Ranking All My Artist Grade Watercolors (and real talk)

Disclaimer: All of these paints are decent. This is my personal opinion of the paints I have and use. You probably will disagree with some of my ratings. That's fine. We are all different and like different stuff. Live your life and have fun and for goodness sake use the paint you like because it really doesn't matter what I or anyone else thinks about it.
Paints (I will link to the best price and my favorite set if applicable) *affiliate links used
M Graham: shrsl.com/418d1
QoR: shrsl.com/418d7 (especially the 6 high chroma colors)
Rembrandt: open stock on blick: shrsl.com/418dy *the set I bought is almost double now! amzn.to/40nqnC9
Hydrus liquid watercolors: shrsl.com/418dd (also check out Reginas watercolors if you want a pan version www.reginaswat... )
Paul Rubens artist-grade tubes and half pans: amzn.to/3H1hebK
Mission Gold: amzn.to/3mKsd2t
Shinhan PWC or SWC: Blick: shrsl.com/418el Amazon: amzn.to/41GrD53
Sennelier-great for glazing or if you tend to overwork: amzn.to/3KUMFWb Amazon has been running really good sales on these! open stock on blick: shrsl.com/418e9
Daniel Smith (The sticks are my pick) shrsl.com/418f3
Winsor & Newton: shrsl.com/418fb
Davinci: shrsl.com/418fc
MaimeriBlu: shrsl.com/418fd (Potters pink is divine in this brand!)
Schminke (I prefer the tubes) shrsl.com/418fe
*cute palette I mentioned but did not like the paints: amzn.to/41swFlg
Yarka sets on clearance on blick: shrsl.com/418ff or white nights on amazon: amzn.to/3LhKMEo
Rosa Gallery: amzn.to/41oTkyR
Supervision granulating: amzn.to/3UTomMU basic colors in a cute tin: amzn.to/41HV7yT
Holbein: shrsl.com/418er or sets: amzn.to/3KQVJeR and amzn.to/3H3sF2t *Amazon prices have dropped!
Turner open stock: www.jerrysarta...
Lukas: amzn.to/3mPFFBU
Renesans: www.etsy.com/s... *save 10% with the coupon code FRUGAL10
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Credits:
Video production and Craft ideas: Lindsay Weirich
Music: Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
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#thefrugalcrafter #watercolor #art

[@Blick_Art]

Thanks for including Blick-exclusive Utrecht in your presentation- we know videos like this are an investment in time and resources for you so we very much appreciate what you've done here. Regardless of the rankings, artist evaluations the community comments do help us better understand what ultimately ends up in the studio and why. We'll make sure to share key points with the Brand Manager at Utrecht, who regularly surveys artists' opinions about the products they make. If anyone has specific questions about the colors, formulation, and testing, we will try to respond with from-the-source answers (keeping in mind that we might not be free to disclose certain proprietary information).

[@mostlyvoid.partiallystars]

I love that Blick is so active in socials with the artists. Hi y’all! Lol. Thanks for my paints!

[@Blick_Art]

@@mostlyvoid.partiallystars Well, thank you very much for reaching out with a warm hello! Nice meeting you!

[@Blick_Art]

@À Strand We don't discuss individual purchase history with anyone other than the purchaser, so you would need to ask Lindsay directly if you want to know whether she reported an issue and how it was resolved. But, yes, of course we would want to help! Lindsay (and anyone else, for that matter) is welcome to contact our Customer Service department to discuss any issue with their order.

[@thefrugalcrafter]

I did not report an issue. I figured the pans were just weak from schminke. I will reach out to schminke and see what they say.

[@Blick_Art]

@@thefrugalcrafter Thanks for clarifying this issue! Sorry to be evasive, but we really do need to observe strict confidentiality where customer information is concerned. We'd be interested to know what the manufacturer says!

[@OhJodi69]

The biggest thing I have learned is that no matter what brand of paint, my experience may be different from anyone else's.......paper type, paper BRAND, water hardness, humidity levels, brush types, etc, etc......all factor in to what my opinion of a paint brand will be. Thank you for the reviews and comparisons that you do!

[@OhJodi69]

@@SketchesnScrubs Your vacation looks amazing!

