Thanks, everyone, for the input.
The paints that I'm using, right now that made me think about this (as
I'm doing some initial color testing with these new paints, like I do
with all new paints)
are gouache, some are Schmincke and some are M. Graham. The colors that
did this are Cerulean (MG), Ultramarine Deep (S), Raw Umber (MG), Zinc
White (MG) and Viridian (MG). I have transparent watercolors that have
done it too - Winsor and Newton, and Daniel Smith. They are all very
good quality paints, not student grade or any such. In the past I have
tried, without much success, with kind of mooshing the tube around,
unopened - but then when the tube is full, there's not much room for it
to moosh inside. Today I did like Annie says she's done - I unwound a
paperclip, and carefully stuck the stout wire down inside and stirred.
It helped some. My feeling is that the pigments and carrier kind of
separate out (the color types are consistent across brands), and that
it's up to me to get them back together again. So thank you all for your
input on how you deal with this.
My transparent watercolors have leaned more and more away from W&B and
more towards Daniel Smith, and W&N has had the problem more than DS. But
I've never had 1/8 to 1/4 of a tube, thank goodness.
I wonder if it would work to store the tubes resting on their caps; if
the carrier would tend to rise to the top - kind of like turning a jar
of natural peanut butter upside down overnight before you open it, so
all the oil you have to stir in isn't right at the top under the lid...?
I think I'm going to try that and see what happens (because mostly tubes
of paint are always lying on their sides....)
Consie
Brie Dodson wrote:
> May I ask which pigments? It routinely happens with W&N cerulean blue,
> for me. I've figured that the problem is the same as with mixing one's
> own oil paints, which I've done: with some pigments, separation is
> inevitable. More additives = less separation, so separation isn't
> necessarily a bad thing. But the W&N [original] cerulean in watercolor
> is like none other, so I put up with it ... ;) Also, consider that
> some pigments (my non-qualified opinion) "have to" be overbound with
> gum arabic, in order to work as tube watercolor paints ... with enough
> additives, yes the pigment will stay in solution but handle as if it
> has way too much gum arabic - I won't name names. Without so many
> additives, the gum arabic will separate out. B
>
> On Mar 24, 2010, at 15:24, Patricia Savage wrote:
>
>> Winsor and Newton!!! The professional grade and not Cotman. Most,
>> most depressing. It's happened on multiple tubes and is most
>> disconcerting to find about 1/8 to 1/4 of tube contents just gum arabic.
>>
>> Cheers,
>> Patricia Savage
>> 816 Valerie Dr.
>> Raleigh, NC 27606
>> www.psavageartist.com
>> [log in to unmask]
>> 919-859-2789
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Kathleen Garness wrote:
>>> Consie: I second what Patricia says; just scrape it off the top of
>>> the tube until you get down to good pigment.
>>>
>>> A complaint to the manufacturer isn't much use since they're all
>>> huge corporations within larger corporations nowadays. : / But
>>> that's worth a try if you have the time. Sometimes they'll send you
>>> a new tube just to keep you as a customer. I've had mixed results
>>> with that approach. Or you can return it to the store and ask for a
>>> replacement! : )
>>>
>>> Patricia, what brands are your students using that you're finding
>>> this problem in?
>>>
>>> Kathy G
>>>
>>>
>>> On Mar 24, 2010, at 2:04 PM, Patricia Savage wrote:
>>>
>>>> The yellowish goo is gum arabic. Manufacturers frequently add too
>>>> much because it's cheaper than the cost of the pigment. Some
>>>> pigments are heavier and require extra gum arabic to aid in their
>>>> flow, so you come to expect a couple of extra drops in the top of
>>>> that particular kind.
>>>>
>>>> I usually squirt the gum out and add a large dollop of pigment and
>>>> then mix them together, which leaves me with a too large area of
>>>> paint on my palette. Recently I have found that some of my
>>>> student's pigments contain too much arabic and never really dry.
>>>> They stay sort of liquidy and a tad runny.
>>>>
>>>> Cheers,
>>>> Patricia Savage
>>>> 816 Valerie Dr.
>>>> Raleigh, NC 27606
>>>> www.psavageartist.com
>>>> [log in to unmask]
>>>> 919-859-2789
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Consie Powell wrote:
>>>>> What do other folks do in this situation? I have just gotten some
>>>>> new tubes of paint (the particular ones are gouache, of very good
>>>>> quality, but this has happend with transparent watercolor too...)
>>>>> and a few of them are exhibiting a situation I've had happen
>>>>> before. When I go to squeeze paint onto the palette for the first
>>>>> time, out first comes a runny squirt of often yellowish goo, which
>>>>> I presume is gum arabic. Often it is mixed somewhat with the
>>>>> pigment, but is way more dilute than the pigment is supposed to
>>>>> be. Often I can tell that this is the case when I first open the
>>>>> tube, as I can see it. What do others of you do when this happens?
>>>>> (I'm presuming I'm not the only one who has seen this...)
>>>>>
>>>>> thanks.....Consie
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Need to leave or subscribe to the Sciart-L listserv? Follow the
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>>>
>>>
>>> "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens
>>> can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
>>> - Margaret Mead
>>>
>>> Need to leave or subscribe to the Sciart-L listserv? Follow the
>>> instructions at
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>>>
>>
>> Need to leave or subscribe to the Sciart-L listserv? Follow the
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>
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--
Consie Powell
www.consiepowell.com
www.science-art.com
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