Kuretake Gansai Tambi Watercolor No.21 GRAY

The Kuretake Gansai Tambi No. 21 Gray is a single watercolor pan in large format – handcrafted in Japan according to a tradition of sumi ink production spanning over a hundred years. The cool, neutral gray tone is based on pigments PW6 and PBk7 and behaves very differently depending on water content: with little water it is creamy and opaque, with much water it becomes transparent and soft-cloudy. This dual nature makes it one of the most versatile colors in the entire Gansai Tambi range.

Special Features

• Large format pan (48 × 28 mm): The wide pan format provides ample space for broad brushes and water brushes – even large-scale washes can be applied without constant reloading.
• Pigment-based, lightfast: The pigment-based formulation (PW6 + PBk7) ensures lightfastness when applied. Intensity depends on water content – the more concentrated, the greater the light stability.
• Creamy, easily mixable consistency: The pan dissolves quickly with brush and water and releases color evenly. Gray mixes effortlessly with other Gansai Tambi colors to create broken tones or shades.
• Can be used transparent to opaque: With plenty of water, a translucent, cool gray wash appears – ideal for shadows, skies, and atmospheric backgrounds. Little water produces an opaque, almost gouache-like layer.
• Available as individual refill: The pan sits in its own plastic container and can be used directly as a replacement in existing Gansai Tambi palettes.
• Non-toxic and water-based: The color contains no solvent-based binder – hands and brushes can be cleaned with plain water.

Application & Tips

• Shadows and modeling: Gray is excellent for establishing shadow areas in illustrations and watercolor sketches – when applied thinly, the tone remains transparent without the warm-brown cloudiness that results from mixing complementary colors for gray.
• Sumi-e and East Asian painting techniques: The cool gray tone is close to classical sumi ink gradations. For washed ink drawings, the pan can be rinsed directly over ink lines without softening the contour – provided the ink is dry and waterproof.
• Calligraphy complement: As a background glaze under calligraphy work on watercolor paper or Japanese paper, the diluted gray tone creates a subtle, atmospheric base.
• Mixing: Gray No. 21 can be mixed with other Gansai Tambi tones to break pastel colors, cool sky blue, or mute skin tones in portraits.
• Water brush: Particularly travel-friendly when combined with a water brush – the large-format pan releases enough pigment even with quick dissolving.
• Paper: The tone appears most even on smooth, well-sized watercolor paper or waterproof paper; on rough paper, the texture creates finer brightness variations within the area.

For Illustration & Watercolor Enthusiasts

No. 21 Gray is composed pigmentally of PW6 (titanium white) and PBk7 (carbon black) – a classic pairing that produces a cool, blue-tinted neutral gray. Because PBk7 appears slightly bluish when heavily diluted, this tone is particularly well-suited for clouds, winter light, and metallic surfaces. Those who want a warmer tone can combine it with a hint of brown or earth tone. The water-insoluble component in the binder (Kuretake uses a resin-based, water-soluble binder) means that once-dried layers do not fully soften when worked over – an advantage when using multiple glaze layers.

Technical Data