[@gwensimmons_gigi1629]

So true WCPaper matters, and Lindsay has done a WC paper review in the past stressing this point! 😊;-)

[@FaerieDust]

This! And what we want differs a lot - some people love granulation, some hate it. Some want a paint that moves loke crazy, some want complete control. Immediately bold colours vs softer "made for layering" type paints, even fillers or no fillers (fine arts level paint generally has no fillers like added chalk, but if you're a crafter working on stuff like cardstock instead of watercolor paper fillers can actually help the paint look better)... There's no objectively best art supply, there's at most best for X purpose or best in Y category. As long as you're getting the results you want, you're using the best supplies for you 😊

[@Pinkstarpirate]

Right!?! Water hardness makes such a difference. Paints move completely differently in hard vs soft water. And, honestly, this is a big reason I have waaaaaay too many palettes. Some work better with certain papers, and some illustrations I want no granulation or I want the paint to stay where I put it. 😂

[@PompeySmiler]

Hi, can anyone point me in the direction of original w&n artists watercolour information? I've been gifted a wooden box containing 32 colours, one of which is winsor blue. It has a number ending 706 on the label which says it's artists watercolour not galleria (which is what popped up when I googled the number and name). So I'm trying to find out if the properties of these original pans are equivalent or not and in the case of winsor blue, whether its a colour of its own or the green or red shade equivalent. If anyone can help I'd appreciate it. Thanks

[@mulanlovesmilo]

Qor is my favorite for travel palettes because I just can’t deal with the mess of sticky, runny honey based M Graham or Sennelier paints when I’m traveling (though I adore them when I’m home!).

[@patticake5311]

Btw, I'd love to watch a video of your student grade watercolors from best to worst!

[@sevenmillionhobbies7840]

My current favorite is Mijello pure pigment paints. They feel sheer and clean and just lovely.

[@marymccaslin1690]

I love these, too! I ordered the 24 count and now I wish I’d ordered the 36!

[@hershelroswell]

they're so nice!! my only gripe is that i wish they played nicer with some of the papers i use :[

[@karenneill9109]

I LOVE mine, they’re such clear colours. I use Daniel smith for ‘natural’ painting, like landscapes and realistic florals. Bright, incredible swaths of colour from Mijello can’t be beat!

[@nerdywatercolorist6551]

I feel that every paint you've mentioned have some or the other unique quality which would aid your style. Personally, i like using Sennelier for more defined and detailed paintings. I also use them up much more quickly. For more loose paintings, I use daniel Smith split primary set! Both of them were brought after seeing your reviews, and tbh I'm SOO grateful for them❤️❤️❤️

[@thefrugalcrafter]

Thanks!

[@ChrissieNicely]

Wow! Another epic comparison! Thank you, Lindsay! 😍 I was the one who had Schmincke send you those paints years ago! 😊 Reason being, that Schmincke Horadam watercolour paints had been a reliable staple in my life and in my father's life since the 50s and my grandmother's life also. (His paintings are still vibrant and beautiful. He used to be an urban sketcher back in the day long before that was a thing!) Anyhow, I really wish I knew what is wrong with your whisky paint palette! The Schmincke formula is famously the same for pans and tubes! Btw. I have always refrained from buying that palette because of the insane price, which imho is for the novelty. 😉 And - of course - the paints are very affordable here in Germany so I use a small palette with colours I want to have in it and a water container. By the way, in all the years we used those paints, they have never travelled in our palettes! Of course, I understand that there are much better options for you in the US, plus the Schmincke paints are not vegan which is definitely a point for you. I would love to try the Da Vinci paints (Denise Soden just made another beautiful swatching video of) and your staple M. Graham paints but since they are not readily available here, I will follow your advice and use what I have. I definitely and whole heartedly agree with you on the Daniel Smith watercolors! They had us all follow them like sheeple but thanks to @worldpigmentday and Schmincke (who have been completely transparent about their mixes) we now know we have been had. I feel like I have been robbed (paying such a high price for those tubes here) and have lost the joy painting with the DS paints now that I have the supergranulating Schmincke paints. Last but not least, I also love my QOR and Sennelier paints! I agree, the QOR paints especially, are so vibrant and beautifully transparent - although also very expensive here in Germany! Thanks again, Lindsay! 🤗😘

[@thefrugalcrafter]

Thank you for those tubes so many years ago. I think I'll contact schminke about the pans as dozens of viewers said they don't look right.

[@binnad7091]

I got the Whiskey pallette secondhand but unused for 20 bucks on fb marketplace. It was amazing, but since it's a limited pallette by design, Schmincke's color choices weren't the best. I swapped out two colors to convert it to a perfect 8-color mixing set. Carmine --> Ruby Red Prussian blue --> Heliocerulean I found I couldn't mix a good sky cerulean or a bright pink. Ruby dilutes to pink and heliocerulean is a phtalo, so it does as well.

[@binnad7091]

The pallette itself is causing me some strife, though. The lid leaks, and the metal rusts. 😢 Glad I didn't pay full price.

[@AcuarelawithBlanca]

Honestly so grateful for this priceless information Lindsay. Thank You very much!

[@jilllukas]

I would LOVE to see you do a video like this on the Student Grade Inks!! 😊 I found this Video pretty Educational! Thank You Lindsay!!😊

[@jessieg4901]

Yayyy! My favorites currently are Mjello Mission Gold 🎉Thank you so much for making this video ❤I really value your thoughts and opinions Lindsay 😊I would love your favorite student grade paint video as well!!

[@RJHail]

Definitely, but I think that would probably be a 2 hour video.

