Latest Videos - Art Supply Reviews & Tutorials

Watercolor paper gone bad? Sizing surface coating problems Arches, Bee, Strathmore white spots dots specks.

I've run into a lot of problems with uneven wet washes, splotchy absorption or white speckled dots where watercolor paint will not sink into the surface coating (sizing) of the paper. It appears that Arches cold press cotton watercolor paper has been having an increased rate of sizing failure in 2020-2021. It is possible that during the pandemic supply shortages something changed with their core ingredients to make this paper more susceptible to this issue.

signs your watercolor paper has gone bad white speckle spot texture arches cold press surface sizing problem

I talk more about my favorite watercolor papers, waterproof pens and inks, paint brushes and more on this page:

watercolor supplies list paper pens waterproof ink paint brushes

Watercolor supplies - list of waterproof ink, pens, paint brushes, paper (both cellulose and cotton, affordable student to pro quality options), swatch card creation and storage, lighting, basics of top-down video making for artists and crafters including camera holders, free and low cost editing software and other tools!

NEW FALL 2020 ROMAN SZMAL AQUARIUS WATERCOLORS REVIEW SWATCH CARDS

I've updated the Roman Szmal review page with 16 new colors from the fall 2020 release! Compare the new colors to Daniel Smith.

roman szmal watercolor aquarius new colors compared to daniel smith

I'll also show you how to mix your own version of the new "Misty Morning" color. 

Roman Szmal misty morning watercolor swatch card mix your own aquarius

Full review page is here:

Roman Szmal swatch cards and video demonstrations page.

You can buy the paints here.

Daniel Smith Moonglow Watercolor vs Look-a-Likes Dupes by Roman Szmal Da Vinci Paul Rubens + LIGHTFAST TEST

Comparison of Daniel Smith paints vs how other brands have made similar color mixtures. I will be covering multiple granulating and color separating watercolors like Shadow Violet and Imperial Purple, but my next YouTube video will concentrate specifically on Moonglow vs Roman Szmal's Przybysz's Grey, Da Vinci Artemis and Paul Rubens Shadow Purple (not to be confused with Ruben's Moonlight Purple which confusingly imitates DS Shadow Violet, but more about that in the next video).

 

 
Daniel Smith moonglow watercolor da vinci artemis roman szmal grey lightfast fugitive pr177

 

I've noticed some misinformation being shared about these paints, passing along the manufacturers LFI lightfast rating without question, and doing limited side by side comparisons that aren't in-depth enough to get a good picture of the differences between these colors. I tried very hard to go in depth with my studies to better inform artists about the issues with these paints. I'll also be covering some experiments with mixing my own lightfast version!
 

 

PR177 is known to fade in tints/diluted with an estimated LFIII rating in watercolor. Unfortunately ASTM has rated it LFI in masstone (likely from a test using thick acrylic or oil paint) and this is passed on to watercolor consumers. This is an example of why I now do lightfast testing of both masstone and diluted ranges for all colors. In just 6 months PR177 starts to fade away to nothing when diluted (compare that to multiple years of daily window light for lightfast colors). It's just as bad as opera pink and alizarin crimson that most people know as fugitive.
More about fugitive colors, lightfast test results and other art supply reviews can be found here.

 

Happy painting,
Kimberly
I purchase my paints on Amazon, Blick, Jackson's and Ali Express. As an Amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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https://www.dickblick.com

 

Emooqi 48 Watercolor Set Review 42 standard and pastel 6 metallic mica paint set

Emooqi's new watercolor set recently hit Amazon and it's a lovely low price option for beginners, kids, teens and crafters looking to color rubber stamped greeting cards on a budget.

Emooqi 48 pan watercolor set 42 premium colors 6 metallic mica pastels paint tin beginner gift 

I got my art supplies on Amazon, links below. As an Amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you :)

 

 

NEW Schmincke Horadam Watercolors 15 Super Granulating Special Edition 2020 Granulation Mixes

NEW Schmincke Horadam Watercolors 15 Super Granulating Special Edition 2020 Granulation Mixes

Schmincke just released 15 new convenience mixtures of their most granulating pigments. These can also be easily mixed by using the coordinating pigment ingredients, mainly Cobalt Turquoise, French Ultramarine, Mahogany Brown, Potter's Pink, Cobalt Violet Hue etc.

 

The colors have been split up into 3 groups called Glacier, Galaxy and Deep Sea. The majority of the colors are blue and several of the colors have beautiful color separation. The swatch cards have been added into the pigment database, for comparison to other brands.

 

Full review for these watercolors can be found on the Schmincke brand review and lightfast test page here. There is a video showing how to mix all of these colors yourself using their single pigments, along with swatch cards for Schmincke's full 140+ color catalog.

 

I buy my Schmincke watercolors online at:

 

Problems with Paul Rubens Watercolors! Inconsistent batch to batch differences

Paul Rubens batch to batch color inconsistent problem tubes and pans

 

I have greatly appreciated Paul Rubens as a brand that provides high quality paints in very large selections for a fraction of the cost of most other professional grade watercolors. I've found them to be a great option for those stepping up from student grade, without breaking the bank.

 

However, they do have some problems. Previously I thought this was limited to the plethora of typos and pigment naming mistakes. I was willing to look past it as something just lost in language translation, as their color charts get converted to English from Chinese. Sadly, over time I've discovered further discrepancies that are more disruptive to the painting experience. Here are 3 colors that I have seen be different every single time I have ordered them.

