Kuretake Gansai Tambi Watercolor No.19 POTTER'S PINK

Potter's Pink – No.19 from Kuretake's Gansai Tambi series – is a muted, dusty rose earth tone whose Japanese traditional name 退紅 (taikō) refers to the faded pink of antique textiles. The colour is pressed as a hand-crafted paint cake in a large pan format and formulated on a water base. Activated with a damp brush, it releases a creamy-soft, flowing pigment mass that sits between transparent watercolour and gouache: more opaque than Western watercolours, yet more transparent than true opaque paint.

Features

• Pigment composition PG7 / PR101 / PW6: The three-part combination of phthalo green, iron oxide red and titanium white creates the characteristic, subtly broken dusty rose – neither sweetly luminous nor fully opaque, but with a quiet depth that reads differently on white paper than on tinted grounds.
• Large pan format (48 × 28 mm): The oversized pan allows loading broad flat brushes and large watercolour brushes; no tedious dabbing of tiny pans – the working surface is generous enough for broad washes and background floods.
• Creamy-soft consistency with gentle sheen: The paint cake dissolves smoothly with minimal water and flows evenly on both smooth and rough watercolour paper. When applied thickly, the binder leaves a fine silk sheen on the dried surface.
• Enhanced opacity in the Japanese style: Due to high pigment concentration, Potter's Pink offers more body than classical transparent watercolours – light glazes over dark areas are possible without the colour sinking completely.
• Hand-crafted in Japan: Each pan is traditionally hand-filled; minimal surface roughness or fine cracks in the paint cake are production-related and do not affect painting performance.
• Not archival: Like all water-based watercolours, Potter's Pink is not archival and remains water-soluble after drying – ideal for mixed media work, but not suitable for archive-quality documentation.

Use & Tips

• Illustration and sketch: The broken dusty rose is perfect for skin tones, weathered architectural surfaces, botanical illustrations and any subject where an earthy rose tone works with restraint – without dominating.
• Calligraphy and brush lettering: The creamy consistency flows controllably on a fine round script brush tip; for broad brush-pen strokes, the colour can be dissolved directly in the pan and transferred by brush. On smooth, calendered paper, particularly clean glaze transitions emerge.
• Mixed media: Diluted generously with water, Potter's Pink yields a delicate, almost powdery glaze for backgrounds. Applied concentrated and blended with a dry brush, it reads almost like pastel – an effect particularly noticeable on washi paper.
• Layering technique: Since PW6 (titanium white) is included, Potter's Pink can be layered as a light colour over darker tones, provided the lower layer is fully dry. With considerably more water, the opacity weakens – so dilute thinly for transparent builds.
• Paper: Watercolour paper from 300 g/m² upwards or Japanese washi is recommended; on smooth calendered mixed-media paper, the colour flows more softly; on rough deckle paper, finer texture patterns emerge in the pigment deposits.
• Combination within the series: Potter's Pink harmonises with the earth tones of the Gansai Tambi series – such as Coral Pink (No.17), Pale Pink (No.18) or warm beige tones – and blends directly while still damp.

For Watercolour Enthusiasts

The pigment combination PG7 (phthalo green) + PR101 (synthetic iron oxide red) + PW6 (titanium white) is unusual: the phthalo green serves here not as an independent colour, but as a coolant that shifts the warm iron oxide red towards the characteristic, slightly grey-toned dusty rose – an effect barely reproducible with pure primary colours. PW6 simultaneously increases opacity and dampens saturation, which explains why Potter's Pink reads almost pastel-like in thick application, yet retains a cool, earthy whisper in thin glazes. Lightfastness depends strongly on dilution in this mixture: the more water, the lower the pigment density per area – for heavily diluted glazes, light-sensitive works should be stored accordingly protected.

Technical Specifications