Dan Smith started his business in 1976, dedicated to bringing the highest quality inks to the print-artist community. In 1993, Dan set out to create a line of professional watercolours with one goal in mind: to bring the watercolour artist the very best product available. His dream came to fruition with the introduction of a hugely innovative American-made collection of paints that just happened to change the world of watercolours forever.
After extensive formulation and artist testing, the first 27 DANIEL SMITH Extra Fine Watercolours were introduced to the market with exciting results. The sheer amount of pigment packed into each tube was exceptional, as was their policy of providing complete product information on each label. Loyal customers to the Seattle store and catalogue set about buying and trying the new paints and colours. They told their friends, and the colours became a real hit.
Each year more of their chemist’s inventive creations are introduced. Early on, Daniel Smith Inc. was the first to offer Quinacridone pigments in artists’ paints. These fantastic, powerful colours, originally created for the auto industry, gave artists new and vibrant choices perfect for glazing.
The sheer range of possibility DANIEL SMITH Extra Fine Watercolours offer is endless and unparalleled in the industry. The amazing selection spans the spectrum from the historical, to natural earth and PrimaTek™ Colours, to the brightest, boldest colours modern technology has to offer. While they are American paints, their pigments come from the world over.
The Daniel Smith Inc. paint-making lab is neither big nor impersonal. Located in Seattle Washington, it is a world of machinery and colour, where the air smells of linseed oil, and everyone’s clothes are splattered with paint. The manufacturing R&D lab is the soul of the company, a place where ideas are shared, artist’s voices are heard, and new DANIEL SMITH colours are brought to life by a talented and dedicated production team. Artisans making paint for artists, they have the customer’s complete satisfaction in mind.
