who makes american journey watercolors

I am a watercolour artist, passionate about colour. I have been painting professionally for over 40 years and love to share my discoveries, so I have created this 'Colourpedia - a swatching Wikipedia' to quote one of my YouTube followers. You can see more of my work, links to my online courses, and many resources and tutorials on my website www.janeblundellart.com. You can also find me on Facebook at Jane Blundell Artist, and on Instagram as Janeblundellart, and on YouTube as Jane Blundell

Monday 10 June 2019

American journey watercolours full range, 8 comments:.

Awesome! Thanks for doing this. I started with American Journey, and have been pretty happy with them, although they're now considerably more expensive than Da Vinci, which I tend to like better. (American Journey has some weird pigment combos. (Why does Indathrone Blue contain PV19??) For a long time I thought I'd messed up my raw umber, as it was way lighter than I was expecting. There are some great paints (Green Gold isn't offered by anyone else in the 37ml size) that I still pick up, but I'm more cautious now and try to make sure there isn't a cheaper duplicate under another name. (Transparent Yellow Oxide is fantastic, but it's also a dead ringer for Da Vinci's Raw Umber Natural, so ...) It's great to see the whole lineup, though - thanks for your work!

I prefer Indanthrone with the touch of PV19. Beautiful night sky. Also love their Poppy and Quin Coral.

Hello! What color would you recommend as an alternative to Blue Stone? Thank you.

Thank you so much for posting this!! I was wondering if you would be able to recommend an alternative to Coastal Fog as I am unable to get American Journey paints where I live? Thank you :) L

Daniel Smith Gray Titanium is a similar colour as a single pigment paint. Or create your own version using white and raw umber.

This line bears a suspicious resemblance to Da Vinci's line! Hmmmmm....

That would be because they are made by Da Vinci. American Journey is Cheap Joe's house brand watercolors, but they hired Da Vinci to manufacture the paints for them.

Thank you…very helpful!

American Journey Watercolor Review, Cheap Joes, Color Chart Swatch Cards

There are many custom convenience colors ( uncommon multi-pigment mixtures ) in American Journey including: Andrew's Turquoise, Apricot, Blue Stone , Brown Madder Quinacridone, Carr Yellow, Chromium Oxide Green, Janet's Violet Rose , Mint Julep, Orchid, Pat's Coastal Blue , Peachy Keen, Quin Gold (an unusual PY42 version instead of PY150), Skip's Green, Shadow and Taylor's Flamingo Pink. There are also three very similar PBr7/PW6 mixtures that look like Buff Titanium PW6:1 (single pigment option available from DSmith or RSzmal) which American Journey calls: "Buff Titanium" (a hue), "French Gray" and "Coastal Fog". There's probably a couple more unique mixtures that I didn't immediately notice nestled in their 100+ color options. There are additional common mixtures like Periwinkle (Lavender), Passionate Purple (Thioindigo), Getz (Davy's), Junebug (Prussian Green) and Moonglow (Artemis) which can be found in other brands (like DVinci or DSmith). Even if this brand is not an affordable option in your area of the world, it's definitely fun to browse their catalog for mixing inspiration. Check out the "more info" tabs for pigment ingredients at https://www.cheapjoes.com/american-journey-artists-watercolor.html  

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American Journey Watercolors

Watercolors.

Posted On March 8, 2020

It is always very difficult choosing the right materials and tools to use for creating art since there are so many good things on offer. Watercolors are not the exception to this rule with so many amazing manufacturers out there things can get really confusing.

One of the good watercolors I can recommend you are American Journey watercolors . These are artist grade watercolors meaning top quality materials are used in the production, they are richer in pigments and more lightfast then student grade watercolors.

Appearance And Performance

American Journey artist watercolors come in over 100 different colors. They are sold in quite large tubes of 37ml and also in 15ml and 8ml ones. You can also find a few sets of these paints. They are only sold through Cheap Joe’s. Since they come in such large tubes some people might think they are student grade colors which is not the case.

Paints have very specific consistency and properties and do not behave like many other watercolors. Once you squeeze them out of the tube you will notice that they are very thick and creamy almost toothpaste like.

