Watercolor Permanence Results Part 2

About a year ago I started testing my paints and watercolor markers to see how they fared when exposed to the great enemy of paintings - sunlight.

What am you looking at here?
Brand - I stuck in some initials to indicate brand.  DS is Daniel Smith, MB is Maimeri Blu and so on.

The name of the color - this is the name the paint manufacturer gave to their paint.  Names are not regulated, and if they want to name their paint something like "Emotional Platypus" they can, and to be perfectly honest, I hope they do.

The pigment name - These are regulated, and are usually displayed in fine print somewhere on the tube or pan.  They are the color family and number.  For example, PV19 is Pigment Violet #19.  All paints made with PV19 will have similar working properties, but they will not be identical.

A little sun -  The section of the card with the little sun drawn on it is the section that was taped to the window.  The other half of the swatch were stuck in a photo album, stored in a dark corner under my desk.

Today, I have 4 more paint swatches to investigate.


PR101 - Cotman Burnt Sienna
Taped to window on May 13, 2013
Removed from window on March 9, 2014
Results: no change
My results seem to match the information given by the manufacturer.

PY42, PBr7 - Cotman Burnt Umber
Taped to window on May 13, 2013
Removed from window on March 9, 2014
Results: no change
My results seem to match the information given by the manufacturer.

PBr7 - MaimeriBlu Burnt Sienna
Taped to window on May 13, 2013
Removed from window on March 9, 2014
Results: no change
My results seem to match the information given by the manufacturer.

PBr11 - Daniel Smith Lunar Earth
Taped to window on May 13, 2013
Removed from window on March 9, 2014
Results: no change
My results seem to match the information given by the manufacturer.

Disclaimer:  Links are for Amazon, and in theory I might get a few cents if you purchase through the link.   It's not meant to be an annoyance, more of a 'Why not?' I am not receiving any compensation from any of these companies for using or reviewing the paints.

Paint Permanence Testing Results Master PostIt seems like it would be useful to have links to specific pigments, compiled in one place.  Especially as I start rolling through more and more of the results.
If you want to keep your eye on the progress of this project, this is the journal entry to favorite or bookmark.
List last updated:
July 2015
Black Pigments/White Pigments

PBk6, PBk7 - Cotman Lamp Black
PBk31 - Daniel Smith Perylene Green
Daniel Smith Hematite
Blue Pigments
PB15 – Cotman Intense Blue
PB15 – Daniel Smith Manganese Blue Hue
PB15 – D  Lightfastness Testing Results Part 1A few months ago I scrounged up a good number of watercolors to paint out swatches, slice and dice them, and alternately tape them to a window and hide them away in the artist cave.

And now for the fun part!  Being delighted and dismayed by my results!
What am you looking at here?
Brand - I stuck in some initials to indicate brand.  DS is Daniel Smith, MB is Maimeri Blu and so on.

The name of the color - this is the name the paint manufacturer gave to their paint.  Names are not regulated, and if they want to name their paint something like "Emotional Platypus" they can, and to be perfectly honest, I hope they do.
The pigment name - These are regulated, and are usually displayed in fine print somewhere on the tube or pan.  They are the color family and number.  For example, PV19 is Pigment Violet #19.  All paints made with PV19 will have similar working properties, but they will no My Current Project: Testing LightfastnessI've been chipping away at lightfastness testing my paints.  
What is lightfastness?
Basically, it means how well a pigment can resist change in the light.  So a paint with excellent lightfastness is very stubborn, and a paint with poor lightfastness fades or turns into a different color.  Opera Pink, Genuine Alizarin, and Rose Madder are some well known non-lightfast colors.
There are many different ways to test your paints for how lightfast they are at home.  I'm just painting swatches, cutting them in half, and then hanging one half in a window and the other I'm hiding in my swatch book.   By the end of the summer the ones in the window will have gotten a big hit of sunlight, and some of them will have faded, while others have persevered.  
My process looks like this:

Each color gets it's own well-labeled container, or scrap of paper.   Really, if paint