Schmincke has been developing and manufacturing its Horadam line of watercolors since 1881, and the company is now owned by the fourth generation of the original family. Schmincke has a reputation for using only the highest-quality natural gums, water-soluble resins, and pigments.

Schmincke is the only watercolor manufacturer in the world that uses the exact same formula for their tube and pan colors. Other manufacturers extrude their pan colors. Schmincke hand pours the same watercolor paint that is in their tubes into convenient pans. Then the pans are left to air dry. This process is repeated three more times. The pan colors are consistent all the way to the bottom, and they last and last!

Full Pan Set of 12 Colors — Contains full pans in 12 colors, including Lemon Yellow, Cadmium Yellow Light, Cadmium Red Light, Permanent Carmine, Ultramarine Finest, Prussian Blue, Phthalo Green, Permanent Green Olive, Yellow Ochre, English Venetian Red, Sepia Brown, and Ivory Black.
Full Pan Set of 18 Colors — Contains full pans in 18 colors, including Lemon Yellow, Cadmium Yellow Light, Cadmium Red Light, Permanent Carmine, Ultramarine Finest, Prussian Blue, Phthalo Green, Permanent Green Olive, Yellow Ochre, English Venetian Red, Sepia Brown, Ivory Black, Chrome Orange, Cobalt Green Dark, Naples Yellow, Burnt Sienna, Manganese Violet, and Cerulean Blue Tone.
Sets of 24 Colors — Available in either full pan or half pan sets. Contains 24 colors, including Lemon Yellow, Cadmium Yellow Light, Cadmium Red Light, Permanent Carmine, Ultramarine Finest, Prussian Blue, Phthalo Green, Permanent Green Olive, Yellow Ochre, English Venetian Red, Sepia Brown, Ivory Black, Chrome Orange, Cobalt Green Dark, Naples Yellow, Burnt Sienna, Manganese Violet, Cerulean Blue Tone, Chrome Yellow Deep, Deep Red, Magenta, Indigo, Helio Turquoise, and May Green.
Half Pan Set of 36 Colors — Contains half pans in 36 colors, including Lemon Yellow, Cadmium Yellow Light, Cadmium Red Light, Permanent Carmine, Ultramarine Finest, Prussian Blue, Phthalo Green, Permanent Green Olive, Yellow Ochre, English Venetian Red, Sepia Brown, Ivory Black, Chrome Orange, Cobalt Green Dark, Naples Yellow, Burnt Sienna, Manganese Violet, Cerulean Blue Tone, Chrome Yellow Deep, Deep Red, Magenta, Indigo, Helio Turquoise, May Green, Translucent Yellow, Translucent Orange, Scarlet Red, Ultramarine Violet, Delft Blue, Mountain Blue, Prussian Green, Olive Green Yellowish, Brilliant Yellow Dark, Madder Brown, Indian Red, and Burnt Umber.
Half Pan Set of 48 Colors — Contains half pans in 48 colors, including Lemon Yellow, Cadmium Yellow Light, Cadmium Red Light, Permanent Carmine, Ultramarine Finest, Prussian Blue, Phthalo Green, Permanent Green Olive, Yellow Ochre, English Venetian Red, Sepia Brown, Ivory Black, Chrome Orange, Cobalt Green Dark, Naples Yellow, Burnt Sienna, Manganese Violet, Cerulean Blue Tone, Chrome Yellow Deep, Deep Red, Magenta, Indigo, Helio Turquoise, May Green, Translucent Yellow, Translucent Orange, Scarlet Red, Ultramarine Violet, Delft Blue, Mountain Blue, Prussian Green, Olive Green Yellowish, Brilliant Yellow Dark, Madder Brown, Indian Red, Burnt Umber, Titanium Opaque White, Permanent Chinese White, Indian Yellow, Naples Yellow Reddish, Madder Red Dark, Phthalo Blue, Cobalt Turquoise, Neutral Tint, Payne's Gray Bluish, Gold, and Silver. Also includes a half pan of ONETZ oxgall medium.

