Billy Showell's Botanical Watercolour Books Comparison PART 2/2 | Watercolour Palette

1. Watercolour Flower Portraits by Billy Showell | Book Review:
• Watercolour Flower Por... To buy on Amazon: goo.gl/7pt6n5
2. Watercolour Fruit and Vegetables Portraits by Billy Showell | Book Review: • Watercolour Fruit & Ve... To buy on Amazon: goo.gl/Bzd1uU
3. A-Z Flower Portraits by Billy Showell | Book Review: • A-Z of Flower Portrait... To buy on Amazon: goo.gl/ogE88M
4. Botanical Painting in Watercolour by Billy Showell | Book Review: • Botanical Painting In ... To Buy on Amazon: goo.gl/pmgXcS
If you are interested to purchase any of these books please feel free to support this channel by clicking on the links provided, you would pay the same price and I would get a small commission.

[@farmwife7944]

I am glad you pointed out that she has used other paint brands. I doubt that Sennelier paints are better than others for botanical painting but she has a contract with them: they are nice paints and reasonably priced. In one of her videos she explains that she has to write the names of each of the colors on the swatch guide she places under her palette as these paints have different names than ones she has used before. She has produced so many gorgeous works over the years and has captured prestigious awards so I assume they were from her Winsor and Newton palette. I use Daniel Smith and M. Graham and have no issues finding appropriate colors and people learning from her can feel comfortable using other professional brands. Winsor and Newton remains over priced compared to other pro quality paints, among other issues, making it no longer the preferred choice among many highly regarded watercolor artists.

[@AlyonasWatercolourCreations]

I am gladyou have pointed it out. I had the same thoughts regarding the contract... I had so much negativity and dispute when I would express my true opinion about the Senneleier paints. So many people say Sennelier watercolours are amazing, some go as far to say they are the best watercolours, I quite literary cannot do anything else with them other than botanical, which they really are good for, given the watercolour techniques you need to use for a botanical. Actually one day I want to do an experiment and do the exact same painting [but a more detailed botanical painting] with my other watercolour brands and see what the difference would be. And mind you I was very surprised how "cheap" Sennelier are in terms of price. But of course you end up using a lot more of the paint to get to the vibrancy you would get with just one brush stock with other brands, and so you get through the paint a lot faster that way. And yes I also agree that W&N has an astronomical price tag. Being from UK I would assume it would be to us like Daniel Smith in US, high quality yet at a high but reasonable price provided it doesn't need to be shipped overseas, etc etc. But I find myself that W&N actually ends up costing more per tube that some of those high quality US brands I bought. I will see how it goes this year, but out of curiosity I want to understand why W&N are so expensive and whether it's worth it. Sometimes you discovered something you didn't expect about a watercolour, who knows I might discover something about W&N too. :)

[@renmuffett]

I do agree. I think she did her best work using her old stand by Winser & Newton because she doesn't really do a lot of glazing layer over layer like Susan Harrison-Tustain does. She lays the paint on wet into wet and lets it settle then mops it up the excess and then dry brushes. I was sold on the Sennelier because of the little sample I got in the mail and bought more than just a set. I find I totally dislike them, finding the paint gooey and gummy, doesn't settle as nicely or smooth nor does the pigment settle into the deep layers of the paper the way I want them to. My Schmincke and Holbein glazes the best for my methods. I have worked with several brands and all have something to offer depending on what you are using them for.

[@lockwoodjenny]

Thanks for this useful review, Alyona. I started following Billy's course using the W&N paints that I already had, and am very pleased with the results so far. I've bought a couple more colours, but still from W&N. I don't intend to go out and buy a whole new set. Billy's earlier books use her W&N palette, as you point out in other videos. And her work is so beautiful, who could desire anything better?

[@Hannah-xn4st]

Congrats on 1K subscribers! You deserve it!!! A fantastic comparison of all Billy's books, really informative to watch! The illustrations throughout them are just beautiful! Thank you:)

[@soulsisterssurvivorssister8463]

The more you show of her books, the more I want them.

[@2112Dahlia]

Thank you. Lots of information about the books, great videos.

[@artetinta2470]

Super useful! I have two books! I am missing two! I think I will get the one with the rose in the cover!! Thanks a million!

[@rupamagdy805]

Thank you so much for this review. It helped me decide on the book to buy!!!

