by Lauren Lynch
Here is the Caran d’Ache claim that intrigued me: “Museum Aquarelle is not a watercolor pencil, it is a water-soluble in pencil form.” What does that mean exactly? They claim to be one hundred percent water-soluble totally and immediately with high pigment density for intense colors.
These pencils are created with a high concentration of extra-fine pigments with excellent water solubility to create Museum Aquarelle pencils. They can be purchased in sets (a more cost-effective option), or by individual pencils of choice. They can be mixed in a palette, but I find them easy to layer as pencil shading and to mix them with water directly on the painting surface.
Caran d’Ache has several grades of watercolor pencils: Fancolor (designed for children), Supracolor (professional-quality), and Museum Aquarelles (extra-fine quality priced almost double the Supracolor version). The Museum Aquarelles are their highest quality line with more intense colors and a softer consistency for smooth lay down.
The standard assortment of twelve offers a double primary palette with a warm and cool shade of each of the primary colors to offer a variety of mixable tints. There is also a Landscape set of twenty earth-tone colors, and a Marine set with twenty colors appropriate for seascapes.
Compared to other brands, they are expensive, but each pencil is cheaper than a half pan of artist quality pigment, so we can’t complain too much. (Although, compared to the price of a Daniel Smith watercolor stick, which is said to equal three full pans, it is more pricey.) Get out your pencil extenders to get every bit of pigment out of these pencils.
They’re not waxy like some watercolor pencils and lines made with them do dissolve easily and completely with a water-loaded brush. They are portable without being messy, and especially useful for quick sketchbook studies with little cleanup.
Comparison with Prismacolor Water-soluble Colored Pencils
I swatched the Caran d’Ache Museum Aquarelles and Prismacolor water-soluble pencils side by side to make a comparison. The Museum Aquarelles did dissolve slightly faster, but not enough to make a huge difference. Prismacolor offers 36 water-soluble pencils colors (see detailed review here), compared to Caran d’Ache’s seventy-six, but the pigment in both pencils mixes easily, so I’m not sure the additional options matter too much.
To buy Museum Aquarelle pencils individually, expect to pay over four dollars each. In a set, they may be pennies less. I haven’t found an option to buy the Prismacolor water-soluble pencils separately, but in the sets, the pencils are only about a dollar apiece. That’s a substantial difference in price. The Museum Aquarelles do have a more luxurious feel to them. They also have a hexagon shape, so they stay put, where the Prismacolors are round and roll all over the place.
Are they worth the extra expense? I’m not convinced that they are yet, especially since I will likely only use them for sketchbook studies. I do really enjoy using them and appreciate the look and design of the pencil itself!
Now I am curious about Caran d’Ache’s Supracolor line. They offer a set of eighty in a lovely wooden box. That might be something I request for Christmas some year. (They are more in the two to three dollar apiece range.)
How do Museum Aquarelles compare to other travel watercolor supplies?
They are compact and can fit in a small canvas roll to be thrown in my travel bag, With a palette, sketchbook and water container, I’d be good to go with that alone. No fuss, almost no muss.
My recent travel favorite has been the Daniel Smith watercolor sticks (see detailed review here), but I don’t find them good for sketching with. They’re too much like the fat preschool-sized crayons to appeal to me in that sense, but they are my favorite travel art supply to date. The Museum Aquarelles, however, feel great in the hand and are an excellent tool for detail work.
I bought the standard box of 12 colors to try them out. The box comes with lemon yellow, gold cadmium yellow, light cadmium red, purplish-red, permanent blue, dark ultramarine, phthalocyanine green, bright green, brown, yellow ochre, Payne’s gray, and black.
I recently invested in a selection of twenty Daniel Smith watercolor sticks, buying only their non-toxic shades. And now I’m buying cadmium-laced pencils? Honestly, it hadn’t occurred to me to check the colors first, so I was slightly surprised to find two cadmium colors included in the set. Cadmium produces brilliant light-fast yellow, orange, and red pigments. Is it something to be concerned about?
Is Cadmium toxic?
According to OSHA.gov, cadmium is highly toxic and exposure to this metal is known to cause cancer. It has a negative effect on calcium levels. With long-term exposure, cadmium can accumulate in bones and body tissues, damaging organs such as the liver and kidneys.
In dry form (like a pencil) or in a spray application, cadmium particles can be inhaled. Paint manufacturers are limited by law to make cadmium colors only a few days per year because of this danger. Cadmium is also present in cigarette smoke, so smokers have an increased risk of exposure.
In recent years, paint manufacturers have lowered the solubility of both the cadmium and selenium used in their products in an effort to limit artist exposure. Their solubility tests attempt to recreate the pH, temperature, and agitation of the stomach. However, I’m confident few artists are ingesting their cadmium paints. Excessive skin contact with cadmium colors should still be avoided.
Even if we are careful to avoid contact with our skin, Cadmium could also be polluting our food chain when we dump out our paint rinse water. (Of course, loads of nickel-cadmium batteries in landfills are likely a greater concern.) Cadmium is also an impurity resulting from processing recycled copper, which is also used in paints.
While the minimal amount of cadmium present in paints may not pose a huge health risk or even environmental concerns, I’m happy to see that cadmium-free options are appearing in the marketplace. Because I have health issues that compromise my immune system, I avoid toxins whenever possible. Why take a risk when there are other safer pigments available?
The Bottom Line
The Museum Aquarelle pencils are very easy to use and take anywhere. They require very little water to activate and truly are highly pigmented. The colors are intense and mixable, so the set of twelve covers all my needs for simple studies in a sketchbook. I could easily use them to sketch at a location where I wouldn’t want to make a mess (on a plane or in a hotel, for example) and then activate the watercolor aspects later on. I believe this makes them the simplest answer for grabbing on the go, and versatile enough to be used in a variety of ways. And yes, they really can be used just like watercolor pan paints. I’m pleased to have them in my artist arsenal!
Reference:
Health and Safety Topics: Cadmium. United States Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/cadmium.
Facts on Cadmium, Dartmouth Toxic Metals. https://sites.dartmouth.edu/toxmetal/more-metals/cadmium-an-illusive-presence/the-facts-on-cadmium/
Will Cadmium Always Be on the Palette? Just Paint, Golden Artist Colors, January 1, 1996. https://www.justpaint.org/will-cadmium-always-be-on-the-palette/
Melina, Remy. Why is Cadmium so Dangerous? Live Science, June 4, 2010. https://www.livescience.com/10683-cadmium-dangerous.html
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