Artist Watercolor
◦NEW! Blick Artists’ Watercolors
◦Blockx Watercolors
◦Da Vinci Artists' Watercolors
◦Daler Rowney Artist's Watercolors
◦Grumbacher Finest Artists' Watercolors
◦Holbein Artists' Watercolors
◦Holbein Irodori Antique Watercolors
◦Lascaux Aquacryl Colors
◦M. Graham Watercolors
◦Maimeri Blu Watercolors
◦Old Holland Classic Watercolors
◦Pebeo Fragonard Watercolor Paint
◦Rembrandt Watercolors
◦Schmincke Horadam Aquarell Watercolors
◦Sennelier Watercolors
◦ShinHan Premium Watercolors
◦Winsor & Newton Artists' Watercolors
◦Yarka St. Petersburg Professional Watercolor Tubes

Artist watercolors contain a full pigment load, suspended in a binder, generally natural gum arabic. Conventional watercolors are sold in moist form, in a tube, and are thinned and mixed on a dish or palette. Use them on paper and other absorbent surfaces that have been primed to accept water-based paint. Clean up with soap and water.

Liquid Watercolors
Liquid Watercolors contain dyes as well as pigments, suspended in an aqueous medium. They are especially brilliant and transparent. Because they are moist and fluid, they are suited to thin washes and airbrush application as well as conventional brushwork. Many of the more brilliant colors are fugitive, so liquid watercolors are used most often for illustrations that will be scanned for reproduction.

Watercolor Pans
◦Grumbacher Pan Watercolor Sets
◦Morocolor Watercolor Gouache Pan Sets
◦Pelikan Watercolor and Gouache Paint Sets
◦Raphaël Watercolor Travel Set
◦Reeves Watercolor Pan Set
◦Sakura Koi Watercolor Sketch Box Sets
◦Schmincke Horadam Aquarell Pan Watercolor Sets
◦Sennelier Watercolor Half Pan Sets
◦Sennelier Watercolor Travel Sets
◦Van Gogh Watercolor Sets
◦Winsor & Newton Artists' Watercolor Half Pans
◦Winsor & Newton Cotman Watercolor Pan Sets
◦Yarka St. Petersburg Professional Watercolor Pans

Pan Watercolors, available in professional as well as student and scholastic grades, offer pigment and binder in a dry form. Apply water with a brush to moisten the pan and lift pigment. Use a palette with indentations to mix colors. Pan watercolors are ideal for field and outdoor painting.

Student Watercolors
◦Blick Liquid Watercolor
◦Grumbacher Academy Watercolors
◦Loew Cornell Watercolor Sets
◦Maimeri Venezia Watercolors
◦Niji Pearlescent Watercolor Sets
◦Niji Watercolor Tubes
◦Reeves Watercolor Sets
◦Sakura Fantasia Watercolor Color Pack Set
◦Sakura Koi Watercolor Sets
◦Van Gogh Watercolors
◦Winsor & Newton Cotman Watercolors

Student Grade watercolors have working characteristics similar to professional watercolors, but with lower concentrations of pigment, less expensive formulas, and a smaller range of colors. More expensive pigments are generally replicated by hues. Colors are designed to be mixed, although color strength is lower. Hues may not have the same mixing characteristics as regular full-strength colors.

Scholastic Pans
◦Crayola Artista II Semi-Moist Watercolors
◦Crayola Educational Watercolors
◦Crayola Washable Watercolor Sets
◦NEW! Creativity Street Watercolor Wands
◦Koh-I-Noor Watercolor Wheel
◦Prang My First Washable Watercolor Set
◦Prang Washable Watercolor Sets
◦Prang Watercolor Refills
◦Prang Watercolor Sets
◦Reeves Watercolor Oval Pan Sets
◦Reeves Watercolor Pan Sets
◦Sargent Premium Watercolors
◦Sargent Scholastic Watercolor Sets
◦Sargent Washable Watercolors
◦Sargent Watercolor Liquid Metal
◦Talens Watercolor Pan Sets
◦Yarka Student Pan Watercolor Sets

Scholastic watercolor pans contain inexpensive pigments and dyes suspended in a synthetic binder. Colors are chosen to be non-staining, easily washable, suitable for use even by young children with proper supervision. They are an excellent choice for teaching beginning artists the properties of color and the techniques of painting.

