Winsor & Newton Watercolour Markers

A new invention from Winsor & Newton-
Watercolour Markers!

Winsor & Newton Watercolour Markers are highly pigmented, lightfast, water-based pens. They deliver the performance of Winsor & Newton Watercolour with the added precision of a pen.

These watercolour markers are twin-tipped; they have a flexible brush nib that provides thickness (and a traditional art feel) and a fine nib for extra detail.
The colours of the markers match those of the Winsor & Newton Cotman range. The marker pens are intermixable with all Winsor & Newton Watercolours and Watercolour Mediums. For best results, use with a watercolour paper.

Read this earlier article with illustrator H Locke’s review, where she finds the Winsor & Newton Watercolour Markers work very well for her style of work.

Quick Sketch Testing

I had some tomatoes on my table so did some quick sketches of one. Sketch 1 is applied on dry paper and then wetted with a brush afterwards. Then some more marker is applied. Sketch 2 is applied on wet paper and then many layers of marker are added while still damp.

Sketch 1

Winsor & Newton Water Colour Markers
Sketch 1.
Used as markers with no water.

Winsor & Newton Water Colour Markers
Sketch 1.
Same drawing with added shadow and with water brushed over top.

Winsor & Newton Water Colour Markers
Sketch 1.
Same drawing with yellow used while still damp to try and get some blending. Shown dry.

Sketch 2

Winsor & Newton Water Colour Markers
Sketch 2.
Markers used on wet paper.

Winsor & Newton Water Colour Markers
Sketch 2.
Same drawing as above with many more layers of cadmium red added while damp.
The smooth shadow area was created by drawing a patch of Payne’s Grey on a scrap and picking some up with a wet brush and feeding it into the wet shadow area, the same as a pan of watercolour.

Testing the markers for blending, mixing and layering abilities. Also thick and thin lines and wetting them.

Testing the markers for a sky wash.

Conclusions

– These markers do not blend overly well with a wet brush if applied to dry paper so are not very useful for washes, for instance – the sky will be full of lines. So might be best used in conjunction with normal wet watercolour used for broad areas.
– Was interesting to use on wet paper but by the time I added 4 or 5 layers to blend the drawing the paper was a bit torn up.
– Colour will not easily lift out.
– Like most watercolours the dry colour is much lighter than the wet colour. You can get a dark colour by glazing many layers over. It is hard to get a light colour in one area, though you can sometimes by washing and washing it.
– The brush end and the fine-point end give you good control.

All-in-all I find that they might be most useful for graphic drawing styles where markers would be used anyway, but are not as useful for a traditional watercolour style of working except perhaps as additions for fine lines or hard edges (if used dry).

Click on the underlined link to go to the current offer on the Winsor & Newton Watercolour Markers on the Jackson’s Art Supplies website.
Postage on orders shipped standard to mainland UK addresses is free for orders of £39 or more.