Winsor & Newton Cotman Watercolour

Chinese White is a zinc based opaque white. Winsor & Newton were the first to sell Chinese White in England in 1834. It was named after the popular Chinese porcelain imported at the time.

Ivory black is a stable all-round black with brown undertones and excellent tinting powers. Its name stems from the traditional method for obtaining it: roasting elephant tusks.

Lamp Black is one of the oldest pigments. It is made of pure carbon, originally from the residual soot of burnt oil lamps. It is black with a bluish tint, producing a variety of cool blue greys.

Lemon Yellow Hue is a strong mid-range yellow, made from arylamide pigment. It closely resembles genuine Lemon Yellow which was discontinued many years ago due to the toxicity of the Barium Chromate pigment.

Cadmium Yellow Pale Hue is a strong light yellow made from arylide yellow pigments to closely resemble genuine Cadmium Yellow Pale.

Recently reformulated, Gamboge Hue is a warm yellow pigment resembling genuine Gamboge. Made from tree resin, genuine Gamboge was brought to Europe in 1603 and was believed to carry medicinal cures, but was found to have toxic properties.

Cadmium Yellow Hue is a warm mid-range yellow made from arylide pigments to resemble genuine Cadmium Yellow. It is a reddish yellow with good tinting properties. Arylide yellow is part of the Hansa Yellows which were first developed in the early 1900s in...

Cadmium Orange Hue is composed of several pigments closely resembling genuine Cadmium Orange. It is a versatile bright mid-range orange.

Cadmium Red Pale Hue is a light red pigment .It has been formulated to resemble genuine Cadmium Red Light.

Cadmium Red Hue is a strong mid-range red colour. It is a carefully selected combination of pigments closely matching genuine Cadmium Red.

A rich dark red, Cadmium Red Deep Hue is a carefully selected combination of pigments closely resembling genuine Cadmium Red Deep.

Alizarin Crimson Hue is a quinacridrone based pigment closely resembling genuine Alizarin Crimson. It is a transparent red pigment with blue undertones.

Rose Madder Hue is a transparent rich pink pigment closely resembling genuine Rose Madder.

Permanent Rose is a bright rose violet. It is a transparent quinacridone pigment and was introduced in the Winsor & Newton range in the 1950s.

Purple Lake is a transparent, cool dark purple.

Mauve is a rich violet colour. Originally a lake pigment, Mauve was discovered in England 1856 by Sir William Perkin and quickly became a fashionable clothing colour during the Victorian age.

Winsor Violet (Dioxazine) is a vivid mid-shade purple pigment. When undiluted, it can be used as a deep black. It is a transparent coal tar pigment and was introduced into the Winsor & Newton range in the 1960s.

Ultramarine is a rich deep transparent blue. It was created by French chemist Guimet in 1828 as a synthetic but chemically identical replacement for the expensive pigment derived from Lapis Lazuli.

Cerulean Blue Hue is a bright blue pigment with green undertones. It is a careful combination of pigments closely resembling genuine Cerulean Blue.

Cobalt Blue Hue is a clean blue pigment closely resembling Cobalt Blue. Genuine Cobalt was discovered in 1802 by French chemist Thénard as an alternative pigment to the expensive Lapis Lazuli blue.

Intense Blue (Phthalo Blue) is a deep intense blue which when undiluted, forms an inky blue-black. It is made from the modern pigment Phthalocyanine which was introduced in the 1930s.

Prussian Blue is a deep blue colour. It was made by German chemist Diesbach around 1704 making it the first synthetic blue pigment. It quickly gained favour as an alternative to genuine Ultramarine.

Indigo is a deep blue pigment that can range from dark black to pale blue. Originally extracted from plants similar to blue woad used by the ancient Britons, it was synthesised in 1878 in Germany. It is one of the oldest blue pigments used universally.

Turquoise is an opaque blend of green and blue pigments. The name stems from the French 'Turquoise' for the semi-precious stone that was exported to Europe from Persia via Turkey.

Intense Green (Phthalo Green) is a brilliant transparent green pigment with a yellow undertone. A modern pigment, it was introduced in 1930s.

Winsor Emerald is a bright clean opaque emerald colour. First documented in 1822, it originally contained arsenic, and is said to have killed Napoleon as his wallpaper in St Helens was emerald green. Winsor & Newton have created a non-toxic version...

Viridian Hue is a transparent emerald green colour. Named after the Latin for green 'viridis', it closely matches genuine Viridian.

Hooker's Green Dark is a rich dark green with a blue tint. A mixed pigment colour, it was originally created by 19th c English botanist illustrator William J Hooker.

Hooker's Green Light is a rich pale green. A mixed pigment colour, it was originally created by 19th c English botanist illustrator William J Hooker.

Sap Green is a bright mid-range green with a yellow undertone. Originally Sap Green was a lake pigment made from unripe Buckthorn berries.

Raw Sienna is a bright brown pigment. One of the oldest pigments, it can be found in prehistoric cave art. It is named after Siena, Italy where the pigment was sourced during the Renaissance.

Yellow Ochre is a warm yellow. Originally made from natural iron oxides found in earth, it is one of the oldest pigments used by mankind. A synthetic version became available in the 1920s.

Burnt Sienna is a rich brown pigment made by burning Raw Sienna. Named after Siena in Italy, where the pigment was sourced during the Renaissance, it is a transparent pigment with red-brown tones.

Light Red is a red earth pigment based on natural and synthetic iron oxide. It is a permanent, opaque colour with a brown undertone.

Indian Red is an opaque red with blue undertones. Originally made of natural red iron oxides found in earth, it is one of the oldest pigments and is favoured for its permanence.

Raw Umber is a rich brown pigment made from the natural brown clays found in earth. It was named after Umbria, a region in Italy where it was mined.

A rich dark brown pigment, Burnt Umber is made from natural brown clays found in earth. It was named after Umbria, a region in Italy where it was mined. Burning the raw pigment intensifies its colour.

Vandyke Brown is a brown pigment named after the Flemish painter Van Dyke who used it in many of his paintings. It is an earth pigment, and is often used for shading.

Sepia is a black brown colour. Originally made in the 18th from the ink sacks of cuttlefish, it is now made from a mixture of carbon and umber. It is a highly permanent colour.

Payne's Gray is a dark blue grey made from a mixture of Ultramarine, Mars Black and sometimes Crimson. It was named after the 18th c. water-colourist William Payne who created the mixture and often recommended it to his students as an alternative to...