not, here it is-photo taken from Pantone site.
“What is the PANTONE Color of the Year?
A symbolic color selection; a color snapshot of what we see taking place in our global culture that serves as an expression of a mood and an attitude.”
May 2017 be a fruitful and artistic year full of growth! May we all get to know and understand ourselves, and each other better. Making and sharing art has helped me with this, I hope it does that for you too. I’m thankful that I’ve gotten to know so many wonderful people through this process! Thank you very much for contributing to my enrichment and growth.
There are many other supply reviews on Doodlewash, and many on professional quality brands. I’ve been branching out lately in the reviews, and broadening the brand horizon. Art supply reviews will now be on an impromptu basis. I try not to make New Year’s resolutions per say, but I do set intentions. One of them for 2017 is to not purchase any new art supplies. May the force be with me on that one! I will show up and review supplies if they show up though, so I will see you around. I can also be found on Instagram- @jessicaseacrest and will continue to share there.
I leave you with one last supply that I’ve been enjoying lately, Conte Crayons. At the end of 2016 while in Denver, I picked up a limited edition tin at an art store for a few dollars. Using a tortillion to blend really helped and made a big difference.
Happy Painting and sketching!
I’ve also set the intention to stop buying art supplies for a while, so I understand your intention for the year. I always enjoy your reviews, so I’ll continue to look forward to seeing them as you post, and of course, I’ll keep following on IG. (Although the fluorescent colors look fun, I’m not tempted by them. The Conte crayons, however, hmmmmmm……. What was my 2017 intention?)
Thanks so much Ellie and good luck with your 2017 intention too! We can do it 😀. Wishing you the best!
Love love love your reviews, Jessica! I’ve been on a fluorescent bender for a couple of years now. To know that I can get them in WC now, too, is very exciting. Thanks for all of your other detailed reviews and good luck with that intention for 2017! LOL
Thanks for all the love Jill! I have a feeling I will miss this very much. Wishing you the best!
Jessica, your reviews are always top-notch and entertaining (careless whispering) 😄 Generally I am not much of a fan of fluorescent colors, but the metallics used alongside really class them up. Very nice!
Thank you Carol. Oddly, I wrote this weeks before George Michael passed. I considered changing it, but decide to leave it in tribute. I’ve always liked his music. Best wishes!
Thank you for your reviews and contribution to making WorldWatercolorGroup so essential in 2016 for me and I’m certain, many others. As long as you still hang around, I wish you and all of us more painting excitement in 2017.
Thanks Jessica. WWG was also essential for me in 2016. World Watercolor Month in 2017 is going to be epic! We paint on sister! 😀
Being an 80’s child, I think I need these. Haha!
Jessica, I’ve meant for some time to comment about your circular and spiral sketches as those shapes motivate me as well. I like the completeness of a circle and the sense of progress in a spiral, so it’s a pizzazz moment for me to see them on your reviews. Kind of a creative jump start.
I’ve also decided to slow down on the art purchases, especially as I haven’t yet gotten back to painting because of the broken arm – well, quality a bit – I’ve decided not to purchase more for me. For grandchildren, that’s another thing – they love art and art supplies. Have you ever thought of reviewing good art supplies for kids?
Best wishes to you for a fruitful and explorative 2017.
Hi Sharon, I did do one art supply review for kids supplies, I would link it if I wasn’t replying from my phone. Since I don’t have kids, I don’t really buy those type of supplies.
I wish you good luck with mandalas! They are a favorite creation. Wishing you the best!
Oops – missed a word – supposed to read: “quality a bit WOBBLY”
I saw a post about the 80s. Getting Rick Astley music now.
Hehe!
Angels on my side.
Thank you for all your fun and informative reviews! I always enjoy them and look forward to the impromptu reviews.
I already broke my New Yeas goal of no more buying art supplies 😂😂😂
Thanks so much Teri. Do I know what you got? If not, I want to! Spill it 😉 Hehehe. So far, so good over here. Even though the other night I almost lost it over a Stabilo Woody Crayons set.
I bought that basic Finetec palette you wrote about but haven’t even tried it yet. So you’re safe 😄😄😄
Seems a bit of a weird choice of color scheme for a palette, but my granddaughters who are very girly would adore them! Those are the colors they always use up, but also bright blue and green to complement the skies and flowers. They do look very vibrant and fun
So glad to have found your reviews!!! Can you please tell me, the pens by your conte crayons, what are those? They look like Sakura gels, but when I look for them I can’t find that combination of a white plugged bottom with a color cap, so it leaves me unsure. I absolutely love your circles! That picture at the end is sublime. I look at it when I need inspiration!
Hi Anne, they are Sakura Gelly Roll, the Gold Shadow variety. I got them individually at a local art store and only bought those two colors- black and pink. Here is a product link. They also come in Silver Shadow.
https://sakuraofamerica.com/pen-gold-color
Thank you for the compliments. Best wishes!
these look so fun!