A 15 ml tube of M. Graham cerulean blue paint, squeezed out.
I thought I’d share an interesting issue I had recently, in case the same thing happens to anyone reading. About a year ago I purchased some tubes of M. Graham watercolor paints which I have been, on the whole, really happy with. The only issue I had is one tube of cerulean blue that separated in the tube. Every time I squeezed any out, it would be mostly binder and very little pigment. This caused issues with the paint being very sticky and not wanting to dry (as well as the color not being as intense).
On the advice of Jane Freeman of Watercolor Mania, I squeezed out the entire tube into a small saucer and mixed it up really well. Thankfully, M. Graham paint rewets very well because from now on I am going to be using this saucer like a giant pan of watercolor paint. I am planning on storing this flat in a zip-lock bag to avoid dust becoming embedded in the paint. This could become very cumbersome if other tubes develop this same issue! Apparently, M. Graham paints have honey as one of the ingredients in their binder, although I am not sure if this is what caused it to separate. Has anyone else had similar problems with watercolor paints separating in the tube?
I was able to find out a solution to my problem via the facebook group Artists’ Tips and Tricks, which I highly recommend. Incidentally, Jane recommended Daniel Smith watercolors. I think I will try these out when I use up my current paints, as a number of other artists I have come across say they use Daniel Smith as well.
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