Watercolor / Gouache

Make watercolor or gouache simply from binder and pigment yourself!

With color powder and water you easily get a coloring liquid. Already since the Stone Age we know this simple way of color production. If this coloring liquid is applied to an absorbent surface (cave painting), this color production proves to be highly durable over thousands of years, as long as there is no abrasion and the surface is stable and dry.

The binder for watercolors is gum arabic, as it can be easily dissolved again with water. It is obtained from tropical acacia species of North Africa.

The main difference between gouache and watercolor is the opaque color application of gouache. To achieve this higher opacity, the gouache must be driven a little more pasty and applied thicker.

Binder

Binder

The binder for water-based paints is gum arabic, as it can be easily dissolved again with water. Most of the pigments can be used very well with Kremer Watercolor Medium (#79260).
Pigments for Watercolors

Pigments for Watercolors

Here you can find a list of all pigments that are suitable for processing in Watercolor / Gouache.
Product Recipes / Watercolor

Product Recipes / Watercolor

NEW* We offer detailed product recipes for our most popular pigments!

Watercolor made of Watercolor Medium

(Recommendation for use)

Processing Video: How to make Watercolor

For processing pigments as watercolor, you can easily make an excellent watercolor with Kremer Watercolor Medium.

Gouache

(Recipe)

Good Writing Ink

(Recipe)

Paint-Making Set, Watercolor (#14304)

Includes: 3 Pigments, Binder, Tools and Instruction

Application Instructions: Gum Arabic forms the basis of our watercolor medium. The set gives the user the opportunity to prepare the medium from scratch using the Gum Arabic pieces, or to directly mix the pigments with our ready-made Watercolor Medium. The self-made color is suitable for immediate use or storage in pans. The paint-making set won the First Prize category, "Artist Product of the Year 2020", at Creativeworld in Frankfurt -- the leading international fair for the creative market.

 

Accessories for Watercolors

Accessories for Watercolors

Here you can find empty watercolor boxes and pans, porcelain and grating bowls, palettes and sponges.
Brushes

Brushes

We offer a range of watercolor & retouching brushes in different varieties and sizes.

Kremer Watercolors

The highest quality in the production and processing of pure materials ensure an extraordinary luminosity of Kremer watercolor paints. These are elaborately handcrafted from historical and modern pigments according to ancient recipes. Selected organic, inorganic and vegetable pigments are bound with the Kremer watercolor painting material based on gum arabic.

In our new brochure "Kremer Watercolors" you can find a list of all watercolor boxes and individual pans, interesting additional information and recipes: Brochure "Kremer Watercolors", pdf

Watercolor Boxes

Watercolor Boxes

Kremer watercolor boxes are arranged according to thematic focuses, such as landscape painting or gold retouching. In addition, there are specific color combinations.

Single Watercolor Pans

Single Watercolor Pans

With a selection of over 130 different watercolor paints, you can customize your own watercolor box or reorder individual pans.

Painting Grounds

Influence and properties of painting surfaces

The "colorfulness" or character of a pigment is influenced not only by the different binders; a significant expression is also created by the different textures of the various painting surfaces. For example, glazing pigments appear even more "transparent" on rice paper and seem to become "one" with the painting surface. On canvas, regular or hand-made paper, on the other hand, they appear more solid and stable.

Properties of hand-made paper (German: Büttenpapier)

  • Low density
  • Soft, velvety
  • Voluminous, full-bodied
  • Firm, stable
  • Absorbs a lot of water and the color penetrates deeply

Properties of Chinese rice paper

  • Dissolves with "too much" water
  • Transparent (as a result, the light behind the painting surface
    has different effects on the paint application)
  • The paint soaks through the paper and is highly runny
  • Practically untextured

Properties of cotton rag paper

  • "Woven" paper with regular, tiny corrugation
  • Slightly shimmery effects
  • The color seems to move
  • Clear texture

Properties of hot pressed paper

  • Certain firmness and rigidity (less flexible)
  • Clear lines and contours
  • Smooth, dense surface
  • Less absorbent, color penetrates less into the paper and runs more evenly
  • Less "shadow" due to lack of texture