Da Vinci watercolors

[Sandra Strait]

I really like the Hanemühle Watercolour Book.  Mine’s going to fill up quickly.

 

[Sandra Strait]

I don’t think I’ve tried that yellow.  I’ll have to dig up my DS dot cards and see if it is there so I can give it a try.  Does lean more toward green or orange or is it neutral that way?

[Tonya L]

Hmmm, never tried that one… oh no, I shouldn’t have seen it! Must not purchase. Must not purchase. 🙂

I scrolled thru but I can’t immediately find where we were talking about MG. Last December, we moved from coastal NC to the mountains. The coast was the most disgustingly humid place I’ve ever lived, and I grew up in the Southeast, an area known for massive humidity and mosquitos the size of vultures.

Never had a problem with MG paints before I moved to the mountains. NEVER. Trekking to the beach with them and storing them in a pack in 102 degree temps with 98 percent humidity. They stayed put in my palette and dried just fine.

The biome here in the mountains is a temperate rainforest, just like the PNW, and though we get a lot of rain, the overall humidity is very low. Like it hovers around 40-60 percent. But here many MG colors stay a soupy mess no matter what I’ve tried. I have no idea why, but it is what it is. Ugh.

I’m about to give up on my ex-favorite brand, but I’m finding that American Journey and Da Vinci are just as vibrant but aren’t catastrophic in my palette.

[Sandra Strait]

It’s too bad we don’t all live close enough where we could get together and compare our various paints – I can’t wait until they finally invent the transporter beam so distance won’t matter anymore.

[Elizabeth Metz]

Isn’t American Journey made by Da Vinci?

I’m not sure where I heard that, even.

[Sandra Strait]

Elizabeth, back in 2009, Bruce McEvoy, who did the Handprint website, said, “Made in California (USA), Da Vinci paints are sold under the Da Vinci label (“Professional,” reviewed here, and the student label “Scuola”), and as manufactured for other brands, including the Michael Wilcox “School of Colour”, Gary Spetz watercolors and Cheap Joe’s “American Journey” paints. ”

Hard to say if that is still the case eight years later.

[Debra “Kate” Powell]

I don’t think so — anyone?

[Debra “Kate” Powell]

Sandra kf you are ever going to be in Portland let’s meet!  I have studio space and we can lay things out!  You are nto that far, and we coudl meet halfway, but we need a comfy place…

[Tonya L]

Okay so do you want my professional opinion or my personal one? 😀 Husband (who is an architect) compares watercolors to house paint. There are only a few manufacturers but lots of paints, so hmmm… many of these are made by the same manufacturers but on different lines with different formulas.

As a Cheap Joe’s/American Journey Ambassador, all I can say professionally is that Joe isn’t talking. (I just saw him today, by the way.) Employees who deal with these issues have to sign a nondisclosure agreement to whoever the manufacturer is, and I’m sure other paint companies require this also. All they are officially saying is that AJ paint is an independent brand and is exclusive to Cheap Joe’s, and that is totally true. There isn’t another paint out there that will totally match AJ. I’ve tried.

DV is just the same – exclusive to that company and no other paint will totally match it.

Now for my personal opinion… AJ tins are the same color as DV. The pans are the same. They have many overlapping colors. Same tube size, etc, etc, etc. Hmmm…

But they do not paint the same. Nor are they the same.

I see this all the time… lots of paints are in the exact same package but perform differently. What can I say? It’s a small world.

[Tonya L]

Dang it. I’m totally on the other end of the world. I do have family in Tacoma. Does that count? 😀

 

[Elizabeth Metz]

Aha!  Found where I heard it.

In Liquid Color on Youtube mentioned it and there was a bit of chatter on the comments about how they sheen when dry like DV.  Then there’s a conversation on wetcanvas about it, too.

(http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-1413462.html)

I saw a side by side on another video that I can’t find, and if they’re not the same manufacturer, they’re pretty darn good knock-offs. 🙂

[Elizabeth Metz]

Yeah, regardless who actually *makes* the paints, they’re definitely not JUST rebranded.  AJ has some colors DV doesn’t and v/v. 🙂

[Elizabeth Metz]

I’m totally down for a paint-out (or paint-in, as it’s autumn already up in here), or a big ol’ half-pan swap.

(I have a group of artgirls up here near Kelso/Longview, and we do this a couple times a year.  Saves us all from having to buy ALL THE PAINT, just to figure out what we like best.  I joke that half pans are like baseball cards for artists…. :D)

[Elizabeth Metz]

True fact.  Eight years can be a lifetime as far as business relationships go.

Either way, I still want to try all the paint.  Because paint.  😀

[Tonya L]

Yes yes yes! Actually lol over this one… Because you know, paint.

Excellent point! 😀