Close cotton watercolour paper in raking light

Single-pigment watercolour

Twenty-four colours, each one a single pigment

Pigment index, opacity, granulation and lightfastness published for every colour — including the three that are not rated for permanence.

Screen colour is an approximation. The printed chart is painted by hand from the same batch.

Every colour, on paper

Pigment, opacity, granulation, lightfastness

Two paints with the same name can be different pigments. The index is the only thing that identifies a colour, so it is on every card.

5 of 6 rated permanent

  • Ultramarine

    PB29
    Lightfastness
    I Excellent
    Opacity
    Semi-transparent
    Granulation
    Granulating
    Staining
    Low — lifts with water
    Pigments
    Single pigment

    The one that settles into the tooth of rough paper. Mix it with Burnt Sienna for every grey you need.

  • Burnt Sienna

    PBr7
    Lightfastness
    I Excellent
    Opacity
    Transparent
    Granulation
    Granulating
    Staining
    Low
    Pigments
    Single pigment

    Earth pigment, so the colour varies a little between batches. We do not correct it.

  • Yellow Ochre

    PY43
    Lightfastness
    I Excellent
    Opacity
    Semi-opaque
    Granulation
    Slight
    Staining
    Low
    Pigments
    Single pigment

  • Alizarin Crimson

    PR177
    Lightfastness
    III Not permanent
    Opacity
    Transparent
    Granulation
    None
    Staining
    High
    Pigments
    Single pigment

    Rated III: beautiful, and it will shift in a sunny room. For studies rather than for work you are selling.

  • Sap Green

    PG7 + PY150
    Lightfastness
    II Very good
    Opacity
    Transparent
    Granulation
    None
    Staining
    Medium
    Pigments
    Two pigments

    A convenience mix — say so. You can make it from our two singles and control the balance yourself.

  • Payne's Grey

    PBk6 + PB29
    Lightfastness
    I Excellent
    Opacity
    Semi-transparent
    Granulation
    Granulating
    Staining
    Low
    Pigments
    Two pigments

What the ratings mean

ASTM lightfastness: I is excellent, II very good, III is not permanent, IV and V fade. We publish the maker's rating, and where a pigment has never been tested we write "not rated" rather than guessing at one.

Swatches on this page are drawn on screen and will not match paint on paper exactly. The printed chart is painted by hand from the same batch, and it is the one to judge a colour from.

On the palette

What mixes clean, and what turns to mud

Mixed on cold-pressed paper, one part to one part, left to dry. The results below are ours and the reasons apply to any brand's version of the same pigments.

If you buy three

Ultramarine, Burnt Sienna and Yellow Ochre will get you every grey, every green and most skies. Buy those, paint for a month, and then decide what is missing.

  • Ultramarine Burnt Sienna Mixes clean

    Every grey from warm to cold, depending which way you lean it.

    Complementary, both transparent, and both granulating — so the grey stays alive rather than going flat.

  • Yellow Ochre Ultramarine Mixes clean

    The muted greens most landscapes actually need.

    An earth yellow keeps the green from going acid, which is what a bright yellow does.

  • Alizarin Crimson Sap Green Carefully

    A deep near-black that stays warm.

    It works, but Sap Green is a two-pigment mix, so you are mixing three pigments and it goes dull quickly.

  • Burnt Sienna Yellow Ochre Mud

    A flat brown with nothing in it.

    Two granulating earths of the same family. There is no contrast left to make the mix interesting.

  • Payne's Grey Alizarin Crimson Carefully

    Shadow tones for anything red.

    Fine at low strength. Heavier and the black in Payne's Grey takes over and kills the crimson.

Swatches are drawn on screen and are an approximation. Any mix behaves differently at different strengths — these are all one to one.

How it works

  • One pigment, named

    PB29, PR108, PY35 — the pigment index number is on every tube and every pan.

  • Lightfastness printed

    The ASTM rating is on the label. We do not sell a fugitive colour as permanent.

  • Packed to survive the post

    Pans boxed and taped, tubes capped and bagged. A leak is replaced.

Shop by goal

Find what you need

  • Pigment index publishedOn every colour
  • Lightfastness statedIncluding the fugitive ones
  • No fillers or extenders or extendersPigment, gum, honey, water
  • Refills, not repurchasesPans sold on their own

Questions

What painters ask

Demo photograph of a studio bench in flat daylight
Will it fade?

Every colour carries its lightfastness rating — I, II or III on the ASTM scale — on the tube and on the page. Class I and II will not fade behind glass in a lifetime; the three Class III colours in the range say so plainly and are priced accordingly.

Is it a single pigment?

The pigment index is printed on every tube — PB29, PY150 — and the page says single or mixed. Sap Green is a name; PG7 plus PY150 is what is in it, and we tell you.

Why does the colour vary between batches?

Pigment is ground from mineral and plant sources that vary by lot, and we do not add dyes to hide it. The batch number is on the tube; buy from one batch for a single painting and expect small shifts between batches.

Can I buy a pan on its own?

Yes. Every colour in the set is sold as a single half pan or full pan, and the empty tins take any of them, so a set can be rebuilt one colour at a time.