What is different about them is that they keep that consistency on the palette and on the paper as well, there is not a lot of movement or fluidity in these paints. This can be good or bad depending on the way you paint really. But don’t worry they dilute well if enough water is added so this is really not a problem with the paints.

Even tho they are so thick they are rewetting nicely if enough water is added. what is nice about them is that they keep the brightness and strength of color after they dry.

When it comes to granulation just a few of the colors showed granulating properties while others diluted nicely with no granulation at all. So I would say, considering the creamy consistency and almost no granulation at all these paints are very easy to controll which makes them almost ideal for students and beginners. Not to mention nice big tubes of paint for a very affordable price.

Of course this said I do not think American Journey watercolors are just for beginners. These are top quality artist watercolors with amazing bright pigments and good lightfastness and they come in wast majority of colors and I am sure they can fulfil the criteria of even the most demanding artists, depending on the technique they use.

To Summarize

American Journey watercolors are top quality artist watercolors made of finest pigments with a very creamy consistency and little to no granulation. They rewet well and maintain the brightness of color even after they are fully dry on the paper. The packaging is great and the price is very affordable for most of the colors.

They are great for students and beginners but can also be used by professional artists. There are nice sample packs for you to purchase and try them out to see if these are something you might like using. What I can say to you is that for this particular brand I haven’t found any flaws.

Alternatives

If you are still not sure that these are something you might like using there are other great professional artist colors I can recommend you such as Winsor and Newton professional watercolors which come in a range of 109 different colors and tones with 80 single pigment colors.

Most of the colors in Winsor and Newton professional watercolor line are marked as permanent for artist’s use. Even 106 rated A or AA for permanence.

The only issue with Winsor and Newton can be that the paints in tubes are not made by the same formula as paints in the pans and half pans so you cant pour them into pans from the tube.

They do tend to behave oddly when rewetted as well, giving you unusable gritty mass. So my advice would be to purchase them in pans and half pans unless you can use all of the paint you squeezed out of the tube.

The price of Winsor and Newton professional colors is not high and you can purchase them in many nice and practical sets.

If you are looking for something more serious when it comes to watercolors there is Schminke Horadam artist watercolor line that offers you pure perfection but at a higher price of course.

Schminke Horadam professional watercolors come in amazing 139 different colors. Most of those colors or to be exact 112 of them are rated with the highest possible lightfastness ( four and five stars ).

Schminke watercolors ale sold in pans, half-pans and tubes. There is no difference what so ever between the paint in the tubes and the pans so you can easily refill your pans with the paint from the tubes. Tubes come in 5ml and 15ml. Paints rewet easily even after a long time on the palette.

Most of Schminke Horadam paints from their professional line are made of single or double pigments so it is very easy mixing them with amazingly bright and brilliant results.

The texture of the paint in the tubes goes from almost liquid to very creamy consistency but don’t be worried about that when you pour paint in the pans and half pans it dries normally with no noticeable shrinking or crackling.

You can find these watercolors in many different sets and the price is not very high for the quality you get. It is a real delight painting with Schminke Horadam watercolors.

Whichever paints you decide to purchase, go small. We are all different and have different painting technique and preferences, different things suit us. Most of the paints come in sample sets so it might be the best starting with one of those before you decide to spend extra and get yourself all the colors you need.

If you have any questions about the subject you can leave them in the comment section and I will be happy to answer them.

Written by Magdalena

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An American Journey: Watercolor Achievements From The CMA Collection

Canton museum of art.

Watercolor has the power to transport us through its luminous colors, its dappled brilliance of light, its cheerfulness, and its storied past. Take a journey with us as we dive into a world of dazzling color and captivating stories in An American Journey: Watercolor Achievements from the CMA Collection. Throughout time, artists have used watercolor to express themselves through the medium’s spontaneity and ability to capture the visually stunning effects of light and color. Many of the greatest achievements in the history of American art have been realized through the medium of watercolor, due to artists’ ability to use the medium to quickly render what they see around them.  By the turn of the century, the popularity of watercolor painting as well as its versatility and directness led many critics to proclaim watercolor the “American Medium.”  Additionally, due to its accessibility as a medium, watercolor was popular among women, such as Alice Schille , Claude Hirst, and Jane Peterson , who excelled as some of the most well-known and accomplished watercolor painters. 

