Newbie with a few Archival questions.

[ecks]

I've only used pens in the past. Mostly Pitt, Microns, and Fountains Pens with either Noodlers Bulletproof or Platinum Carbon Black. All which are considered Archival. I'd like to start with watercolors and I have a few questions I'd like to ask before I head down the wrong path.

1. I bought a small travel set of Sakura water colors. I've read that they are "student grade" is this a no-no? Will they last in a Journal?

2. Should I go ahead and invest in an artist grade travel set? Are they "more" archival?

3. Do water colored pages stick together in a journal? I know they would have to thoroughly dry first, but is this a long term issue?

4. I would think that the water colors would stay lightfast in a closed Journal. Is this true?

5. Lastly, I just bought a set of Derwent Inktense sticks. I recently read somewhere on this site that they're not archival at all. Could someone please elaborate on this?

Thanks for any help.

[DrDebby]

Welcome to the forum. I can answer the last question. Hopefully, someone will come by soon to answer your watercolor questions.

Archival is usually in reference to something which is acid free and won't degrade over time or ruin the content of the artwork. Mostly it is applied to the support being used, such as paper, canvas, or board. Tho' it is applied to such things as inks as well.

Light fast, on the other hand is usually in reference to color changes and fading over time and exposure to light. This is mostly applied to the media being used. However, some papers that are a color instead of neutral or white can have both applied to them. For instance, they could be archival, but not light fast.

Inktense are not light fast. This means that over time they will fade. Given that you are putting them in a closed sketchbook, they will last longer than leaving something done with them out in the open exposed to light. However, I am not sure about the long term lack of fading even when not exposed to light. I have heard of other things that were not light fast being kept in dark drawers and still fading away.

[Dragoon]

Hello
While I don't have the Sakura Koi watercolors, they are highly regarded in these forums. I have seen some fabulous color-rich art done with them! They are perfect for journalling!

Artist grade travel kits are not necessary; they are more for people who want to use the exact same paints as they use in their studios. When you are familiar with a pigment, you know how it mixes, how strong it is, how it will look when dry, etc.
Student grade and artist grade, even of the same brand will behave differently. It has a different composition. So its up to you if you want to be cost effective, and save the more expensive paints for more 'serious' work,- or just use the same expensive paints all the time, even if its doodles...

Yes, closed journals are said to keep some colors from fading. I don't know which ones, but I have read that the violet/pink spectrum is the worst offender, in any media that you use.

The Inktense colors are very brilliant as they contain flourescent dyes in varying amounts. These are not archival, even in a closed book. They are great for art that is to be scanned or printed such as illustrations. Or an assignment you need to do but have no intentions of keeping forever...

Watercolor in a closed journal does not stick. When the water evaporates, there is only a microscopically thin layer of bone dry pigment on there. Basically, nothing. It doesn't smudge, either, as long as its dry before closing.
Thinner paper will dry in waves, but if that bothers you, keep a heavy book or weight on the journal, and it will all flatten out.
Cheers!
D.

[JTMB]

Hi Ecks,

Welcome to the forum!

Here are my responses to your questions. There are others on the forum with more experience on some of these areas, so I'm sure they'll chime in.

1.) The biggest difference between student and artist grade watercolors is in the intensity of the colors, because student grade uses less pigment (and often more fillers) per unit volume than artist grade. Lightfastness/archival properties probably vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, but overall, I would really invest in an artist grade kit - you only need a few colors to start. Understand also that archival quality/lightfastness is a function of the pigment used. Even with high-grade artist watercolors, some pigments are more susceptible to degradation than others. Artist grade watercolors will have a lightfastness rating on the tube and/or on the manufacturer's website, typically.

2.) You'll be much better off with artist grade watercolors in the long run, but that's my personal view. As someone who cross-posted while I was typing noted, some student grade watercolors are much superior to others. I used Sakura Koi when I first started out and they were fine.

3.) Watercolor pages in a journal do not stick together, in my experience, unless they are sopping wet when the journal is closed - and even then the issue will be smudging of the pages, not sticking. (Gouache might stick, but it dries quickly, so I've never had a problem with it either.)

4.) Basically, the less light exposure any pigment gets, the better. I worked in the commercial printing industry for a couple years, and even with printing processes designed to be exposed to the weather, we would never guarantee non-fading signage in certain climates and especially with south-facing exposure (e.g. Tucson in the summer). The UV radiation is so strong there that everything will fade in relatively short order. By their nature, journals usually don't have this problem, unless you were to frame a page and put it in a place where it is exposed to a lot of sun. I don't worry too much about lightfastness ratings or archival properties for my journal work, although I do prefer to use archival supplies as a general rule.

5.) Derwent Inktense are not, according to the company, are not lightfast. However, I have several journal pages done with them that look fine after three years or so - because the journals once completed really don't have all that much light exposure. Inktense pencils use dyes (the color is in a liquid form) rather than pigment (which are ground solids) and in general dyes are less stable over time than are pigments. But some pigments even are not very lightfast, or even 'fugitive' - meaning they fade or change color really quickly.

It's a bit of a complicated topic, but hopefully this will be of some help. And others will add comments as well, I'm sure. Good luck and please post some of your journal work here in the forum!

[eyepaint]

Welcome to WetCanvas and to the Art Journals forum. You've received wonderful advice already. All I'll add is to have fun!

[ecks]

Thanks for the many great replies. I can't believe how big this forum is, there's a mountain of info these servers!