Kuretake Gansai Tambi Watercolor No.49 YELLOW BROWN

Yellow Brown No. 49 is a warm, broken brown-yellow from the Gansai Tambi series by Kuretake – a traditional Japanese water-based watercolor. The paint sits as a hand-filled color cake in a large-format pan and activates immediately with a damp brush to a creamy, flowing color tone that shifts between watercolor transparency and gouache-like coverage depending on water dilution. Yellow Brown combines the warmth of weathered ocher with a muted depth that is equally suitable for naturalistic illustrations, botanical drawings, and earth-tone palettes.

Special Features

• Pigment composition PR101, PBk11, PY42: Iron oxide red (PR101) and iron oxide yellow (PY42) create the characteristically warm, slightly rusty brown tone; iron black (PBk11) dampens saturation and gives the color its subtle depth without muddiness.
• Water-based, creamy-soft consistency: The paint mixes very well and flows beautifully in broad washes – ideal for soft transitions in landscape or nature motifs.
• Variable coverage: With little water, Yellow Brown works opaquely like gouache; with plenty of water, transparent warm glazes develop that make light watercolor paper glow.
• Subtle silk sheen after drying: Dried surfaces show a delicate shimmer that reveals paper textures and gives illustrations a velvety presence.
• Large-format pan (approx. 4.5 × 2.5 cm): The generous format allows for broad brush strokes and quick loading of color without hollowing out the pan.
• Handcrafted in Japan: Each color cake is hand-filled in Japan. Slight roughness or small air bubbles on the surface are manufacturing-related and do not affect color quality.
• Available for individual purchase: The pan is available as a single color and can be inserted into compatible Gansai Tambi sets.

Application & Tips

• Botanical illustrations and nature motifs: Yellow Brown works as a base tone for branches, dry grasses, tree bark, and autumn foliage – applied transparently with a touch of water as a glaze over green base layers.
• Sumi-e and calligraphy backgrounds: As a washed background on slightly damp paper, the color creates a warm, paper-like atmosphere that accentuates black ink work.
• Earth-tone mixtures: Yellow Brown can be mixed with other Gansai Tambi colors like Olive Green (No. 54) or Venetian Red (No. 403) into natural earth palettes without muddying.
• Opaque application for highlights on dark backgrounds: With minimal water, the color can be applied pastose-like and used as a warm light edge or texture detail.
• Damp paper for soft edges: On wet, smooth, calendered paper, the iron oxide pigments flow particularly evenly and create soft, lively transitions.
• Activation: Guide a damp brush briefly over the color cake – the color dissolves immediately and evenly.

For Watercolor Enthusiasts

The pigment combination PR101 + PBk11 + PY42 is a classic earth-tone formula with exclusively inorganic pigments. Iron oxide pigments are considered highly light-fast (lightfastness rating predominantly I–II on the Blue Wool Scale) and show little granulation tendency in watercolor mixtures on smooth paper – they lie opaquely flat on the surface. Those seeking granulation effects intentionally can achieve them on rough watercolor paper with plenty of water: the different grain sizes of PR101 and PY42 can then differentiate slightly. The color is not document-proof and not waterproof after drying – softened areas can be reactivated and corrected with a damp brush.

Technical Specifications