Daniel Smith - one of the largest lines of watercolor. Tubes only in 5ml and 15 ml. He also carries watercolor sticks which are a great value since the pigment is so concentrated and they are all priced the same so the primatek sticks are a real bargain. His Primatek line is paint from natural minerals, rocks and earth. Very unusual. He also has iridescents, interference, duochrome and pearlescent watercolors for special effects. This is the paint I use almost exclusively. He also manufactures several colors of "ground" allowing you to do watercolor on anything you can apply the ground to.
DaVinci - While only established in California since 1975, the history of the company can be traced back to Peru and before that Italy. It is still a family business. DaVinci has 37ml watercolor tubes which offers a great savings. Not many companies offer tubes that large. 15 ml is pretty standard as the largest you can get. They also developed the first PERMANENT Alizarin Crimson. (Remember if it doesn't say "permanent" or "hue" it is possibly fugitive.)
Winsor and Newton - Winsor and Newton does not sell on their website so it is for information only. Based in the UK, not all of their materials are available to the U.S. market. If you're looking for something specific, you might try Jackson's Art in the U.K. They will ship to the U.S. and the prices are very competitive. Order from them direct as on amazon they will charge you shipping for each item, whereas on their website, you put it all in your shopping cart and pay just one shipping fee. You can also get some of their pan paints at Blick's but you might pay less buying directly from the UK. They offer watercolor in both tubes and half and whole pans. They also had a giant ceramic pan, now discontinued. The paint is very nice, better than their regular whole pans. The giant pans are no longer available but sometimes you can find a few on amazon or eBay. The advantage is once the paint is used up, you can refill. The disadvantage is very few colors are left and they are going for a ridiculous amount of money. Don't pay $45 for one pan. When I was buying mine, they were newly discontinued and I could get them for $5-7 mostly. I never paid more than $10 for any one color. At $5 I bought three of a color and then popped them out and refilled with colors that were no longer available, like sap green or my Daniel Smith Buff Titanium which was never available from W&N.
Schmincke - Website is for information only. Horadam is the artist grade. Available in tubes and half and whole pans.
Holbein - Website is for information only. Tubes in 5ml and 15ml and a limited selection of half pans.
M. Graham - Website is for information only. Their paints include honey so may not harden in your climate depending. I don't use any paints with honey due to drying time and possible mold issues.
Sennelier - Website is for information only. Tubes, half pans and whole pans. Also honey based.
Old Holland - Website is for information only. Tubes available. Not sure about pans.
Grumbacher - Website is for information only. Finest is artist grade. Academy is student grade.
Maimeri - Website is for information only. Blu is artist grade, Venezia is student grade. Tubes in 5ml and 15 ml. I believe the Venezia is also available in pans and there is a travel set.
Mijello Mission Gold - Many of these colors are mixes of two or more pigments. They also include several fugitive colors. They are artist grade but I don't use them.
Royal Talens - Website is for information only. Rembrandt is the artist grade of Royal Talens. I don't care for the quality of their other products so would not recommend their watercolors. It is available in 5ml and 20ml tubes and half pans.
Golden - Website is for information only. QoR is their artist grade watercolor. They are in New York and fairly new, 1980, compared with some of the other manufacturers.
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I am including some boutique paint producers. These are hand made and very pricey. But at some point, you may decide your art takes you in a direction that commercially available paints cannot support and you have the means to indulge in custom paints.
Wallace Seymour (formerly Pip Seymour). Out of the U.K. Their website mostly lists U.K. shops and none of them currently ship to the U.S. You can get their paints from Select Fine Art Materials in Canada. Not exactly a one person operation but not a big manufacturer. They have a regular line of paints as well as historic pigments. They are either tubes or whole pans. I suggest the pans as I have read of problems with the tubes. They do not rewet easily but if you do get them going some of the colors look amazing. They are also pretty pricey so as soon as I win the lottery I am going to invest in 18 whole pans and keep them in my Stirling vintage palette.
