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 catalog 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. A buying frenzy ensued, and since then, these colours have been copied by other paint manufacturers. (And after all, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. In fact, in the years since DANIEL SMITH Extra Fine Watercolours were introduced, most competitors have significantly improved their lines, giving watercolourists their best materials ever.)

DANIEL SMITH Extra Fine Watercolours are now offered in more than 200 colours, with more in the works every year. The sheer range of possibility they 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: everywhere except Antarctica and we bet they have someone looking there too!

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 your customer’s complete satisfaction in mind.