Kuretake Gansai Tambi Watercolor No.43 CADMIUM YELLOW

Cadmium Yellow No. 43 is a warm, radiant yellow from Kuretake's Gansai Tambi range – handcrafted Japanese watercolour in pan form that sits between classical watercolour and gouache. Water-based and pigment-rich, the creamy paint dissolves quickly on the brush and can be adjusted from opaque to transparent depending on water content. The colour is based on pigments PY1 (Hansa Yellow G) and PY55 (Diarylide Yellow) – synthetic yellows with excellent brilliance and clean colour body.

Features

• Creamy, highly mixable consistency: The soft texture dissolves completely with minimal water – no lengthy rubbing required. Mixes cleanly with other Gansai Tambi colours without smudging or graining.
• Variable coverage: Applied neat with little water, Cadmium Yellow appears bold and opaque like gouache; when heavily diluted it becomes a luminous, transparent glaze yellow. Both states are possible from the same pan.
• Pigment base PY1 + PY55: Hansa Yellow G and Diarylide Yellow together create a rich, mid-warm yellow with excellent colour brilliance. The mixture produces clean secondary colours – green with blue, orange with red – without dulling.
• Lightfast and non-toxic: The water-based paint is lightfast and free from harmful substances – suitable for extended working sessions.
• Large pan (48 × 28 mm): The oversized panel allows the use of broader brushes and rapid colouring of larger areas without constant reloading.
• Refill-compatible: The individual pan fits directly into any Gansai Tambi palette and replaces an exhausted block with precision.

Use & Tips

• Illustration and Sumi-e: Cadmium Yellow No. 43 suits sketches, botanical illustrations and Sumi-e work. With a soft round brush and plenty of water, delicate glazes emerge; applied dry-on-dry, edges remain sharp.
• Calligraphy accents: In heavily diluted form on smooth, ink-proof paper, fine background areas or text accents can be applied. For brush calligraphy in Fudegokochi or brush-pen style, the colour works well as an underpainting.
• Mixing: With a warm blue (e.g. No. 64 Ultramarine) creates a lively spring green; with No. 30 Cadmium Red produces a warm orange. The clear pigment profile ensures mixed colours remain luminous and don't turn muddy.
• Paper recommendation: On cold- or hot-pressed watercolour paper of at least 200 g/m², the brilliance unfolds best. Highly absorbent or unsized surfaces absorb the colour quickly and reduce transparency.
• Reactivatable: Dried paint in the pan can be easily reactivated with water – no waste during work breaks.

For Watercolour Enthusiasts

Gansai Tambi builds on Kuretake's more than a century of experience in sumi ink production – the resulting binder formulation creates characteristic flow and blooming behaviour that differs noticeably from Western watercolours: the paint remains more fluid during wet-on-wet work and forms softer transitions. Pigment PY1 (Hansa Yellow G) is a classic, transparent synthetic pigment with high tinting strength; PY55 (Diarylide Yellow) enhances brilliance and body. The combination of both pigments in No. 43 yields a mid-range, warm-toned yellow – neither lemon nor ochre – that positions itself in the palette between No. 40 Lemon Yellow and No. 44 Yellow Ochre, functioning equally well as a mixing partner for both greens and oranges.

Technical Specifications