Indigo watercolour paint

Artist quality, handmade paint prepared from blue pigment which is obtained from the plant Indigofera tinctoria and related species. I would really like to grow my own indigo plants, but have had to source this good quality organic pigment which is very intense and fine. I have mixed it with white kaolin clay to give it more substance, but this does not alter the colour of the paint as the pigment has a very high staining power. The lightfastness of Indigo watercolour will not be stable as with the earth colours, so to prevent fading keep artworks out of direct sunlight and protect with conservation glass when framing. I like to use these sort of watercolours when making an artist's book, for example.

The paint is made using a traditional watercolour recipe consisting of gum arabic, glycerine and honey water, ox gall, preservative (oil of cloves) and distilled water, and then placed into watercolour half-pans.

I have listed this non-New Zealand pigment as many people have asked me why I do not sell a blue paint. Blue is a hard to find earth pigment - my Oxford grey paint looks faintly blue when placed next to a red paint like Summit red.

It is quite normal for some of these dried watercolour paints to crack in the pan. This is no way detracts from their use. The beauty of watercolour paint that has dried on the palette is that it can be reused by moistening at any time. (Tip: dried out tubes of watercolour paint can be cut open lengthwise and used in the same way as pan paints.)

If any one would like a half pan of full-strength (ie, no kaolin) pan of this colour, please contact me.

(NB: Rural delivery charge applies to standard, untracked, courier, & courier + signature parcels. I now use the $4.50 economy, tracked prepaid NZ Post bags for parcels. Also, if you wish signature on delivery, this is $3.00 extra.)