What is special about Gansai paint?
In Western watercolor painting, the binder is usually gum arabic, honey or glycerin. The Gansai Tambi is a traditional Japanese paint . It is bound with a more glue-like binder. This may cause the paint to appear a little sticky. Kuretake is not entirely clear about which binder they use. They do indicate that this is a vegan paint.
The biggest difference is that you can use Gansai both transparent and opaque. Due to the different binding agent, Gansai dries a bit glossier than a Western watercolor. Especially if you use the paint opaquely, you will see a difference in the result. If you use the paint transparently, you will hardly see this difference.
The paint lifts easily. All colors are lightfast, non-toxic and water-based. Each color comes in a separate cup that you can remove from the palette during use. The lid of the palette contains a color card that you can fill in yourself. The color number is listed under each pan, so you can easily find the right place in the palette.
The paint was originally designed to be used on rice paper. This paper bleeds quite easily, so it was important that the paint stayed in place. This is the reason that it is easier to use the paint wet-on-dry than wet-on-wet. The paint flows easily from your brush. Once on the paper, the paint does not move quickly. The advantage is that the Gansai is easier to apply to different types of paper, such as a journal in which you cannot work with a lot of water.
Due to the composition, it is advisable not to mix too many colors together. You get the best result by using the colors directly from the palette. Or, for example, mix a maximum of 2-3 colors together.
100 different colors of Kuretake Gansai Tambi
First, Kuretake made the paint in 36 colors. Then a few years ago twelve colors were added to the set of 36, making it 48 colors. And good news: there are now 100 different colors!
The first delivery of the new set of 24 sold out very quickly, which is why I ordered extra for the new delivery! Because look at these beautiful colors that this set of 24 contains. The colors of the 24 set are inspired by the Art Nouveau period. This is the period when Kuretake was created.
The set of 100 is an anniversary edition, as a tribute to Kuretake, which has been around for more than 100 years. This set is a limited edition and will probably not be available for very long. Do you already have a set of 48? Then you can supplement these with the metallics, the set of 12 and then unfortunately there are still a number of colors left ;).
Shop the sets here .
Love,
Judith
