Choosing Keeping Retro Watercolour Set, 1950's
Choosing Keeping Retro Watercolour Set, 1950's Choosing Keeping Retro Watercolour Set, 1950's Choosing Keeping Retro Watercolour Set, 1950's Choosing Keeping Retro Watercolour Set, 1950's Choosing Keeping Retro Watercolour Set, 1950's

Choosing Keeping Retro Watercolour Set, 1950's

£25.00

Choosing Keeping presents seven exclusive, special editions of 8 shades of Gansai. This Japanese alternative to standard European watercolours is not dissimilar to gouache and is made by a 100 year old paint maker in Japan. The paints can be used directly out of the box with a wet paintbrush - either thinly in translucent washes, or by layering for a bolder effect. These can also be used on darker paper bases to enhance colours further.

The 1950s - The postwar boom propels the American dream in this perfectly idyllic set. Pour yourself a filter coffee and pick up your brush of choice to get painting. Think of the squeaky-clean Formica countertops of your local diner (and its matching kitchen appliances), the pink roses in your front garden, and the teal Bel Air in your garage. Put on an Elvis Presley record and let the serenity of suburbia take over as you apply paint to paper. 

Included is a blank letterpress swatch card featuring each individual colour name to be painted in for colour referencing. This can come in handy as appearances can be deceiving and each colour is only revealed once wet and set to paper!

We recommend the Aquarella (white) and Aquarello (off-white) for the perfect paper pairing.

Details:
Material: Gansai watercolour
Included: 8 colours in chiyogami paper presentation box including a blank letterpress swatch card which can be painted in for colour reference. 
Vegetarian/ Vegan: No (contains gelatine glue binder)
Non-toxic
Made in Japan
Swatches and illustrations courtesy of Maria Ines Gul

Colour Breakdown:

32 - Kikusa - This literally translates to ‘yellow grass’ despite being very much green. 
37 - Senkouhi - Fresh bright crimson 
205 - Tanryoku - Light green
222 - Aoi-iro - Named after the light purple mallow flower, traditionally used in Japanese medicines. 
203 - Kurogin-iro - Black-silver
207 - Sakura-iro - Cherry blossom - named after the much beloved sakura season in Japan. 
224 - Jinkou-cha - Argarwood tea, named after the specialised wood that is commonly used in perfumes and incense. 
7 - Gunjou - Ultramarine - in the west this colour, meaning across the sea, refers to the rare lapis that was used to make the pigment. Whilst commonly translated to this colour, Gunjou refers to the pigment made from crushed azurite, not lapis.