A Frolic in Burnt Sienna

I’m writing to you today on behalf of Pigment Brown 7, and all of those other misunderstood pigments that wish you would read the contents on a tube of watercolor. No. Not the fun names in bold letters on the front. I'm talking about those small letters with numbers located in some inconspicuous place on the back side of the label.

Pigment Brown 7 will be known henceforth as PBr7; because you are sophisticated, and you know to look for this designation in the teen-tine print. Fine you say, “so why aren’t the colors in each and every tube of watercolor the same color if they all have the same pigment designation?” This is where things take a turn: creative color manufacturers want their PBr7 to stand out from the crowd of PBr7’s everywhere. They are a competitive bunch and they wish to imbue their colors with personality and specialness. Just the same as you. You want your work to stand out from the rest. And different color-providers sell similar, but not exact color products to the watercolor manufacturing market. Those colors can vary in small ways or be altered a bit before sale so even if they are PBr7 they can be different in character and appearance. Go here if you want a deep dive:  http://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/earthp.html

Ok then, now you know. You are a creative person so you can’t expect simple answers to complicated questions. But you can get your head around the idea of a good recipe or formula and you understand the need to be different from the pack.

Colors have changed a great deal over time. They used to be made (and still are) from plants or animals (ugh), and minerals ground down to a powder and mixed with other (often icky) ingredients and so forth. Not a lot of manufacturers can get down with icky ingredients. And they don’t have to. There are other more reliable substances that work (often better) than the original formula. Here is an example of what I am talking about.

The photo shows different brands of PBr7, which have labels with the name Burnt Sienna on the front. See how different they each look?  Pick a brand you like and work with that: no need to wobble around worrying about which one is the ‘right’ one. The ‘right’ one is the one that works for you.

Now what you must face is the idea that just because the color folks are using PBr7 doesn't mean they don’t want to flex their creative muscles and produce their version of what you think should be the same color. Do you follow that? So, you must step up and become the informed, open-minded consumer that you know you can be and make of few samples of different paints and learn their special nuanced personalities, before you use them. Or be that stick in the mud and hang onto the one you started with and don’t let go. Nothing wrong with that at all. It will save you picking and choosing through that secret stash you have been acquiring over the years.