daniel smith watercolour paint king's royal blue

Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolors are made by hand in Seattle, Washington. This superior-quality watercolour line includes historical hues, amazing earths, and some of the brightest and boldest quinacridones ever formulated.

More highly pigmented and finely ground than any watercolours on the market, Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolors also boast superior lightfastness, with 235 of the colours rated LR I or II. They have excellent brushing properties, resulting in clear, clean washes even when colours are layered.

Daniel Smith's PrimaTek Watercolors let you flood your work with antiquity's most precious hues, such as Hematite, Tiger's Eye, Rhodonite, and Lapis Lazuli — gemstones and minerals that have captured artists' imaginations for hundreds if not thousands of years. These colours are made with authentic mineral pigments. Their effects are amazing and diverse, from warm and subtle to sparkling and vibrant.

INTERFERENCE AND PEARLESCENT COLOURS provide subtle luminosity and almost magical colourshifting effects. Made with microscopic transparent mica platelets coated with various thicknesses of titanium dioxide, Interference colours refract light in delicate tints of blue, copper, green, gold, lilac, red and silver. Applied to white paper, they’re virtually colourless, but when applied over a dark surface, they come alive with pale, shimmering colour. Pearlescent colours offer a consistent, pearly shimmer without the light-shifting quality of the Interference colours. Mix the Interference and Pearlescent colours with standard tube colours to add a wonderful sense of depth, or apply them on top of dried colour to give localised effects on subjects such as flower petals, shimmering water or plumage.

DUOCHROME COLOURS offer rich, vibrant, three-dimensional colour that actually changes colours when viewed from different angles. Depending on the reflective light, each bounces between two distinctive colours for pure visual excitement. Duochrome Tropic Sunrise, for example, shifts from the soft green of new palm leaves through the silvery sheen of the pre-dawn ocean to the coppery, red-orange glow of the emerging sun. There are stunning blues and greens of Caribbean intensity. Pinks and violets that capture the sheen of petals. And radiant shades that recall Northern Lights, autumn woods or the subtle colours and dramatic light of the American Southwest. With a little experimentation, you’ll find that any of the Duochromes can illuminate, strengthen and enliven your palette.

IRIDESCENT COLOURS are opaque, with a more pronounced shine than the Interference and Pearlescent colours. Their colour is constant—not changing with viewing angle or light direction as with the Interference paints. Made with mica platelets coated with iron oxide, the Iridescents all have a pronounced sheen, and several of the colours have a coppery, golden or silvery luster. Try Iridescents on their own or mixed with standard colours for intriguing textural effects.

ABOUT DANIEL SMITH
In 1976, scraping enough money together to purchase on old 3-roll mill, Dan began manufacturing paints with the lightfastness and working characteristics artists desired. Over the years, as Dan's partnership with artists grew, so grew the business. Daniel Smith have consistently been innovators, offering ever-expanding possibilities, from the Quinacridone and Luminescent colors they first brought to artists, to their versatile Watercolor Ground. Daniel Smith’s commitment to partnering with artists continues, as does their desire to never stop thinking like one. Every tube of DANIEL SMITH paint starts with the artist in mind.