Home Creators Posts Import Register Favorites Logout

Content

Hi everyone,

I've long been a fan of Winsor & Newton watercolour paints; however, you might have noticed that I've recently incorporated Schmincke paints into my arsenal as well.

Securing Winsor & Newton paints in Australia can be a bit of a challenge. My go-to local art supply store often has an incomplete selection, with lots of colours out of stock. As well as that, they come with a hefty price tag.

On the other hand, Schmincke paints, while matching the high quality of Winsor & Newton, are more affordable. Last year, Jackson’s Art Supplies kindly sent me a variety of Schmincke paints to test. I was impressed with their performance, which led me to expand my colour collection from their range.

I plan to continue using my existing Winsor & Newton paints to avoid wastage, but I will also be incorporating Schmincke paints into my work.

To minimize confusion in my tutorials, I've taken to noting down Winsor & Newton colour equivalents for any Schmincke colours I use on the Supplies List of each tutorial. This should help those who prefer or only have access to Winsor & Newton.

In addition, I've recently published a blog post  where I delve into colour swatching across three brands: Daniel Smith, Winsor & Newton, and Schmincke. 

In it, I provide suggestions for colour substitutions, offering a comparison to assist in finding the perfect hues for your projects.

Don’t be afraid to experiment with colour. Changing brands or paint colours shouldn't be a hurdle in your artistic path. It's an opportunity to explore and grow. Remember, no matter the brand or the hue, your unique style and vision are what truly bring your paintings to life.

Read the blog post here: https://www.louisedemasi.com/tips/2024/1/7/substituting-paint-colours-navigating-different-brands-with-ease

Thanks,

Louise

Files

Comments

sarah

This is exactly what I needed! Thanks.

Diane Hansen

Thanks so much Louise. I don't have a local art store in St Augustine Florida; I would have to go to Jacksonville, and that's more than an hour away, so I rely on Amazon. Schmincke is the one brand that does not come delivery free......the delivery cost is almost as much as a tube of paint, and there are very few color selections. A conversion chart is just the ticket.

Simi

Hey Louise. Is Winsor Red a warm red or a cool one?

Basia

Great Post. Louise 🤗...this is a very much appreciated blog post...as this is one of the big obstacles to getting the colour matching correct in a tutorial as we all have different kinds of paints in different parts of the world!....... I have not tried W&Newton nor Schminke..... & have discovered paints which only use traditional honey as the binder ....To my delight, I have found they never get hard in the pan, they are soft as butter when you re-wet them & never damage brushes. My current favourites are Senellier & Michael Harding....once again many thanks for this clarifying and informative post which helps us all to interpret the codes & colour match appropriately.💪

Marika Roth

This is a great post. Thank you so much for sharing. Is it possible to make those charts downloadable in a PDF format? I would love to be able to print them out. thanks.

Jennifer Abbott

Thanks for all your hard work on this, Louise!! It certainly does serve as a motivator for me to get busy & create some of my own comparison charts!

Debra

Wonderful gift here, Louise for your patreons. I would also like to add, that there are on line sources which are great help for color matching and comparison such as Jane Blundell and Handprint. I use both of these when doing your tutorials as I do not have many Winsor & Newton paints. I always learn something extra searching for the right color, too!

Louise De Masi

Hi Simi- Winsor Red is warm (to my eye) and Winsor Red Deep is cool.

Louise De Masi

My pleasure Diane. I'll keep adding more substitute suggestions to the post when I can. Thank you!

Louise De Masi

Thanks Basia. I have some Roman Szmal paints. They have honey in them too - they blend beautifully.

Louise De Masi

Thanks Marika. I'll work on that when I can. Thank you for the suggestion!

Louise De Masi

Thanks Jennifer. I'll keep at it and I'll make a downloadable file for everyone as well.

Zhanna Pekelis

Louise, this is so helpful, because I started to worry that you switched the tutorials to Shminke but I invested in Windsor and Newton and just began to remember the colors and their behaviors. I seriously don’t want to invest in a different brand at least for now.

Louise De Masi

Don't worry Zhanna I'll still keep using my Winsor & Newton paints for tutorials because I have so many of them. When I do a tutorial with Schmincke paints I'll list the substitutes. As well as that you can always message me if you are unsure.

Zhanna Pekelis

Louise, thank you so much for your kind reply! I enjoy your tutorials so much and people compliment me on my work but I always say, it’s really only because of your teaching technique :) and also the limited pallete helps so much. I don’t like when there are lots of colors and mixing involved. It’s confusing for beginners.

Geri Kraynak

Thank you Louise AND Debra! Louise, I always learn so much from your videos and blogs, and I especially appreciate that you introduce many of your viewers to Australian artists since I might otherwise not have learned about them. As is turns out, Debra has also introduced me to another very prolific and talented watercolor artist from Australia in Jane Blundell! So, Debra and Louise, thank you so much for enlightening and brightening my world :-) It is in this spirit that I would like to share a source that I found incredibly valuable, Dr. Oto Kano. Dr. Oto Kano had had a very active YouTube channel, had been a Patreon creator, had, and still has, a website in her name where she has created an encyclopedia of watercolor paints that can be searched by brand, pigment, or color. I hope that this is helpful. I will now return to preparing to paint those beautiful calla lilies using Daniel Smith's Burnt Sienna, French Ultramarine, Phthalo Blue (green shade), and Mijello Mission Gold's Permanent Yellow Light. :-)

Debra

Geri, So happy to share. And, thank you for your recommendation! The best part of learning is sharing!!

Louise De Masi

Fantastic- Thank you Debra and Geri for sharing these resources. 🥰

Lin Be

Love your tutorials! I came across a site that helps in identifying and converting different brands from one color to another that includes the color qualities of each -(transparent, opaque, granulating etc.) The website is: OtoKano.com. It covers many different brands of watercolor paint. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Linda Bestler USA

Louise De Masi

Thanks so much Linda and thank you for the information. I've watched her on YouTube. I'll go and have a look at her website.

Eilis Miller

This is absolutely fantastic. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Eilis Miller

On a different note, can you comment on that white adjustable light? thanks

Katt

This is awesomely wonderful!! I have wondered for a while if there was a conversion chart anywhere. It’s was frustrating as a relative beginner in watercolors when watching anyone’s tutorials when they were naming colors and I didn’t have them, knew what they looked like and didn’t have the confidence yet to say… “that’s ok! I’ll use the colors I want to get a similar or even make this painting ‘mine’!” This helps so much to study colors and the effect a color makes on the emotion or feeling of the piece. I appreciate you so much, Louise!! You gave me that confidence!! Bravo!! 🩷🎨

Louise De Masi

My pleasure Ellis. It was long over due. Thank you!

Louise De Masi

It's a Lumi Daylight Task Lamp. It's new- so I am still getting used to it. I love that I am able to see the wetness of the paper without having to change my position. I bought it from an Art Supply store here in Sydney. So far so good. https://www.instagram.com/p/C2i_ttevSCw/

Louise De Masi

Thank you Katt. I'm glad it's useful to. Some have asked me to make a downloadable pdf so I'll do that when I can as well.

Robin

Thks for all your hard work and making the conversion chart it is so helpful. As a beginner I have like five different kinds of paints haha

Louise De Masi

It's a pleasure Robin. I know, it can be very confusing. 😂