 

Though I did not photograph my first batch of these colors, there was an additional 3rd completely different variant of each of these in tube form that I got last year. I will be examining my other colors in the future to see if there are even more colors with this problem. It's really sad to find a color you like enough to buy again, just to have it turn out to be completely different upon reordering. For that reason I'm inclined to avoid buying individual tube colors from them in the future. Considering the difficulty of ordering directly from China at this time, it's unlikely they will be easily available anyway. Based on the unreliable color and difficult international ordering experience, I would not bother trying to find a vendor for individual colors.

 

It's been a crazy couple weeks with preparing for quarantine from Covid-19. I hope everyone is doing well. Stay safe and enjoy some painting time while you are home :)

 

See my video reviews with color charts and painting demos for Paul Rubens here.

 

Be sure to check out the new PIGMENT DATABASE project, where you can see all my swatch cards for dozens of brands here.

 

New Paul Rubens Watercolor Pan Set With Just A Hint Of Glitter!

Video review, swatch and demo for the new Paul Rubens colors in the slightly glittering iridescent 24 color pan set here. This review features 3 of the new colors, with a twist of having some sparkle compared to their tube paints. Christmas Green, Royal Purple and Moonlight Purple color separation paints (in a similar style to Cascade Green and Imperial Purple Daniel Smith style watercolors).

Paul Rubens Butterfly Glitter Swatch Painting

Every review, color chart and lightfast test I do for these paints will be added to the Paul Rubens page, so you can see everything all together:

 

Paul Rubens watercolor lightfast test product review demo video speed paintings kimberly crick

 

I bought this set on Amazon USA. As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

 

Affordable Dynamic Distraction Watercolor Set Paint Brushes Cheap Beginner Art Supplies Review

There is no debating that this is a really awesome deal for this price. The brushes, brush bag, paint set, tin and packaging are all quality products that happen to be gift ready in a nice presentation. I would highly recommend this to any student wanting to seriously learn watercolor painting. The beautiful round paint brushes come in 3 useful sizes with extra pointy tips that can allow for amazingly fine detail. Some people who aren't as prone to making tiny detail strokes may not like how pointed these are, but it worked perfectly for my needs. They retain a lot of water and didn't shed.

For professional users, there are several small things I would change. This set comes labeled as a "basics" set, implying you have the basics needed for color mixing. To be fair, it does have a great CMYK and the white is actually opaque to be useful as an alternative to gel pen or for making pastels on dark papers. However, the neon pink is very weak, hard to reactivate, chalky and fugitive. The magenta color is much nicer for diluting to pink colors and is much more likely to be lightfast. Since the phthalo blue is the only blue, swapping this neon pink for an ultramarine would have been cheap for the company and more beneficial for mixing.

The "fair skin" color is heavily diluted with white and leans towards yellow too much, making it a warm peach color that is not realistic for skin. Unfortunately this pale color is not economical either, and I really wish they had included a warm brown like burnt sienna instead. It would have diluted to a more realistic skin tone, while using a tiny amount of paint in comparison.

If they had swapped those two colors this would have been a totally perfect set that would contain everything you really need to paint on a student or professional level. There are alternative paint sets out there in this price range that may be slightly better, but none that come with these remarkable brushes.

 

 

As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. See more reviews and lightfast testing by brand here.

 

New PASTEL White Nights Watercolor Review + Easy beginner landscape on Black Watercolor Paper

Further info will be added to the lightfast testing and art supply review section. This includes any other videos I've made about this company, still images of example art, a collection of color charts, along with fugitive fading results. I share my experience on hundreds of pigment and dye ingredients from dozens of painting, drawing and craft supply manufacturers.

 

If you would like to buy any of the supplies I used in this video, the Amazon links are below. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I've also included links to the waterproof inks, pens, brushes and papers I use in all of my reviews. For watercolor, gouache or ink painting, I use small round brushes by Princeton. Heritage series is ideal for a sharp point, small details and snap. Their Neptune series is a synthetic imitation squirrel hair, which is a very soft brush with an amazing ability to hold a lot of water for washes.

 

Happy painting :)
Kimberly

 

GLASS watercolor?! REMBRANDT SPECIAL EFFECTS Water Colour Box CHAMELEON SPARK + Mica Glitter Review

The new Rembrandt specialty colors including interference, spark and chameleon glass glitter are available as a set from Dick Blick here.
You can also get the colors individually from Jackson's UK (they affordably and reliably ship to the USA) here: 

 

 

Further info will be added to the lightfast testing and art supply review section. This includes any other videos I've made about this company, still images of example art, a collection of color charts, along with fugitive fading results. I share my experience on hundreds of pigment and dye ingredients from dozens of painting, drawing and craft supply manufacturers.

 

If you would like to buy any of the supplies I used in this video, the Amazon links are below. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I've also included links to the waterproof inks, pens, brushes and papers I use in all of my reviews. For watercolor, gouache or ink painting, I use small round brushes by Princeton. Heritage series is ideal for a sharp point, small details and snap. Their Neptune series is a synthetic imitation squirrel hair, which is a very soft brush with an amazing ability to hold a lot of water for washes.

 

Happy painting :)
Kimberly

 

 

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