[@Hannah-xn4st]

I recommend you have a look at the "Botanical Drawing in Colour" book by Wendy Hollender, "The Kew Book of Botanical Illustration" "Botanical painting by Ann Swan" "The Modern Flower Painter" by Anna Mason and "Anna Mason's Watercolour World" I think they may be of interest to you seeing as you love botanicals:)

[@renmuffett]

Thanks for sharing this book. Its one of hers I do not yet have. In her older 2006 book showing Cerulean Blue Tone in her list of paints, I'm confused as to where on earth she found that in Winser & Newton. I used W&N back then and still have the pamphlet from 2005 and there is no Cerulean Blue Tone. The only Brand I found with that paint name in that time frame was Schmincke. I remember reading that book and thought she mentioned it somewhere so I'll have to re-read it. I really enjoyed this video.

[@margotyfiona]

Thank you for this information.

[@muhlenstedt]

Thank you, very informative!

[@CATAZTR0PHE]

Billy Showell uses in her: FOURTH BOOK - Sennelier paints: Titanium white Lemon yellow Yellow deep Quin gold Red orange Sennelier red Rose madder lake Alizarin crimson Helios purple Blue violet Dioxazine purple Cobalt blue Phtalo blue French ultramarine Indigo Winsor & Newton - Opera rose ShinHan - Bright violet 2ND, 3RD BOOK - Winsor & Newton paints: Titanium white Cadmium lemon Cadmium yellow pale Cadmium orange Permanent rose Alizarin crimson Cadmium red deep Quin red Opera rose Ultramarine violet Quin magenta Winsor violet _(dioxazine)_ Winsor blue GS _(phtalo blue)_ Cobalt blue French ultramarine Indigo FIRST BOOK - Winsor & Newton paints: Titanium white Cadmium lemon Cadmium yellow pale Cadmium orange Permanent rose Alizarin crimson Cadmium red deep Quin red Ultramarine violet Mauve Quin magenta Cerulean blue tone Cobalt blue French ultramarine Indigo

[@AlyonasWatercolourCreations]

Thank you for writing it all out! :)

[@creativecolours2022]

Billy's Sennelier colour selection is very very good but the problem is that that she is using some not so lightfast or permanent colours due to the contract that she has with Sennelier. The Sennelier for instance Alizarin Crimson is made by the notoriously fugitive pigment PR83 while the Helios Purple by Sennelier that is a PR122 has very low ratings on regard of its permanence, though the same colour has better performance in other brands. Same applies to PY3 that is the pigment that the Sennelier Lemon Yellow is made off. Other than that I recommend Billy Showell books and teaching method, colour selection etc. because it is the most comprehensible and effective teaching method of all other out there. Just be careful with the fugitive colours and buy the equivalent substitutes from other brands. Avoid the original Alizarin Crimson made by the PR83 pigment wherever you find it , and check for other Lemon Yellows or Magentas by other brands. I use the Rembrandt and W&N ones.

[@IrynaBoehland]

Thank you, for the review, Alyona

[@barryedgington6812]

Alyona, I really enjoyed your video on Billy’s beautiful books. I want to tell you that you did an amazing painting of the peony and the rose buds. Very beautiful! Can you please tell me how do I go about getting some of Billy’s paint brushes, ie, no.4? Those brushes are so nicely rounded with a lovely point. Thank you, Helene Edgington

[@AlyonasWatercolourCreations]

They should be available on Jackson’s or Amazon. That’s where I bought them. Also keep in mind these are animal hair brushes and since then Billy also came out with a set that’s synthetic hair if you prefer. 🧡

[@barryedgington6812]

@@AlyonasWatercolourCreations thanks for writing back to me. I went on Amazon and Jackson’s art last night, and they don’t show any of Billy’s brushes. I will try later, Helene

[@heather333]

Billy's an amazing artist but her knowledge of paint pigments confused me. When she used W&N she used a lot of opaque pigments (e.g. cadmium and cobalt pigments), but at least they were lightfast and single pigments. When she switched to Sennelier she chose many fugitive (e.g. Alz Crim, Opera Rose and Rose Madder) and several mixed pigment colours. I guess her magic results proves that it's technique and paper that are the key ingredients not paint. I'm sure she would get fantastic results from student grade paints!

[@AlyonasWatercolourCreations]

Heather White at the time of filming this video I took all cadmiums out of my watercolour palettes. When I was learning to mix colours etc I struggled having to include Cadmiums. Avoiding them helped to achieve more clean and vibrant mixes. But as time went on I have added a few non-transparent colours to my palette and enjoy mixing them with transparent. The milky quality can help to achieve that velvetness. Although I don’t specialise in botanical art in some cases you need those oxides and cadmiums and cobalts for textural effect of the petals. But I think it also depends on the botanical artist’s style, I have seen some completely avoiding those textures and going for a more crisp and vibrant style. The cadmiums do help to soften things down and create a more traditional and in a way vintage botanical art style. :)