Hahnemühle, Schmincke and da Vinci

Creating great watercolour artwork not only takes inspiration, artistic knowledge and craftsmanship, but also the right tools: paper, paints and brushes. Hahnemühle, Schmincke and da Vinci are three highly specialised German companies with one goal: to provide artists with the best materials possible. All three have been listed German ‘brand of the century’.  Such a delicate paint as watercolour deserves the best surface possible, especially since the paper’s structure determines the overall look of paint on paper: rough textured paper often stretches the range of expression while smooth hot-pressed paper is best for finer details. “Hahnemühle watercolour papers have been in production since 1584 and the surfaces are a treat to work on, be it the hot pressed for botanical studies