Since 1976, DANIEL SMITH Artist Materials has been dedicated to empowering artists with exceptional materials that ignite creativity and elevate expression.
Owner John Cogley maintains an unwavering commitment to quality and innovation, ensuring artists worldwide can always count on the stellar performance of DANIEL SMITH products—proudly made in the USA.

Four Creative Ways to Paint

Explore the world’s widest range of professional watercolors—272 Extra Fine™ Watercolor colors, each crafted with lightfast pigments for unmatched brilliance and consistency.

Extra Fine™ Watercolors
The cornerstone of DANIEL SMITH Inc., trusted by professional artists around the world.

  • 272 colors available in 15ml tubes
  • 117 colors also available in 5ml tubes
  • Artist Curated 5ml tube sets for easy exploration and collection
  • Lightfast, highly pigmented, and uniquely formulated

Extra Fine™ Watercolor Sticks – 62 Colors
It’s like a pan in your hand.

  • Draw, paint, and mix straight from the stick
  • Portable and versatile —ideal for travel and plein air

Hand Poured Watercolor Half Pans – 45 Colors

  • Re-wet quickly for rich, vibrant color
  • Available individually and in curated sets
  • Perfect for sketchbooks, journaling, and compact palettes

Extra Fine™ Gouache – 74 Colors

  • Professional, matte, opaque water media
  • Made with the same pigments as our watercolors
  • Higher pigment loads for coverage—no whites or fillers added

1976Dan Smith decides to learn how to make his own inks. He sells his motorcycle to fund his idea to become an art materials retailer, and Daniel Smith, Inc. is born in Seattle, Washington. Click here to meet Dan!

1990Original Oil™ Colors are introduced.

1990Joins ASTM, an international organization that develops and publishes technical standards for a wide range of materials, products, systems, and services.

1993Extra Fine™ Watercolors are launched with 15 colors and defined as “classic watercolor of unsurpassed purity and permanence.” The vision was to produce a truly unique selection of colors that were the best in lightfastness and permanence.

1993Introduces Quinacridone colors to the art materials market – fantastic pigments originally developed for the automotive industry.

1993Joins ACMI, an international association of over 200 art, craft and creative materials manufacturers which seeks to promote product safety through its certification program.

1994PrimaTek colors made from minerals are introduced.

1994Luminescent Watercolors are launched.

2000Development begins for replacing Cadmium pigments for better safety and performance. The project is complete in 2010.

2005John Cogley, first hired in 1988, has worked his way up to President and buys the company from Dan Smith. Click here to read more about John’s passion for pigments!

2006Environmentally-friendly pigments from reclaimed mining tailings are introduced.

2009Extra Fine™ Watercolor Sticks are added to the family of watercolors.

2011Watercolor Grounds are introduced.

2012Water Soluble Oil Colors (DISCONTINUED) are added.

2018Hand-poured Half Pan Sets are introduced.

2020Half Pans are made available as open stock.

2022Extra Fine™ GOUACHE is introduced.