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Gummies please help

Bob Carnie

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I am about to order material for multiple colour gum and I have a question for the more seasoned Gummi folks.

I have a list of pigments suggested by Daniel Smith as the vendor.

But I have a location very close to me who I do a lot of work who have pigments but not Daniel Smith.

The product line is .. Gamblin or Sennelier or Old Holland

please Gurus am I best to use DSmith or can the other three companys give me the same highquality pigments.

thanks in advance
 
I believe in supporting local business, so I buy Winsor Newton & Schmincke cause thats what they carry. I have been tempted to try some of the Daniel Smith as they are a favorite among gummies.

I don't have personal experience with the brands you mention, but I would not hesitate to give them a try. Just make sure they are the "Artists" grade
 
Bob-- There are three qualities to be aware of when buying watercolor pigments. First, get pigments that are light fast, non-fading. Do not even mess with anything that fades in light. Second, choose pigments that are non-granulating (do not form little clumps when diluted). This makes it easier to get a smooth coat of gum-pigment. And third, I try to get pigments that are non-staining. Watercolors vary in the degree to which they stain and you may not be able to get a completely non-staining pigment. But the less staining the better if you want to retain clean whites in your print. With these factors in mind I expect any of the major brands will work just fine.

Cheers, Ron Reeder
 

The simple answer is that Sennelier, M. Graham, Windsor & Newton make quality products along with D Smith. Avoid the student grade watercolors. Not all colors are equivalent from brand to brand. I would test several brands.

Generally we want transparent pigments.

Experimentation and testing is the key for discovering what works best for your and in your studio.

Don't forget your Badger blender brush!

Don
 
Yup. Forgot transparency. That is good if you want to see through the top layer to the layers below.

As for testing different brands, I would start by making some prints. You will not even know what you are testing for until you get some experience. Unless you live to test.

Cheers, Ron Reeder
 
I use DS tube pigments and occasionally Sennelier, both are excellent. Lightfastness and transparency for individual pigments are located on the DS site.

Everyone has their favorite pigments, and remember that the order of layers will affect the final print, too.

The "handprint" watercolor site has an exhaustive review of individual pigments and all things watercolor. Indispensable...
 
Thank you all, this is great and I can happily order from my local store with confidence.

I and others are starting The Toronto Farm Project printing now,
Osheen spent time with Sandy King and is doing carbon and colour carbon
Rinath , Laura and I spent time with Christina A and are doing gum
I met with Don B at Clemson and Sam Wang and Don convinced me to do tri colour gum by what I saw . Sam does some amazing palladian over cyanotype so I am trying that as well,
Ken is working on platinum .

We are all working on the negs we made on the Lambda so over the next month I should be able to post some images.
and by then have a few more questions to ask you GUMMIES.
 
Badger Blender Brush ???

Don where do I get that , and when I do what do I do with it, I am not making martinis you know.

jeeezzzz
 
bob carnie said:
Badger Blender Brush ???

Don where do I get that , and when I do what do I do with it, I am not making martinis you know.

jeeezzzz
Click to expand...

Seriously Bob, for tri-color you need one for each color pigment. Didn't Chris tell you about the Badger blender brush?

I use it to smooth the pigment as the final step when I coat the print. It makes a big difference IMO. I'll see if I can get you a link.

Don
 
I would appreciate the link Don
 
bob carnie said:
I would appreciate the link Don
Click to expand...

Here you go Bob.

Amazon.com: Royal & Langnickel Langnickel LW15 Faux Badger Softener Brush 4 in. softener: Kitchen & Dining

Real badger hair cost 4 to 5x than these but these work great. Just wash them and work the bristtles when you first get them to get rid of sheding hair.

The brush is used when the gum/pigment coating is just starting to set and the brush is whipped very lightly on the print surface. Very gentle but rapid strokes. The bristles should just barely touch the print surface. After you try them a couple of times you will see what I'm talking about. I have 3, one for each color for tri-color printing.

I clean the gum pigment build up on the bristle ends with an occasional cleaning in a dilute soultion of non-sudsing household ammonia. Followed by a water rinse and then followed with a treatment of hair softening conditioner.

Don
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thanks Don

I will give these a go

regards
Bob
 
PVia said:
A foam roller works wonders, too...
Click to expand...

I use a foam roller as well but the Badger hair blender brush takes smoothing to another level of smoothness and blends in a way the foam roller can't.

Don
 
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