Matisse Derivan Now called Derivan has manufactured fine artist paints in Australia for 50 years.
They also heavily sponsored the Leviathan painting comp back when it use to receive over 100 entries along with the Australian War Memorial when we ran a school ANZAC diorama competition.
From 2001 to 2012 Derivan initially allowed myself and others to promote our hobby at their stall in the Arts and Crafts Pavilion at the Sydney Royal Easter show. From approx 2004 we secured with their help our own display area. This continued long after I left WSGS in 2006, all up we got to spend 10 years over a 11-12 year period promoting our hobby at the Easter show thanks to Derivan.
We were also made welcome at the Derivan Open day and this year marks my 13 year attending and promoting our hobby with participation games and a paint and take table that my cousin and niece run.
The derivan Minis came out of work by myself, Gary Kenworthy, Mark Fenlon and many more. We asked for a very matt paint that could be thinned down for airbrushing.
Unfortunately the then Tinsoldier retail stores objected to the 36ml bottle, they could sell 3 GW paint pots for 1 Derivan Mini and despite the idea that 1 Derivan Mini bottle would save money so people could buy more miniatures, Tinsoldier in Australia at the time would not promote the range. Derivan ended up getting out of the market.
Derivan also donated well over $2,000 USDAU of paint to the WSGS monthly family days. Plus they kept topping up the paints free for as long as they were involved with WSGS. It got to a point where we had more families painting and playing wargames in the class rooms than adult gamers in the common room.
This $2,000 USDAU of paint went "missing" when adult members cleaned up and put the paint into a sea freight container because they never used it. (At the time we had some members at WSGS that were against the use of artist paints in the hobby, they only used hobby paints and despite the generous support given to WSGS these members did not seem to appreciate it and talked down the paints)
In that same month arguments over the family day saw the families leave WSGS and I also left after 29 years with the club.
Matisse Derivan either stopped sponsorship or were not asked back to Leviathan, I am not sure.
Given Matisse Derivan continued to support promoting our hobby at the Easter show and at their open day, it says a lot for there support of our hobby
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I paint using the Matisse Flow range and the Derivan Minis. I also have the Matisse Background range in Olive and dark olive that I thin out to use for WWII olive and drab olive.
Finally I use a lot of their special products, like drying retardant, surface tension breaker, iridescent medium, ink extended etc
The drying retardant was why I first contacted Matisse Derivan, when I was looking for sponsors for Leviathan. Basically I looked at what was on my desk, wrote down the company names and started making telephone calls.
Derivan have given more to our hobby than they ever got back in sales. The time at the Easter show and at their open day (they do not sell any product at their open day)
promoting our hobby was very generous on their part.
reports from OrcCon 2008.
