RE: Tri-Curious Seeks Other Tri-Quad Curious Gummists
Michael, > I've been doing this...making stocks...observations...colours have been separating out. Some float on top some stay mixed pretty well but something like Cerulean Blue sink like an anchor. No big deal just stir them again before use. > I use a Dremel rotary tool with a home made attachment to stir the gum/pigment solution in the bottle. It works great and assures homogeneity of the slurry. > Paint is paint afterall. Other observations...all pigments are not created equal. I've been using M.Graham colours selecting more by colour and not so much by their "grade" or series. A "2 Series" and a "5 Series" (in M.Graham) are vary different with regards to viscosity and coverage (pigment load?!). So I've been having to "tune" each pigment:gum:dichromate:water ratio mix to compensate. Is this just the nature of the beast? > I weight the amount of pigment that is contained in each tube (and record it for later comparison with other brands and colors.) Different brands of tube watercolor have different densities. For example, even though Winsor & Newton Indian Yellow has the same appearance (color) in the bottle as M. Graham New Gamboge the Indian Yellow is a little more dense and will print slightly different. > Also something that crossed my mind. Have you ever used honey or glycerine as a "cutting" medium or in addition to gum in the stock? They seem to be the other principle ingredients in the watercolour tube. > Why not keep it simple and just use gum? I think glycerin and honey would be more expensive and the honey would be less consistent than gum mixed from powder. BTW, a great source for Nalgene bottles is Michigan Ink Supply, the least expensive I've found yet. Don Bryant
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