[@jessieg4901]

Haha! Right! No pressure Lindsay 😁😅

[@LinoonerBlue]

My two favorite brands are Daniel Smith and Mission Gold. It really just depends on my mood. Marketing gripes aside, DS' earth tones are really hard to replace. Meanwhile, MG is great when I want to go a bit more bright and colorful.

[@michemman]

Dear Lindsay, You could cover your palettes with paper, or washi tape, with some varnish to make a hard shell. I have a lot of favourites, but they are one offs. 1) Misty Morning by Roman Szmal (a light grey with a lot of water, it has separation into rose and teal) 2) Serpentine Green By DS (the brown in the mix is subtle, and the hue is lovely) 3) Payne's Grey, Qor (maximum flow very far across a surface, fast too!) 4) Schmincke's Ultramarine Finest (I like a non granulating ultramarine) I like to add a white to make it opaque. I also use a lot of cobalt and white. 5) A colour called Jarosite (goes well with the Ultramarine finest in skies) but it is a paler kind of jaune or naples yellow. A few handmade makers. 6) I love any Buff titanium for instant neutrals next to colours, to make colours brighter, but not so sweet. 7) A blood red crimson called Cassis, is a handmade. Reminds me of a dark rose petals. 8) A few A. Gallo paints the carmine, I never use a lot of red, but her paints are really smooth, but not sticky. 9) A few super-granulating greens by Schmincke 10) Green apatite by DS has a nice range. 11) I use a lot of burnt umber, as it goes so nicely with a lot of colours. So this is when I like my branches against the sky, to be granulating. No preference to maker. Particularly burnt umber, teals and turquoises with buff titanium. 12) DS Aussie Red Gold, with a Schmincke Cobalt teal, makes a lovely sap green. Indanthrones and quin golds. Just like you though, I have all of my sets together. I have started making sets with titles, eg " Sand, sea, sky and shells," is a palette that looks like a mosaic with colours everywhere. I love swatching. Lately, I have a few together without swatches yet, and a few unopened pans, and handmades always come with free dot samples, so I cut around the paper, and stick them into a half pan. New to watercolour? If you have too many, things get out of hand....so my words of caution, if you are a beginner, just find one or two colours that you love, and stick to your main ones, so you really get to know them well. In kindred spirit, Eliza Australia x Mon 24th of April 2023 10:24pm

[@thefrugalcrafter]

Good advice!

[@wanderingstar5673]

Enjoyed seeing your list of watercolors. I’ve noticed there are less big haul videos and think it’s probably due to the problems inflation is causing for many. It’s refreshing to see videos implementing new techniques and ideas in place of look what you can buy now videos. I’m loving it.

[@thefrugalcrafter]

It's a change in the right direction.

[@lindseywarren44]

@@thefrugalcrafter Amen!! 😊

[@nancyloomis3046]

Hmmm...I'm very partial to Schmincke now, but this was only after I got a "Special Edition" set of 12 half pans. At first after swatching, I was thinking "these are nice," but wondering if the $105 I paid for it all was worth it (included was a paper storage box that looked like a wrapped half pan and inside besides the paint was a nice travel brush, an apron, a plastic reusable lidded cup both with Schmincke name/logo on both and a couple of other smaller things.) So I did my swatching and set it aside. Sometime after that I did a bird/nature painting, copying a painting by the well-known 19th century nature illustrator Thomas Waterman Wood in order to learn his style that I came across and loved and also to make sure the scale and all was right...this was a "study" for me. I used my Arches 100% cotton hot press. I couldn't believe how beautifully these color's performed. Really lovely. And I had no experience with "Perylene Green" and I'm now a fan...of that as well as their Sepia...at least of Schmincke's. I think sometimes, we have to put a brand through its paces...really working with it on more complex or demanding work to see what it will do for us...to see if it's gonna meet the demands of what we need it to be. Kind of like what happened unexpectedly with the Sennelier set that you used for plein aire painting. This Schmincke "Special Edition" set certainly met my challenge and gave me the results I expected for this particular art work and more. Of course, I was happy with the work I did too, so I was able to bring out the strength of this palette for the kind of art I was doing and it all worked really well together. Just wanted to share my ""Schmincke" experience with you. I'm sorry yours has missed the mark for you. Maybe give it another shot, Thanks! p.s. colors incl were: Lemon Yel; quin gold hue; Geranium red; Perm Carmine; Perylene Violet; Neutral tint; Ultramarine Violet; Ultramarine finest; Phthalo Blue; May green; Perylene green; Sepia brown. 😊

[@juliebromfield1865]

Being in the UK I do like the Winsor and Newton, the tones of the paints work well for British landscape. For plein air on the med I enjoy Sennelier, Rembrandt or white night. xx

[@RJHail]

I agree with most of your choices except Holbein, but they are much cheaper in the UK than other places. I really enjoy the Rosa Art Gallery and they are so cheap compared to others. I agree very much about Daniel Smith, they are very vibrant, but very expensive in the UK, I would rather use Qor. My current favourites are probably the Roman Smalz watercolours. Such a wide range and really well priced on Jackson's and really vibrant.

