Why I switched to Japanese pans…

… Asthma, and price

After I had a serious asthma which developed during several years, I investigated the art supplies I used with my allergologist: it turns out that many classic art brands overuse preservatives in their art supplies to make them « shelf stable » and resistant to time: it means that they don’t rot or crack why they’re on sale in the shop in their pans/tube.

In watercolors, these preservatives, that are also damaging for health, evaporate. I was breathing them and getting sick!

These Japanese traditional watercolors have not only larger pans, but are safe for me -> I guess for other people, too, and children. They happen to be a bit more sticky to the paper, than regular traditional European watercolors.

• European watercolors traditionally had only honey (I’m not sure they still use good honey in art supplies…) and Arabic gum as mediums.

• In addition of these mediums, Japanese and Asian watercolors have a glue which prevents the evaporation, as the paint sticks a bit better to paper. Unfortunately, the huge model is not available anymore but you can still buy the pans in carmine, pearl green, indigo blue, crimson, yellow, red, ocher, vermillion, black, other colors here. Frustrating! I guess they will come back somehow. There is something here that looks exactly alike, but I am not sure about them.

They don't exist only in large but also in small formats, all very good value for the money (as for march 2026). I would say they are ideal for children.

• Either small watercolor box for beginners, artists or travelers with brushes,

• Small, affordable price either for the beginner or the artist,

• Professional, large artist pigments,

• These offer darker shades - very different from transparent European watercolors! And these are shining, while these are traditional colors.

  
  

I hope you’ll enjoy these suggestions. Let me add ideas for brushes here (the ultimate natural brush, whose price depends on the size), and here; if I had to buy again a natural flat brush for a lavis, I would try this one; and these brushes are really great for large format, without breaking the bank (wash the primer in clear water before using). This one is beautiful and actually works for real.

What’s the difference between artist and student art supplies? Artist pigments are resistant to fading, while student pigments can fade faster.

What’s the difference between carbon emission and toxic emissions?

• Carbon (CO2) is used to measure human activities but is not per se toxic, CO2 doesn’t make you sick.

• Toxic emissions are the volatile gas emitted by an object or a liquid, that can harm or poison you. Some products are so much impregnated by preservatives (even new clothes, new furnitures a new car), that it can affect the air in a room. Preservatives are for instance: fungicides or pesticides.

Take care! And enjoy the safe alternative.