Kuretake Gansai Tambi Watercolor No.405 GREEN GOLD

Green Gold (No. 405) is a muted, olive-toned gold-green from Kuretake Gansai Tambi's Art Nouveau line – a Japanese watercolour paint inspired by the natural colours of the Japanese landscape. The colour sits as a pressed cake in a transparent plastic pan and dissolves with a damp brush into a creamy, smooth consistency. Pigmented with PG7 (Phthalocyanine Green) and PY42 (synthetic Iron Oxide Yellow), it yields a subdued, warm green tone with a hint of earth – calm yet luminous.

Features

• Creamy, pigment-rich consistency: The colour cake dissolves completely with minimal water – no grainy texture, even colour coverage from the first brushstroke.
• Variable opacity: With little water, Green Gold works opaquely and covering like gouache; with more water, the tone becomes transparent and luminous – both qualities in one colour.
• Subtle sheen in the masstone: Applied densely, the colour dries with a satin-like shimmer that transitions into a matte finish when using wet-on-wet technique.
• Large-format pan (approx. 48 × 28 mm): The oversized pan allows the use of broad watercolour brushes without the risk of bending bristles when dipping.
• Reactivatable: Dried colour reactivates completely with water – corrections, colour gradations and layering remain possible at any time.
• Available individually as a refill pan: Fits precisely into all Gansai Tambi palette sets; colour number printed on the underside of the pan.
• Pigments PG7 + PY42: Phthalocyanine Green and synthetic Iron Oxide Yellow – both well documented and recorded in pigment databases.
• Water-based, ACMI-certified, non-toxic.

Use & Tips

• Activation: Work a fully dampened brush into the cake in circular motions for approximately one minute before extracting colour – this allows the pigment to dissolve optimally and maintains consistent consistency.
• Mixing washes on the palette: Do not dilute larger quantities of water directly in the pan; instead, dissolve colour on a separate palette – standing water in the pan can cause fine cracks as it dries.
• Illustration and sketch: Green Gold suits botanical motifs, foliage, patina surfaces and muted backgrounds; the tone shifts depending on water dilution from olive-khaki to a warmer yellow-green.
• Sumi-e and ink drawing: Applied as a glaze over ink lines – thanks to high pigment density, no softening of the outline occurs.
• Brush lettering and calligraphy: Can be picked up directly from the pan with a soft watercolour brush or water brush; the colour flows in a controlled manner without blotching.
• Paper: Optimal results on watercolour paper (300 g/m², cotton fibre or wood pulp), washi and rice paper. On smooth, calendered paper, the colour remains intensely opaque and dries with visible shimmer.
• Layering: Allow each layer to dry completely before applying the next – due to higher opacity, layers can be controlled well without lower layers showing through completely.

For Watercolour Enthusiasts

Gansai Tambi differs from Western watercolours in its binder mixture: instead of pure gum arabic, it uses a combination of alternative binders that gives the colour cake its characteristic creaminess and strong reactivation properties. The colour behaviour thus moves between transparent watercolour and gouache – depending on water content, the surface shifts from rich gloss (masstone) to fully transparent matte. Green Gold No. 405 was originally created as part of the Art Nouveau set introduced by Kuretake in 2006, which defined colours modelled on the Japanese natural landscape around 1900. The pigment combination PG7 + PY42 is well established in the watercolour tradition: PG7 provides depth and cool notes, PY42 provides earthy warmth and opacity – when mixed, a colour tone develops that achieves unusual depth in glaze layers.

Technical Specifications