[@RJHail]

Oh yeah I love the Rembrandt colours too, vibrant and stunning. ❤

[@KJayPlays]

Thank you for that little reminder at the end. I think we all need a kick of realism sometimes. Also my favorite: the ones I have in a palette I can just grab and start painting with.. and then the Jackson’s own brand of paints. They’re just so creamy, easy to rewet and super pigmented.

[@craftergin]

When I first started learning watercolor in 2018, I bought a LOT of different paint sets from a LOT of different brands. Student grade from Koi to Cotman to Prima and Jane Davenport. When I got "better" and was able to afford it, I bought Paul Reubens, QoR and Daniel Smith. Recently, I did a cull of my pallets. I donated all the ones I have rarely used to the American Cancer Society's Discovery Shoppe. It was a LOT! But like you said, it will literally wind up in a dumpster when I die. I'd rather someone get some use out of the paints. The only ones I kept were the Prima and Jane Davenport. LOL! I just love those for play and sketchbook work. I also love the Kuretaki Gansai Tambi paints. They are so interesting to work with and great for sketchbook and art journal pages. So don't worry about me, Lindsay. I won't get suckered into buying any more paints that I don't need!

[@thefrugalcrafter]

Nice!

[@jillwiswall5386]

I was shocked by those Schmincke swatches! The pans and the tubes I’ve used from them have been great, with a high pigment load and hue saturation. They pour out beautifully into pans and dry really well here in western WA. So sorry you had such a disappointment! My favorites are Daniel Smith, Schmincke, Qor, DaVinci, Sennelier, and Turner. My least favorites are Winsor and Newton because I find them difficult to rewet and their earth tones feel quite anemic to me.

[@Lynnbud]

I'm in western WA also where the climate is very damp and my Schmincke paints dry very well and I love them. Those swatches surprised me also.

[@derwood206]

@@Lynnbud same here in Western WA and my Schmincke behave great in pan or tube form :)

[@Mirrigold]

Same here! I've got around 60 Schmincke paints in both pan and tube form and not only have I not had any differences when making my own pans, but the quality of them is simply outstanding and pigment rich.

[@StationeryJunkieGirl]

Same here! I have the Schmicke Horadam pans (around 30 colours), and I have never seen swatches like the ones in the video. Maybe a packaging error and you got the student grade instead?

[@thefrugalcrafter]

I've tried their Academy and they were brighter than this. Im thinking a bad batch. Im going to give them another try and contact the company

[@gwensimmons_gigi1629]

Yes please do a review of the student grade lines of WC! Great review Lindsay...thank you! 💕My favs are Sennelier L’Aquarelle as they rewet and go on easily, and layers well, plus always on my table close at hand, then my Daniel Smith,QOR and Sonnet 24.

[@akschauer]

My favorite watercolor brand is DaVinci for the consistency of product and performance, with my Daniel Smith as a close second. I really enjoy the few M Graham colors that I have, but holy moly the Burnt Sienna stinks. Their consistency is lovely though! QoR is probably my least favorite, but I probably just haven't played with them enough. I'm still a beginner and as you said, I need to focus on developing skills than collecting paints. It's hard though because I am more of a collector than a user - with pretty much everything. 😂

[@thefrugalcrafter]

It's hard especailly with all if the availability these days!

[@flychk1229]

Watching this scared me a little because I realized I have most of the brands you spoke of! And you, Miss Lindsay, are responsible for a good many of them 😂😂 I think I haven’t painted enough to have a real favorite but I do have a very soft spot for my Daniel Smith and da Vinci paints that I’ve had for well over 20 years. My mom gave them to me because she had purchased them for classes and didn’t take to WC. I also love QOR. I think one of the first sets of watercolor I purchased was Holbein because at the time that’s what Tom Lynch used, again way over 20 years ago. The first time I saw one of his painting videos and how he portrayed light, I was sucked in to what watercolor can do. I CAN’T, but I saw what was possible 😃

[@amilena_wyamesart]

Thanks Lindsay! I struggle most with the 'want monster'. I think you mentioned in another of your videos once about channeling your energy into creating something can help fill that need to want some new art supply. I'm not always successful but I'm working putting that into practice. I have more than enough to create with, I just need to change my mindset from a collector to an artist lol. I like your suggestion of using up what you have and then using reviews like this as options for what to try next.

