ROMAN SZMAL

Roman Szmal is the man behind the highly revered Roman Szmal Aquarius Watercolour range. Based in Kraków, Poland, Roman started his company after working as a distributor for art materials manufacturer Kremer Pigments, where he was introduced to the industry and became familiar with the raw materials used. He had also previously studied chemistry and geology at college, and this gave him the confidence to begin experimenting with paint formulations until he had a basic range to offer.

At first, he was rejected by Polish art shops and a renowned local artist to whom he offered his early creations. Undeterred, Roman continued to work long hours exploring different combinations of binder and additive in relation to the particular characteristics of each pigment. He also consulted with artists, gaining invaluable feedback, until he felt he had achieved what he was looking for - an exceptional range of easily rewettable, soft consistency pan watercolours featuring mostly single pigment colours.

However, it was not until he began introducing his range internationally that he made headway and found success. Since then Roman has expanded the collection considerably and honed his craft to the point where he has even introduced a series of unique colours such as Aquarius Green and Przybysz's Grey. Indeed, his fascination and dedication to colour formulation has made him very passionate about where he sources his pigments, searching the globe for the best he can find.