Watercolor painting has been part of the artistic tradition within Ohio for centuries. The arrival of watercolor as a major genre in American art can be traced to the founding of the American Society of Painters in Water Colors in 1866. Watercolor had long been popular in the United States, but it was largely considered a medium best suited to amateur artists. The Society’s first exhibition in 1867 drastically altered this trajectory, and America’s leading artists increasingly viewed watercolor as a serious creative and commercial pursuit. In the 1920s, Cleveland surpassed Boston as the country's leading center in watercolor painting. The medium achieved popularity in Ohio due to the close-knit character of the artistic community, and soon, Ohio became a state filled with booming artistic colonies which produced thousands of paintings and cultivated generations of notorious painters. 

Over the last several decades, the Canton Museum of Art has built a thorough and extensive collection of works by some of the most celebrated watercolor artists in hopes of sharing this rich history with the community. Comprised of works from the Permanent Collection that trace the dynamic history of watercolor painting since the nineteenth century, An American Journey will highlight major American artists, including those from Ohio, who took the watercolor medium by storm and produced some of the finest works seen in the medium. You will see examples including Winslow Homer , who was significant in the revitalization of watercolor in America, John Singer Sargent , Oscar Bluemner , Charles Burchfield , Andrew Wyeth , and Edward Hopper , among others.  

Artists on show

• Alice Schille
• Andrew Wyeth
• Charles Ephraim Burchfield
• Edward Hopper
• Jane Peterson
• John Singer Sargent
• Oscar Bluemner
• Winslow Homer

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An American Journey: Watercolor Achievements from the CMA Collection (August 22-October 29, 2023)

Pictured above, left to right:

Children Playing at the Beach,  c. 1915-20. Edward Potthast (1857-1927). Watercolor and gouache on paper mounted on board. 

Pattern of Lilacs,  n.d. Charles Demuth (1883-1935). Watercolor on paper. 

Summertime,  1954. Edmund Kuehn (1916-2011). Watercolor on paper. 

Watercolor has the power to transport us through its luminous colors, its dappled brilliance of light, its cheerfulness, and its storied past. Take a journey with us as we dive into a world of dazzling color and captivating stories in An American Journey: Watercolor Achievements from the CMA Collection. Throughout time, artists have used watercolor to express themselves through the medium’s spontaneity and ability to capture the visually stunning effects of light and color. Many of the greatest achievements in the history of American art have been realized through the medium of watercolor, due to artists’ ability to use the medium to quickly render what they see around them.  By the turn of the century, the popularity of watercolor painting as well as its versatility and directness led many critics to proclaim watercolor the “American Medium.”  Additionally, due to its accessibility as a medium, watercolor was popular among women, such as Alice Schille, Claude Hirst, and Jane Peterson, who excelled as some of the most well-known and accomplished watercolor painters. 

Watercolor painting has been part of the artistic tradition within Ohio for centuries. The arrival of watercolor as a major genre in American art can be traced to the founding of the American Society of Painters in Water Colors in 1866. Watercolor had long been popular in the United States, but it was largely considered a medium best suited to amateur artists. The Society’s first exhibition in 1867 drastically altered this trajectory, and America’s leading artists increasingly viewed watercolor as a serious creative and commercial pursuit. In the 1920s, Cleveland surpassed Boston as the country's leading center in watercolor painting. The medium achieved popularity in Ohio due to the close-knit character of the artistic community, and soon, Ohio became a state filled with booming artistic colonies which produced thousands of paintings and cultivated generations of notorious painters. 

Over the last several decades, the Canton Museum of Art has built a thorough and extensive collection of works by some of the most celebrated watercolor artists in hopes of sharing this rich history with the community. Comprised of works from the Permanent Collection that trace the dynamic history of watercolor painting since the nineteenth century, An American Journey will highlight major American artists, including those from Ohio, who took the watercolor medium by storm and produced some of the finest works seen in the medium. You will see examples including Winslow Homer, who was significant in the revitalization of watercolor in America, John Singer Sargent, Oscar Bluemner, Charles Burchfield, Andrew Wyeth, and Edward Hopper, among others.  

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

To view the works in this exhibit, click here.

To view all of the watercolors from the CMA collection, click here. 

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