[@mishayx5258]

Ohh my this sounds like your talking about me! I need to totally do more art and less art supply collecting 🙈🙈

[@catherinescorner716]

Love the pep talk at the end! Daniel Smith was the first professional watercolor I ever tried, but as I use up colors, I’m trying other brands - my goal is to have a pallet full of my favorite colors, not my favorite brand. I adore M Graham’s yellow ochre - it practically glows! I prefer Daniel Smith’s sap green, though. I like the yellow undertones it has, where M Graham’s sap green is a little too one note for me. I very rarely use alizarin crimson, but once I finally do use it up, I want to replace it with dragon’s blood by Maimeri Blu, but I’ll freely admit that I’m being influenced by the name - who wouldn’t want to paint with dragon’s blood? Dragons are some of the most magical creatures there are!

[@lesleybthedapperkiwi]

Nice - thanks Lindsay. I change my favourite watercolours depending on the subject and/or style I’m currently exploring.

[@karlamae7700]

Yay!! Super excited!! Even though I have seen all your professional watercolor palettes before a few times, and all the others too, I am still excited to see how you rank your paints (even though I think I know your top 3...in order!! Lol 😂 I'm not obsessed or anything!! Hehehe ❤

[@thefrugalcrafter]

😆

[@anjakritzelkram5544]

My favourite watercolors are Schmincke Horadam and because I have so many palettes from that brand I think something is wrong with the half pans you have. The tube paints are the same quality as the pans as they don‘t produce extra paint cakes for there pans (unlike e.g. Sennelier where tubes and pans can have different shades although they are given the same color name). If you fill your Horadam tubes into half pans they will look similar to ready filled pans. There 12 color box usually has three cold and three warm colors in yellow, red and blue, some greens, earth tones and a black, This color selection makes mixing colors very easy which is one of my favourite aspects of Horadam paints. The 8 color box (I have the one without the flask) has some of this basic colors but mixing should go easy as well. There a one or two colors in the 139 range that are a little sticky, I guess due to the special pigment, but not the 8 colors you got.

[@reneaclark7689]

Da Vinci is my overall favorite brand. On my main palette they make up 60% of it. That is after trying several big brands of the same colors, Da Vinci won out more often than not. The brand is 3rd generation paint makers, have wonderful customer service and are affordable. They rewet like a dream but don't take a million years to dry down or shrink to nothing like W&N or DS does. If you haven't tried their quin red pr209 I highly recommend it! Daniel Smith and Winsor and Newton are both sketchy and are super hard to rewet. One thing about winsor and newton that irritates me is thier cad free colors have no pigment information and they charge more. I honestly do not have any on my main palette. Daniel Smith I like the sticks but agian harder to rewet and the fluff... oh the fluff! Less fluff and maybe they could charge a little less. I love the m graham paints but the stickiness bothers my texture aversion. I do still have a palette of them. They also have great costomer service. Senneliers yellow Sophie is so beautiful! White Nights is one of my favorites as well. PG8 is gorgeous and I have light tested it over a year and it hasn't budged.

[@deborahrodney6562]

I so agree with you about DaVinci, it’s a pleasure to use. Actually I agree with you about all of them. I bought Yellow Sophie and I do like it but I haven’t seen any information about it anywhere. What do you know about it?

[@reneaclark7689]

@@deborahrodney6562 I also could not find a lot of information about it. I am currently doing lightfast testing on it, it hasn't budged in color after 3 months. However, it is winter here, so time will tell. It mixes so well, it is the perfect middle yellow.

[@TuxieTude]

I also love my DaVinci palette!! ❤️ I agree with your overall assessment as well. 😊

[@starr-starr]

Yellow Sophie was completely unchanged in my 1 year lightfast test. It’s a gorgeous color. I also love my DaVinci paints- they are so easy to use.

[@thefrugalcrafter]

The cad free colors seem like a scam to me! They should call them what they are "hue" and charge half of real cadmium. That is such greenwashing and marketing.

[@vanillabead7839]

I love A. Gallo! Very expensive, but I just love everything about them. My other go to is Daniel Smith, especially if I’m following a tutorial. DS is what I call “regular” paint. Schminke supergranulating when I’m feeling the need to have surprising results. I appreciate your candid discussion so I can be an informed consumer.

[@RJHail]

I really want to buy A. Gallo but they are so expensive. I'm going to save up for a set for my next birthday.

[@ABirdWoman]

I love my A. Gallo paints as well. They took some getting used to because I don’t think they layer well, but when I use them for a single swipe color, I am very happy with them. I also use Daniel Smith along with some specialty colors from a paint maker in Sweden, JK,purchased on Etsy. But I mostly do journal painting these days, so I’m not using up a lot of paint to justify getting any new sets. I have a small KOI set for traveling and a small QOR set that travels well.

