Kuretake Gansai Tambi Watercolor No.503 COBALT GREEN

Cobalt Green No. 503 is a subdued, cool blue-green from the Gansai Tambi range by Kuretake – a colour that evokes Japanese mountain forests and sea horizons. The pan contains a solid, creamy-soft colour block made from highly pigmented, water-based pigment paint that dissolves with minimal water to produce rich, opaque tones, or can be thinned with plenty of water to create transparent glazes. Behind the Gansai Tambi range lies Kuretake's over 100 years of expertise in ink manufacture – evident in the even colour release and characteristically silky dry finish.

Features

• Creamy consistency, high pigment density: The colour block dissolves completely and evenly with just a little water – no rubbing, no softening required. The pigment density allows for intense colour coverage with a single brushstroke.
• Variable opacity: Little water produces an opaque, gouache-like layer; plenty of water creates a transparent layer that lets the paper show through. Both working methods work in the same pan.
• Dries with a subtle silk sheen: The surface of dried colour areas reflects light minimally – not dull matt, but no distracting high gloss either. Cobalt Green retains its cool intensity throughout.
• Large pan format (48 × 28 mm): The wide, flat surface can be worked directly with larger brushes and broad calligraphy brushes without damaging or bending the bristles.
• Individually replaceable: The pan fits all Gansai Tambi palettes and serves as a replacement for exhausted colours in existing sets.
• ACMI-certified (AP seal): Water-based, non-toxic, tested to ASTM safety standards.
• Made in Japan.

Use & Tips

• Illustration and lettering: Cobalt Green is ideal for broad colour areas in sketches and illustrations as well as for rich accents in hand lettering projects. Calligraphy brushes allow you to create both soft transitions and precise contours with equal ease.
• Sumi-e and East Asian painting techniques: The quick dissolution and controlled flow make this colour compatible with traditional ink papers and rice paper – on water-resistant, smooth watercolour paper as well as on textured surfaces.
• Control opacity: For an opaque gouache effect, activate the colour directly from the pan with minimal water. For glazing watercolour, dilute the colour in a separate mixing area with plenty of water – this prevents the colour from unnecessarily clouding the mixing water.
• On dark paper: Cobalt Green's opacity with minimal water content is sufficient to shine visibly on grey or coloured paper.
• Layering: Work quickly when applying multiple layers: Gansai Tambi colours can easily reactivate through subsequent wet layers. Allow each layer to dry completely before applying the next.
• Mixing: Cobalt Green No. 503 harmonises with the blue-greens in the Gansai Tambi palette (e.g. Cobalt Turquoise Light No. 602) and can be mixed with whites to create muted pastel variations.

For Watercolour Enthusiasts

Gansai, as a Japanese painting tradition, is structurally different from Western watercolour paints: the pigment-to-binder ratio is considerably higher, and the colour tone changes very little on drying – what is often perceived as a "loss" of colour intensity in Western watercolours is largely avoided here. Kuretake does not provide pigment codes; Kuretake states that the colours have good lightfastness when not excessively diluted – lightfastness decreases with increasing amounts of water. Cobalt Green No. 503 is ideal for sketchbooks, illustrations and print reproductions; for original works that will be permanently displayed under light, personal assessment of lightfastness is recommended. The ACMI (American Society for Testing and Materials) AP seal confirms safety in accordance with international safety standards.

Technical Specifications