STORAGE FOR MY KURETAKE GANSAI TAMBI PAINTS
Today I completed one of the most enjoyable projects I’ve done for quite a long time. It’s all part of my studio tidying and reorganising, and I love pottering about with my materials and getting them organised!
Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolours
I now have three sets of these gorgeous watercolours – the Art Nouveau set, consisting of 24 colours:
and my recently acquired set of 48 colours:
Fortunately there are no duplicates. I also have the set of six graphite colours:
Storage tins
The large flat boxes can be quite a problem, both for storage and in use. I recently saw a YouTube video where someone was showing how she stored hers in small Japaneses stacking trays, each containing different colour palettes. Unfortunately these trays are not available in the UK so I had to find an alternative solution.
Amazon stocks a set of six small metal tins which, according to the customer reviews, are exactly the right size for 12 of these paint pans. I ordered them and they arrived yesterday. All 72 of my colours completely fill these tins. There is no room for the graphite ones but I am happy for them to remain in their original box for now. I do not intend purchasing any further sets at the moment but could always order further tins if required.
The tins are small and compact enough to be much easier to use, and they will stack up, too, so they take up less room.
Inspiration
I have been inspired recently by the artist Denise Love who has a fantastic YouTube channel. She often follows a limited colour palette for her abstract work, and will pick out colours to match a chosen swatch card. I thought that having all the colours sorted into separate tins would make this approach a lot easier.
Preparing the paint pans
The person on the original video suggested putting a small piece of BluTac under each paint pan to keep them in place in the trays. People using tins have suggested adding a small magnet, and this seemed the ideal solution for me. I began with the Art Nouveau set.
I bought these tiny magnets for closures in interactive elements in my book making, but they are so small that they hardly work at all once covered with a few layers of paper. For this project, they would be ideal, however. For glue I used Ranger Glossy Accents. This is used primarily to add shiny elements to projects, but it is also a very effective glue, especially when attaching anything made of metal, which is usually very difficult to stick down.
When I laid a strip of magnets on the desk, I was amused to see that it immediately swung around to point due North! This proves that my studio is North facing!
As I moved on to the 48-set, I used a Sharpie pen to write on the undersides of the pans – “AN” for Art Nouveau, and “48” for the 48-set. The name of the colour and its individual number is printed on each pan. This way I could easily tell which pan had come from which of the two sets.
The pans click into place in the tins in a most satisfactory way, and when you turn the tin upside down, none of them fall out.
Here is the collection of reds from both sets, neatly filling one tin.
There is enough space to allow you to get your finger in to lift them out. This is much easier than when they are in the original box.
Colour swatches
I designed this swatch on my desktop publisher. Twelve boxes with space above to write the details. I was able to put two on one sheet for printing.
I thought I had some watercolour paper which would go through the printer but I couldn’t find it. In the end I used some Bristol vellum paper which I know will print. This isn’t ideal for water-based media and as I painted the swatches, there was some pilling of the surface. I was able to rub this away gently once it was dry, using my kneaded eraser. There was inevitably some warping but this did settle down as the papers dried.
Six templates printed and cut out, ready for painting.
I sorted the paint pans in their tins, starting with the lightest colour and working towards the darkest. Here are the colour swatches, with the corresponding arrangement. I marked each colour with its name and number, and also “AN” for Art Nouveau, and “48” for the 48-set, so I would know which set each colour came from.
Once the paint was completely dry, I laminated them, two per pouch, and trimmed them down very close to the edge of the card. They came out beautifully – nice and firm, and of course completely waterproof now.
I used more of the Glossy Accents to stick each one into the lid of its corresponding tin.
This way, if I select any colours for a project, and remove them from the tins, I can easily slot them back into their correct positions afterwards. As I’ve already mentioned, each pan has its colour name and number printed underneath.
There were a lot of greens in the collection – too many to go into one tin, so I put the lighter yellowy-green ones in with the yellows. The neutrals – browns, black and white, went in with the three metallics in the collection.
Here is my complete set of Kuretake Gansai Tambi paints in their respective containers. I stuck a small strip of masking tape on each tin and added the colours with Sharpie pens.
I found a plastic container in the kitchen which fits them perfectly. They need to be contained, as the tins are quite slippery and slide all over the place which isn’t very convenient when stored on the top shelf of my new shelving unit! I tried it with the empty tins and they careered off down the back and got mixed up with the window blind, and it was quite hard to get them out! In the box, they are secure, and it’s easy to lift it down when I want to use the paints.
This project has proved to be highly satisfactory, and extremely enjoyable to do. It’s taken a while, as I had to wait a while for the tins to arrive from the USA, and the project was fairly time-consuming, taking place over three or four studio sessions, but I am so pleased with the result! I called my hubby up to see the tins all laid out on the table, and he was well impressed, and said, “These are far too nice to use!” Haha! They are as pretty as a picture, but they definitely will get used!
