Oil paints smell like oil, acrylics smell like plastic, but watercolors usually have no smell at all. The solvent is water, a typically unscented substance. The scentlessness of this medium is one of the great draws for me, a person with a sensitive nose and a lot of scent-based migraine triggers.
That’s why it’s so jarring when some watercolor paints are randomly smelly. I can’t find many other people discussing this, which may mean that I’m unusually sensitive, but I’ve made a list of all the pigments and watercolor-related supplies that smell weird to me. It’s thankfully a fairly short list.
Pigments that can (sometimes) smell
Ultramarine Family
Normally, Ultramarine Blue (PB29) and Ultramarine Violet (PV15) have no smell. But the the synthetic ultramarine pigment contains sulfur, which can release a smell like rotten eggs under the right (wrong) circumstances. According to my Discord buddy and resident paintmaker Aura, the smell occurs when the pigment is exposed to acid. That can happen in old paints if the gum arabic binder has gone “off” and become acidic, e.g. due to bacteria or fungus.
If you buy a new tube that already smells, it might have hung around the art store or warehouse too long. Ask the manufacturer to replace it for you.
Nickel Azo Yellow (PY150)
I can’t find any information online about why the PY150 pigment might smell, but I find that it sometimes does and sometimes doesn’t. It’s sort of a chemical/formaldehyde smell. I have experienced it from two tubes of Nickel Azo Yellow from Da Vinci, and one tube of Daniel Smith Indian Yellow (a PY150/PY97 mix). But I’ve also had scent-free tubes of DS Nickel Azo Yellow, as well as Quin Gold, Green Gold, and other PY150-based mixes. It seems it’s just a roll of the dice.
Imidazolone Yellow (PY154)
Yellows made from the PY154 pigment, Imidazolone Yellow, just tend to have a faint smell, no matter how new or old they are, or who made them. It’s not a super intense smell, and I didn’t find it particularly noticeable at first. Actually, PY154 was my yellow of choice for awhile. But after trying out other, scent-free yellows, like PY97 and PY151, and returning to PY154, the smell was obvious. It occurs when the dry pan gets rewet. I’d describe it as being a sort of chemical, plasticky smell, not unlike rubber bands, but sweeter. I don’t like it, and it’s enough of a reason for me to switch to other yellows, which work just as well.
Opera Pink and other fluorescents
PR122 doesn’t smell on its own, so I think it’s the fluorescent additive that makes Opera Pink sometimes have a light chemical/plastic odor.
Brands that smell
Some brands use specific ingredients in their paint. This is especially true of small-batch, hand-poured brands that use natural ingredients. For example, some makes may use essential oils as a natural preservative or humectant. A. Gallo smells of rosemary for I suspect that reason. Essential oils are often smells that people would classify as “good”, but I dislike any kind of smell.
Luckily for me, most major brands don’t have a strong smell, and seem to aim for scent-free paints.
Other supplies that smell
If you’re sensitive to smell, you may want to avoid or take care with these often-recommended watercolor-adjacent supplies.
Paper
Some papers smell slightly when wet, especially if they use gelatin for sizing. Arches has a particular smell, for example. I don’t find it strong or unpleasant, but it’s more noticeable than other papers I have used.
Masking fluid
Typical masking fluid is made with ammonia. To me, it smells strongly of cat pee. Luckily, Schmincke makes an ammonia-free masking fluid that has no scent.
Ink
Some fountain pen inks have a chemical smell. Certainly, markers can have fumes, especially Sharpies and alcohol markers (though they’re not usually used with watercolor as they’re not waterproof).
Damp rags
When I start to smell the rags I use to wipe my brushes on, I know it’s time to toss them in the wash. This usually doesn’t happen to rags that I allow to fully dry out between uses, but if the rag is kept damp for a few days (because of too-frequent use, a water spill, general humidity, etc.), that is a recipe for mildew.
Conclusion
Making this list has made me realize that smell affects me even more than I thought, because several items on this list are things I liked for awhile and then “went off” for reasons I couldn’t articulate. For example, I used to like PY154 yellows, but after trying some equivalents (that didn’t smell), I couldn’t go back. Same with Arches paper.
Luckily for me, watercolor is a remarkably unscented medium, and those items that do smell a little are easy to avoid.
Does this list make you feel vindicated (“Yes, that’s just it, they smell!”) or mystified (“I’ve never noticed any of these to smell at all”?) What other pigments or supplies smell to you? Do you mind?
Comments
10 responses to “Which watercolor paints smell?”
I have a lot of M. Graham paints and they generally smell faintly of caramel. I’ve heard that Sennelier also “smells like candy”. Some special cases that I’ve experienced include their Naples Yellow Deep (PBr24) which stank like ketchup before drying in the pan, and their earth colors which smell like ozone. I really like the ozone and sugar but can see why people dislike the juicy, saucy smell of some of their wet paint.
Wow! Maybe the sugar/caramel smell is because of honey in the binder? I’m glad my WN Naples Yellow Deep doesn’t smell like ketchup!
Yes, I think that’s it. I went back and smelled all my MG tubes and the saucy smell I was remembering is actually more like barbecue sauce. It seems like paints with heavier pigments (cobalts, chromium like in PBr24 and PG18) have more of that smell, while the other tubes smell neutral/slightly sugary or fishy at random. Once dried in pans they only smell sugary, except for my burnt sienna which noticeably smells like ozone.
The only one I’ve found smelly is the PY154, which works out fine for me since I much prefer PY97 or PY151 in that color slot. I think you might have something with your conclusion that it may have to do with age.
I find py110 to be particularly smelly. Same thing with an alcohol market that’s the same color. I’m mostly fine with other colors
Thanks for this interesting post! I’d not noticed my paints smelling beyond a faint generic but not unpleasant ‘watercolourish” smell, but now you’ve got me sniffing mine! Aquarius smells stronger than Daniel Smith, and Qor are a rather chemically, but none of them smell strongly enough to bother me.
Arches paper is another matter entirely! Mine is positively stinky! When it’s wet it smells sort of like a wet dog that’s been swimming in a river. Someone said it’s the smell of the local river that they use for making the paper. Some others say that the paper changed after Canson bought Arches, and since I’ve only started using it recently I’m not sure if it always used to be so stinky or if it’s a new thing, or if it’s just the batch mine was in.
My guess is the smell is the gelatin in the sizing because Arches uses a lot of sizing.
Nearest I can tell, Arches was bought by Canson in 2011, so I wouldn’t know if it changed either! It’s one of those things like Quin Gold where longtime painters are like “things have really gone downhill”
I’ve decided to ask Arches since I’ve got 3 blocks that are un(pleasantly)usable. I’ll let you know if they come back with anything interesting.
On another note, if your Discord is still going, I’d love to join it. I’ve really appreciated your posts here. Your colour spotlights and comparisons have been very useful in helping me decide which colours to choose (and not choose), and the recent trivent remains inspiring. So thank you to all of you!
Invite open for a week! Other commenters feel free to use as well!
https://discord.gg/ez9M4kjtz
I was gifted a trio of M Graham tubes as my very first tubes. It contained Quin rose, UM blue, and bismuth yellow. When I TELL you that the bis yellow smelled like old fish…. it REEKED. It started making my whole room smell after I did washes on a bunch of 8×10 sheets, and the papers themselves didn’t stop stinking until they dried. Even then, I could still detect a faint hint of fishiness, but then I had to remind myself it is silly to sniff paintings. Still, I haven’t used that tube since, and it’s been about a year.