[@LCLand]

@@RJHailI love a gallo I have 2 sets. But imo Davinci is more vibrant which is my standard for best watercolor. And creamy too. Davinci for the win! Imo

[@mjpete27]

Hullo Lindsay, Royale Talens is the company that makes Rembrandt products along with CoBra oils and VanGoth paints too! I have used their pastels and they are just amazing to start a soft pastel painting! I am really and truly a zealot for DaVinci paints. DaVinci paints of California is the best I have ever worked with and I can’t say enough good things about them the quality of the paint, prices, customer service right down the line, they are simply the best! I got the same Sennelier 12+6 set! I got some tubes to fill the palette pans for a full 24 set! I think your Schmincke paints might be Academy line of paints! Your swatches look like it, it is easy to mix them up! You might buy hordam but get Academy not your fault but the sellers or packers! I have some 30 odd DS tubes I got from e-Bay, but will never buy more! I did just buy the new or newish collection of M. Graham from Steve Mitchell and of course I had to add a couple of more colors because that’s just what I do, just need those split primaries if I try a new to me brand! Wonderful video and collection! Thank you for sharing, Please take care of yourself and enjoy the rest of your weekend!

[@patriciatolliver4057]

Right now, I only have a few watercolor brands. Currently, I'm liking Van Gogh and Gansai Tambi. I recently purchased 1 tube of Sennelier because I'm a little strapped right now. I haven't used it yet, so I'm anxious to see how it lays down. I'm working towards my first finished piece. Regarding finding what works for you, Paul Clark, a tuber, says that all the time. So...I'm practicing and am ready to start on something permanent. We need more people like you, Paul and many others who encourage us to practice. That's what makes us improve. Have a great rest of the day. ❤️

[@greenbuttskunked]

Van Gogh is excellent paint, so don't feel like finances are holding you back! If pro-grade paint isn't in your budget, Van Gogh would be my recommendation. I use artist grade paints from several makers now, but I still keep Van Gogh at hand...and for some colors Van Gogh continues to be my choice.

[@suze7268]

My favourites are White Nights, because they're the only ones I have! I couldn't agree more about the over-hyping of Daniel Smith, but that's probably because I've never tried them 😅 Bless you Lyndsay, that 'use what you have' reminder was so lovely. Thank you 😊

[@joys4524]

My first sets of professional paints were the Yarka and White Knights, they are perfectly fine. 100% cotton paper is more important

[@mikepolo2887]

I grew up in Russia and I learned with them, the old ones. The formula was overall better in the 90s than now, but they had A LOT of fugitive pigments back then. But they work great if you have nice paper.

[@suze7268]

Thank you both, I am perfectly happy with my White Nights, they are very strong & mostly single pigment, make wonderful mixes and are overall an absolute bargain! No complaints at all 😊

[@roannespeedie5536]

I would enjoy seeing your views on student grade paints. I do enjoy your reviews very much- always such great information about the companies, the pigments, even pricing. Any information you give us about paints, brushes, paper etc helps us make the decisions on what might work best for us and at least for me, helps me feel comfortable in my decision on what I might be spending my money on. Thank you for doing what you do! ❤

[@thefrugalcrafter]

Thanks!

[@joys4524]

My favourites are Daniel Smith, Qor and Paul Reubens but I watched your video on mission Gold so I bought the 24 sets single pigment but I don't like them as much as the others. You didn't mention American Journey, have you tried them?

[@thefrugalcrafter]

Only the sticks and they are good. Davinci make American journey and i like those!

[@daniig3059]

It's a toss up between Davinci and Roman Szmal. Roman Szmal has a quality that really helps me feel okay being loose and Davinci is just my 'always happy to paint with' always feel like I'm getting a great paint, always feel like they mix beautifully, just flow and feel lovely to paint with. I was happy when you said you should have ranked them higher. I do like Qor since the colors are BANG in your face but I just find myself enjoying Davinci so much.

[@ntaylo6299]

Glad to hear your review.

[@francinecoleman653]

Would love to see the rankings on student grade paint 😊

[@mikepolo2887]

I am in Europe, so my top is different also for the geographical reasons. I wish to try M.Graham, but it will never dry in such humidity. I have one tube of qor, it’s great. My favourite is Schmincke, they are just such a consistent quality with a lot of character in their paints.

[@keepyourshoesathedoor]

Are you in Spain or Italy?

[@mikepolo2887]

@@keepyourshoesathedoor Berlin. I have no idea why the humidity is such that even at low temperatures even my Daniel Smith and Schmincke paints melt every once in a while.

[@StationeryJunkieGirl]

@@mikepolo2887 That is really strange! I have never had any issues with Schmincke or D.S. although I'm in Hamburg where the humidity usually is much higher than in Berlin.

[@mikepolo2887]

@@StationeryJunkieGirl I attribute it to my home microclimate. When I take my paints to the office, they are nice and solid. But I somehow reach such conditions in my flat without humidifiers and their like.

[@marilynlawson9078]

I would love to see a student grade video! At this point I am still learning (only 3 months in) so student paints are better for me until I figure out if I will actually stick with it.

