Winsor & Newton Watercolour Medium - Gum Arabic (75ML)

• Increases transparency, brilliance & gloss
• Slow drying time
• Reduce staining
• Viscous flow and binding medium for all gouache and watercolour paints
• Dilute with water as required.
• Made in France, Content 75ML

Gum Arabic increases watercolor brilliancy, gloss, and transparency, giving greater depth to each color. It slows down the drying time of paint, and can also be used for controlling spread when painting wet-on-wet.

Gum arabic is used as a binder for watercolour painting because it dissolves easily in water. Pigment of any color is suspended within the acacia gum in varying amounts, resulting in watercolour paint.

Water acts as a vehicle or a diluent to thin the watercolor paint and helps to transfer the paint to a surface such as paper. When all moisture evaporates, the acacia gum binds the pigment to the paper surface.

After the water evaporates, the acacia gum in the paint film increases luminosity and helps prevent the colors from lightening. Gum arabic allows more precise control over washes, because it prevents them from flowing or bleeding beyond the brush stroke.

In addition, acacia gum slows evaporation of water, giving slightly longer working time. When gum arabic is added to watercolour paints or gouache the transparency increases as does the flow and gloss of a your watercolours.