u/sashafurgang

5x7 Fabriano Cold Press.

Practicing my ocean waves.

Fabriano Rough 5x7

I've been lurking on A. Gallo's website for a while, and finally decided to order some half-pans to try out.

They're hand-made in Italy, and use a blend of gum arabic, honey and rosemary oil in the binder. I went for Potter's Pink, Burnt Sienna (Mt. Amiata), Green Gold, Sap Green, Olive Green Deep, and Slate Gray (pic 1).

My overall impressions are very positive. The pans rewet great, and the pigment concentration is impressive. I haven't used them for a real painting yet, but in swatch tests they handle great. And worth adding, I can clearly smell the rosemary oil and it adds a whole new facet to the experience.

Potter's Pink is an immediate favorite - not too warm or cold or dusty. It's heavily granulating, and does wonderful things in mixes (pic 2). It settles heavily in the recesses and creates some really interesting textures especially with darker colors.

The Burnt Sienna is a good version. A little bit less red-leaning than Daniel Smith, but overall very close (pic 3).

Green Gold is definitely more gold than green. Even in mass tone, I can't see a lot of green in it, especially compared to DS's Rich Green Gold (p3). But very luminous, to a point where it was hardly even muted down by Potter's (p2).

Sap Green is a really interesting take. Unlike DS's 3-pigment blend, this one uses 4 and leans much warmer and olive-like (p3). In isolation I find it much more attractive, but it remains to be seen if it can be warmed and cooled as needed as part of a palette as well as DS's relatively neutral version.

Olive Deep is probably the biggest standout of this lot. Great range, but also very interesting granulation into greens, yellows, and blues. Compared to DS (p3), the tone is much cooler and more muted. And the granulation is closer to DS's Undersea Green.

Lastly, Slate is an interesting offering. A very light chalky gray with a hint of green. A great quality pigment, but I don't immediately see a frequent use for it in my own palette.

Would love to hear from folks who have also tried them, and which of their offerings you prefer (or don't) over others.

Sometimes you just want maximum chaos for natural textures, so you just have to give your cheapest brush a custom haircut…

After an initial value study (https://www.reddit.com/r/Watercolor/s/wfKqgXUHAj), still trying to maintain a fairly minimal palette to preserve the calm of the scene.

DS Sodalite and Yellow Ochre on Fabriano Rough.

I’m taking a little break from color and going back to the basics. Paying more attention to value and technique. It’s been incredibly enjoyable and rewarding, and I’m learning a lot from the exercise.