Kuretake Gansai Tambi Watercolor No.505 IVY GREEN

Ivy Green No. 505 is a deep, rich ivy green from Kuretake's Gansai Tambi line – handcrafted Japanese watercolour in pan form, water-soluble and creamy-soft in consistency. The colour sits between transparent watercolour and gouache: with plenty of water it becomes delicate and translucent; with less water it's rich and opaque. This sets it clearly apart from Western watercolours with their purely transparent working method.

Features

• High opacity through strong pigmentation: Compared to Western watercolour paints, Gansai Tambi shows significantly higher pigment concentration – Ivy Green can be used as a rich, opaque flat green or as a delicately translucent tone over light grounds.
• Creamy, easily mixable consistency: The colour block dissolves quickly and evenly with brush or water brush. Ivy Green blends effortlessly with other tones in the series – for example with Greyish Green No. 504 for muted, mossy shades, or with Pea Green No. 501 for lighter transitions.
• Large pan (approximately 48 × 28 mm): The generous format allows the use of wider brushes and large-scale working – a pan this size is well suited for A4 areas without constantly needing to reload.
• Lightfast and non-toxic: The water-based pigment colour is AP-certified non-toxic and lightfast – Ivy Green retains its character in finished artworks over time.
• Available individually as a replacement pan: The pan fits directly into Kuretake Gansai Tambi palettes and can be used as a refill when a colour runs out.

Use & Tips

• Botanical illustration: Ivy Green is ideal for leaf and plant structures in botanical drawings. Applied with little water, dense, almost opaque areas develop; with more water, delicate veins and bright highlights on leaves can be worked out.
• Sumi-e and ink combination: Gansai Tambi was originally developed for colouring ink drawings. Ivy Green works equally well as a rich background tone under sumi lines as it does as an accent colour applied to finished ink work.
• Calligraphy and brush lettering: The creamy consistency enables smooth flow across the brush – Ivy Green can be used directly for coloured lettering work and Japanese calligraphy.
• Paper recommendation: Watercolour paper from 300 g/m² takes the colour optimally and prevents cockling. On washi or rice paper, Ivy Green shows a particularly soft, almost silky effect. Smooth, calendered paper is suitable for line work with minimal water.
• Layering technique: Since the colour can be reactivated after drying, multiple layers of Ivy Green can be built up – deeper shadows develop through layering without the colour cracking.

For Watercolour Enthusiasts

Gansai Tambi is positioned colour-systematically between transparent watercolour and gouache: higher pigment density than Western watercolours, but less opaque white than true gouache. Ivy Green No. 505 belongs to the 500-series greens, ranging from Pea Green (501) through Billiard Green (502), Cobalt Green (503) and Greyish Green (504) to Shadow Green (506) – a complete green spectrum that enables targeted mixing within the series. The colour is manufactured as a pressed colour block (pan watercolour), not a tube watercolour – this means lower moisture sensitivity and direct activation without preparation.

Technical Specifications