Greenleaf and Blueberry - There is no "store". They open their shop on their own website periodically, about once a month, and it's first come, first served. They usually sell out in a few minutes so you have to be fast. Make and account and log in with pre-saved payment information to give you your best shot. Join their mailing list. Really nice paints but really expensive. They are sold by the half pan and by the whole pan and in sets. They also offer the equivalent of a quarter pan in natural sea shells, like artists used to use. They are just starting to offer metallics and micas. They occasionally coordinate with Art Tookit to offer a special set.
A. Gallo - Online only. This "shop" is out of Italy but purchasing is very easy and shipping is as quick as you'll get from Europe. Like Greenleaf and Blueberry the paint is hand made and they open the shop about once a month. Unlike Greenleaf and Blueberry they are pretty consistent with their shop opening. Usually the last Sunday of the month at 4pm Italian time. Figure it out where you are. I have no idea how Daylight Stupid Time affects the time.
Rosa - Rosa is another recent watercolor manufacturer getting some attention. Supposedly very fine paints but they are located in Ukraine so are having supply issues. I have not been able to purchase them yet but am checking periodically for when they may be in production again.
JasperStarDust - Also out of Colorado, her paints seem to be on a par with Greenleaf and Blueberry but not all natural occurring pigments. I have ordered one from her, supposedly lapis lazuli, because I haven't been able to get it from Greenleaf and Blueberry as it sells out every time I try. So I'll see if JasperStarDust has an acceptable paint. If so, I may be ordering more from her because she keeps stock on hand and they don't seem to be quite as pricey.
Ruby Mountain - not as pricey as Greenleaf and Blueberry and in the U.S. so shipping not as expensive as Matteo Grilli. Have not bought her paints but have heard they are very nice.
Rivervale - Out of Arkansas, she includes metallics and micas in her offerings.
Matteo Grilli - Matteo is in Australia but I buy his Indian Yellow half or whole pans because he still has a stock of the discontinued PY153. Just check with him first to see if he is still using it. I have his complete range of colors in half pans in a small FOME travel palette for sketching. He only offers a basic range but the quality is very nice.
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If you want to try your hand at making watercolors, all of the pigments, binders and tools are available from Kremer Pigments. They have a store in New York City. I think they may even have instruction and workshops.
A source in California is Natural Pigments. They have materials for making your own paints and also stock Rublev watercolors.
For a more in depth analysis on many of these watercolor manufacturer's lines of paint, I highly recommend Jane Blundell's blog.
Rosa - Rosa is another recent watercolor manufacturer getting some attention. Supposedly very fine paints but they are located in Ukraine so are having supply issues. I have not been able to purchase them yet but am checking periodically for when they may be in production again.
JasperStarDust - Also out of Colorado, her paints seem to be on a par with Greenleaf and Blueberry but not all natural occurring pigments. I have ordered one from her, supposedly lapis lazuli, because I haven't been able to get it from Greenleaf and Blueberry as it sells out every time I try. So I'll see if JasperStarDust has an acceptable paint. If so, I may be ordering more from her because she keeps stock on hand and they don't seem to be quite as pricey.
Ruby Mountain - not as pricey as Greenleaf and Blueberry and in the U.S. so shipping not as expensive as Matteo Grilli. Have not bought her paints but have heard they are very nice.
Rivervale - Out of Arkansas, she includes metallics and micas in her offerings.
Matteo Grilli - Matteo is in Australia but I buy his Indian Yellow half or whole pans because he still has a stock of the discontinued PY153. Just check with him first to see if he is still using it. I have his complete range of colors in half pans in a small FOME travel palette for sketching. He only offers a basic range but the quality is very nice.
* * * * * * * * * *
If you want to try your hand at making watercolors, all of the pigments, binders and tools are available from Kremer Pigments. They have a store in New York City. I think they may even have instruction and workshops.
A source in California is Natural Pigments. They have materials for making your own paints and also stock Rublev watercolors.
For a more in depth analysis on many of these watercolor manufacturer's lines of paint, I highly recommend Jane Blundell's blog.
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