[@mostlyvoid.partiallystars]

My fave professional is DaVinci but I’ll freely admit I haven’t tried a ton :) mostly I like that they’re family owned, USA made, excellent quality. I also like the small bits of MGraham and Sennelier I’ve tried, and I do love my 24 Paul Rubens set 😍 I don’t use DS for the reasons you mentioned but I’m really interested in trying Renesans!

[@grannysmithart]

when i started my painting journey, (20 yrs ago)i used grumbacher, as they were used up i moved to Winsor & Newton. I was happy till i learned about Maimeriblu, this is a lovely brand which recently revamped their line to include only single pigment colors. Since then i've explored lots of brands and i have to say i agree with you , M Graham is my new favorite with QOR and Maimeriblu and Sennelier tieing for second place. My problem with Winsor is they get too dry in the palette, whereas the above mentioned brands are easily rewetted. I have nothing good to say about Daniel Smith (i may be the only painter in the US feeling this way). People complained about the stickiness of m graham, the first tubes i got were very runny, last year i bought 10 more tubes and have had no issues, perhaps they changed the ratio of honey. Yes, Sennelier is lovely for botanical work, they layer beautifully, unfortunately a bit pricey. My goodness, i found someone with more tubes of paint then me, shame on both of us 😂

[@mariliarodrigues7137]

Besides Sennelier and Rembrandt, I really love the Roman Szmal watercolours - the colours are beautiful and vibrant, come in a wide range and the price is very affordable.

[@phillipstroll7385]

I have yet to try Roman szmal paint but youtubers really seem to like it. I would like to see artists use the paint. I would love to see youtubers paint with them. To see how they actually look and preform in an actual piece. Swatching tells me nothing about a paint.

[@designsdoovers]

I want to try some Roman Simao paints I just keep missing them when on sale.

[@RJHail]

Completely agree 👍

[@RJHail]

​@@phillipstroll7385 they do half pans now and have smaller sets for half of the price. The urban sketchers set looks good. If you've used Rosa Art or White nights and liked them, then you should like Roman Smalz as they have some similar traits, though Roman Smalz are better quality imo.

[@jcliveshere2]

We're do you find them I hadn't heard of them.

[@bonnierosendale]

Hey, Lindsay, nice explanation of why you choose as you do. Thanks for this. I just wanted to share something I found living in a very hot, humind climate. M. Graham is a lovely brand of paint and I can see why many artists love them. However, living in Florida, most paints made with honey just don't work for me. M. Graham never dried when put into pans and I just could not manage the stickiness. I tried White Knights and the honey actually beads up on the top of the pans. I have found that Renesans paints from Poland do well here even though they are made with honey, too. However, I think the honey they use lends a rather muted quality to the colors, which is something I like, but others might not. I bought a 24-tube set of QOR paints and love them; however, when I use them, I have to mix them with water in very small amounts as they dry really quickly and then separate funny and cannot be rewet without a graininess, almost like sand. I think this is a climate issue here as I've not heard of this happening "up North." I can understand people's disappointment with Daniel Smith's Primatek claims, but D.S. paints have always worked really well for me. I try not to buy anything made in China due to their very serious human rights abuses, although this is extremely difficult. I chose not to purchase any of the D.S. Primatek paints, but their over-the-top marketing I can overlook. I cannot overlook a country with a dictator who intentionally abuses workers for monetary gain yet claims they are "fair" and follows the "communist ideal". Their abuse of many other people for a multitude of reasons is also something I choose not to overlook. So I try to find out if any of the paint I want to try is made in China. If so, I will not buy them.

[@katherinenoggle6407]

M. Graham has gorgeous colors, but they NEVER DRY in the pan - EVER. And I live in South Texas! They stay sticky in the pans I put them in, even after 3 years now. Seems like every time I use them or sort thru my pans, I accidentally stick my finger in them. Every. Single. Time. Drives me crazy.

[@thefrugalcrafter]

😆

[@greenbuttskunked]

Here in the Sonoran desert, I guess the average annual humidity is about 40%. My M Graham colors will dry in the pans just fine, but there is some slight tackiness if I press my finger on a color (but still dry enough that I don't pick up color).

[@rootwoman123]

Daniel Smith is my favorite watercolor brand. They have just released a five-sheet dot card of all 266 of their colors including their new gouache line (St. Louis Art Supply). Their free dot cards are not as generous as the ones that you pay for.

[@serenityjewel]

I didn't know this! I'll have to order it.

[@valentinad2162]

Thanks for the video ❤ I’ve learned a lot about watercolors and painting from your videos, really grateful ☺️ Never tried MGraham. My favorites are Sennelier, Windsor Newton and White Nights. For everyday use I love my little Munguyo set supplemented with a few full pans of white nights.

[@joycebotie223]

Thank you for doing this. I learned sooo much. I do use mostly Daniel smith, mission gold and sennelier because of specific colors…….