Watercolor Palettes
◦Alvin Plastic Floral Palette
◦Martin Universal Design Mijello Airtight Leak-Proof Palettes
◦Martin Universal Design Mijello Bullet-Proof Glass Palette
◦Martin Universal Design Mijello Silver Nano Watercolor Palette
◦Porcelain Palettes
◦Possum Palette
◦Rectangular Porcelain Palette
◦Richeson 8-Well Slant Mixing Tray
◦Round Porcelain Palettes
◦Stephen Quiller Color Wheel Palette
◦Stephen Quiller Porcelain Palette
◦Tom Lynch Porcelain Palette
◦Yasutomo Ceramic Watercolor Dishes
◦Yasutomo Fan-Shaped Plastic Palette

The watercolor palette, also useful for acrylics and other waterbased media, is typically a rectangular or round dish with wells or indentations for mixing paint.

Watercolor Questions and Answers
What are the advantages of painting with watercolors?

Watercolors are water-based, so they dry very quickly. This makes painting at a variety of locations more convenient. They are also easy to clean up, as they are water-soluble.

What are watercolors made of?

Watercolors are made of pigment mixed with the binder gum arabic. Gum arabic, a non-toxic, natural product, is water soluble, slightly acidic, and a relatively weak binder.

What is the difference between professional and student grades?

Student grade paints offer a smaller selection of colors, and substitute synthetic hues for the more expensive traditional colors. Colors contain a higher proportion of filler. They are less expensive because they do not have the same level of purity or permanence as professional grade watercolors.

Why do painters thin watercolors?

Because of the weakness of the binder, it is important to thin out watercolors, as they will crack if applied too thickly.

What is the difference between pan and tube watercolors?

Pan watercolors are solid blocks of paint. Add water using a wet brush, and they are ready to be used. They are perfect for location painting outdoors.

Tube watercolors are generally more popular in North America. They have a pasty consistency, and should be diluted with water on a palette for easy mixing. If tube watercolors have dried on a palette, they can be used by rewetting the paint with your brush or spray bottle.

Are pan watercolors for serious painters?

In North America most painters prefer tube colors, and pan colors are sometimes incorrectly labeled as a student or scholastic painting medium. In Europe, pan colors are very popular because they are so easily transportable, perfect for painting landscapes in plein air. Just as with tube colors, both student and professional grades are available in watercolor pans.

Which white should I choose?

Traditionally it is felt that any white in a watercolor should be the white of the paper showing through. White is used for tinting other colors, to create lighter shades. However, many companies offer an opaque white, generally called Titanium White, and this can be used for various effects.

The best answer is that you may want to use both whites. Use the Chinese White for mixing and tinting, and the Titanium White for adding details in white over a colored background or wash.

How do I start painting?

With watercolors you should always work from light to dark. Adding light colors later can be difficult. Watercolor painters traditionally use "washes" of color. A wash is a thin layer of paint spread over a large area of the painting. Washes are applied one on top of the other (allowing one to dry before applying the next), in order to create depth of color and to add detail.

A wet-on-wet technique can be used where a second or even a third color is added while first wash is still wet. You can also use a more direct technique and simply lay the wet paint onto the dry surface, without building up layers.

Dick Blick offers many books and media products to help beginning watercolor painters get started. See our section, Books and Media, Watercolors.

http://www.dickblick.com/products/schmincke-horadam-aquarell-pan-watercolor-sets/