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Tag Archives: ENL

In: News

ENL Watercolours, Basic Sets

When it’s about travelling or working outside the studio place it’s always handy to have a special set of colours. ENL Basic watercolour set contains fifteen essential colours in 2ml pans. I made this set based on my personal experience as well as in accordance with classical art school traditions:

  • Hansa Lemon – PY3 ** st
  • Primary Yellow – PY154 *** ∆ t
  • Carrot Orange – PO5, PY1 ** ∆ t
  • Pyrrole Red – PR254 *** ∆ t
  • Quinacridone Magenta – PV19, PR122, PW18 ** ∆ t
  • Violet – PV19, PB29 *** ∆ t
  • Ultramarine – PB29 *** G st
  • Phthalomarine – PB15:3, PB29 *** ∆ t
  • Emerald Green – PG7, PW18 *** ∆ t
  • Sap Green – PG8 ** ∆ t
  • Yellow Ochre – PY42-43 *** G st
  • Burnt Sienna – PBr7 *** G st
  • Red Ochre – PR101 *** G st
  • Umber Deep – PBr8 *** G t
  • Mars Black – PBk11 *** G t

The set comes with a small tin box that can easily accommodate all the colours. To secure the pans, small round glue pads are provided.  Unwrap the paint, adhere a round sticker to the bottom of the pan and insert it into the bottom of the box. Paints fit quite tight, so I’d recommend unwrapping all the colours first and arranging them to find the right position to fit all the colours.

The stickers are removable and reusable, meaning if you want to replace this or that colour with another one, it’s easily doable.

These basic colours can re-create technically all the colours from the spectrum as well as shades. However, every artist is unique and may want to create their own sets. With the purchase of 15 or more paints, we’re giving the case as a gift.

We’re in search of other options for packaging that would be light in weight, plastic-free and not too expensive.

 

In: Paints

Shades of Black

Black is a very contradictory colour: some artists even prefer not to have it in their palettes and mix it when needed. I personally think that black is a very important colour as it creates very beautiful mixes, as well as works better as mono pigment black rather a mixed one.

In ENL Watercolours in pans, I made 4 blacks for now.

  • Brown Black is semi-transparent granulating colour made of two mineral pigments: PBr 8 and Iron Black PBk11.
  • Vine black is called sometimes Black Ochre (PBk8) is made by burning vegetable matter in a low oxygen environment. Vine or willow charcoals are made in the same way and the name comes from the grape vines used in one of the manufacturing methods. This colour is transparent and gives almost no granulation.
  • Mars Black, or PBk11, is the first black I’ve ever made in watercolours. This mineral colour provides transparent granulating coat, but the particles may seem gritty due to the nature of the pigment.
  • Lamp Black is a new one here and I had big doubts to include it or not in the line. The problem is in the method of production, when petroleum or natural gas get burnt and then the soot is collected. Even though the pigment itself is safe to use, the manufacturing process contributes a lot into carbon pollution. The colour is opaque with a very strong tinting properties which makes it difficult to mix with other colours (whatever you mix, you get just another black). However, for crating backgrounds or very dark spots Lamp Black is essential.
In: Pigments

PY150 Nickel Azo Yellow

This Nickel Azo Yellow pigment is magic. When you look at the dry colour a pan looks brown, so you expect to see something like raw sienna colour when painting. However, when painted it’s totally different. Of course, it’s not turning purple, but still surprisingly provides a very transparent rich yellow colour. It’s super transparent, which makes it work perfectly for glazing in oil and washing techniques in watercolour.

It’s very transparent, so you can create a gradient from very pale yellow to golden. Like many other synthetic organic pigments, it leaves satins behind, penetrating into the top paper layer quite fast.

Makes a good lightfast Indian Yellow or Gamboge substitute. You can find this colour under different names, such as: Aureoline, Nickel Azo Yellow, Gamboge Hue, Indian Yellow, Nickel Azo Golden, Translucent Golden Yellow and others. In ENL Watercolours line it comes as Nickel Azo Golden.

 

In: Pigments

PBr24 Chrome Antimony Titanate

Naples yellow is a pigment named after the city of Naples in Italy. The origins of Naples yellow remain unclear, but it’s one of the oldest known pigments. We know it was used by Egyptians as far back as circa 1500 BC to add yellow colour to glass, and originally the pigment was made from lead antimoniate. The first recorded use of ‘Naples yellow’ as a color name in English was in 1738.

The lead-based Naples yellow was toxic and caused lead poisoning among workers who handled it and artists who painted with Naples yellow. So, later, to imitate Naples Yellow, this beautiful pastel yellow colour, without taking health risks, manufacturers started simply mixing titanium white (PW6) with yellow ochre pigments (PY42-43). However, this mixture doesn’t work for artists, who prefer mono-pigment colours. Not so long ago, in 1939, PBr24 Chrome Antimony Titanate was discovered, and in 1967 the production of this wonderful pigment began.

PBr24 is a light valued, yellowish to reddish brown to light golden, orange or tan. It may be slightly staining in watercolours and have fair tinting strength as it already contains some titanium white. As PBr24 is a synthetic (man-made) inorganic pigment, its light-fastness is excellent in all mediums. What about opacity, Chrome Antimony Titanate as most chromium and titanium oxide-based pigments, is quite opaque.

You can find this colour now in my ENL Watercolours. As this pigment has quite low oil absorption, it dries quite fast in oil painting and will be included in my ENL Oil paint collection this year.

In: News

Rebranding Is Here

In 2009, when I permanently moved to Canada, I opened an art studio, and in 2011 – added art supplies as a side business. Many things happened since: RUSART expanded and our team had 20+ teachers and volunteers. Then with the pandemic, it shrank back to just me again. Then I started experimenting with hand-made art supplies, and just a few months later injured my hand. Then my family moved to QC and I started developing an online art supplies shop more than teaching due to my injury. Too many changes during such a short period of time.

And now, in 2023, I decided to move back to ArtMaterials.CA and abandon “RUSART” as a brand. What’s going to happen (well, what I’m planning to do):

  • All RUSART-branded products that were hand-made by me will slowly move to the ENL brand (an acronym for my current name – Elena Nahum Leroy).
  • All RUSART-branded products that were NOT made by me, such as paper, acrylic mediums etc. will go on clearance sale and will disappear from the shop once sold out
  • I’ll keep searching for quality and affordable products worldwide to add to the shop, mostly brushes
  • I’m planning to develop and make ENL watercolours in 2ml pans, pastels, gouache, oil paints in tubes, and watercolours in tubes. The goal is to create art supplies without “cheating” by adding extensive fillers, and additives and get artists a choice for informed decisions, when they know what’s inside.

I understand that competition is very high here and it takes quite a long time to finalize formulas and products, but that’s what’s calling me and inspires for new discoveries.

Thank you for your support in my journey!

With care and respect,

Elena NL

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