[@leslieandersen2985]

On the Daniel Smith mineral brouhaha: one huge marketing mistake by an otherwise good company. I do love their paints and will use them. I learned a lot about paint from following up on sources of info on the making of the mineral paints so touted by DS. though my current favorites are the Mijello pure pigment set.

[@impish22]

Mission Gold is hands down my favorite. Gorgeous colors and the absolute biggest bang for the buck. Nothing else comes close.

[@ArtWench]

I would reach out to Schmincke about the Whisky Palette paints because I absolutely love my Schmincke paints. They are my #1 and I use both from tubes and pan.

[@berolinastrassmann]

I agree. Not sure why those colours are pale. I use Schmincke and never had that problem.

[@thefrugalcrafter]

I will. It's odd

[@tigerlily4634]

It would be really cool to see an update on this. I bought a couple of pans of the more unique colours I don’t have and they were really pretty. ☺️

[@rebeccah7689]

My favorite brands are Holbein and Mijello. I find them both to be highly pigmented and fairly tame and easy to work with. The Qors of the world tend to get away from me. I think Da Vinci has some beautiful colors (alizarin crimson quinacridone, benzimida orange), as well. Thanks for the comprehensive comparison!

[@mindofwatercolor]

Woo Hoo! M. Graham #1, I agree 100%. My top reasons are tinting strength from an amazing pigment load and re-wetting is instantaneous. Thanks for the fun episode. Mission Gold may be my #2 now. They act so similar to M. Graham, but I'd have to think about that. I definitely haven't tried as many brands. Agree also with your take on Daniel Smith. Not a popular opinion but well said. I may have to give Rembrandt another look. I think I have one tube somewhere and remember liking it a lot. LOL!

[@mindofwatercolor]

Also, great point about brands! One brand over another will NOT!!! make you a better painter. Can't be overstated. They all work great. Use what you have.

[@thefrugalcrafter]

Thanks so much, Steve! I really appreciate you taking the time to comment!

[@andreag3615]

Id like the student grade ranking too

[@thefrugalcrafter]

Coming soon!

[@deborahrodney6562]

I forgot to mention that I believe DaVinci to be a superior quality paint. I don’t think you can go wrong with any of them. They have recently added some new, exciting palettes in affiliation with artists. Mother Violet and Jackson Blue make me very happy.

[@susanfantozzi4415]

The best pallet is the one you will use. I mostly use a bought set of pans. But I'd be like you with a mish mash pallet if I had tubes.

[@veryberry39]

Omg, I've had one of the Shinhan pastel sets on my wish list for months. 😂 I wasn't sure what I'd use them for, which is largely why I haven't actually bought them yet, but certain colors just light up all my brain cells, and these were one of them. Do you have a review on those paints? Thank you, by the way, for this video! I know you told us to use what we have, but I still wish I could try all of these!

[@thefrugalcrafter]

I've used them in paintings and I think I included them in my review.

[@veryberry39]

@@thefrugalcrafter I got so excited I stopped to comment before I continued watching. 😅

[@monsoongirlnyc]

Sennelier is a dream if you like glazing. Enlarge a print of a painting where you’ve done glazing with these pains and it’s swoonworthy, so many subtle things happening.

[@valeriemartin3506]

Thank you SO much for this video! My watercolor thar sparks joy for me....the one that make me go "ooohhh" would be QoR! I LOVE the flow of these paints! Where these paints REALLY shine is how they "PLAY" with other brands! GAH! It's like magic right before my eyes! LOVE THEM! My close 2nd is White Nights. I add Ox Gall to my bucket water to make them more "Flow-y." I love how bright and vibrant they are. They rewet extremely well and these also spark joy for me. Sadly, I have noticed that no one is using them anymore. I have heard a few artist that I follow say that they received a lot of hate for using/recommending them just because the are made in "Russia." However, my Roman Szmal set reminds me a lot of White Nights and I believe there are from the Ukraine if I'm not mistaken. Another "Joy Sparker" is my Paul Rubens and Fine-Tec metallic sets! I love addid the metallic to my mixing palette and mixing to add shimmer to any color from any brand! I am not doing and fine art. Mostly in my personal journaling, Bible Journaling and Stamped images for cards.

[@Mirrigold]

Schmincke are hands down my favourite brand and I'd agree with others in the comments that there's something odd about your whiskey palette set because those swatches don't look anything like my Schmincke paints! A Gallo would be my second faves, followed by Roman Szmal. As I'm in the UK, brand prices are massively different depending on the paint origin so M Graham are hideously expensive here, and, while Daniel Smith are more competitive, I won't buy any more of their paints after the whole "primatek/minerals" debacle.

[@marlbboro8091]

Daniel Smith is like a beauty company claim - sky high lashes, dewy drenched cheeks, inner glow, zero wrinkles..🤣🤣

[@thefrugalcrafter]

True!

[@pikkuoo]

I don't understand what's wrong with your whiskey painters Schmincke! Are you sure you didn't get a pirated set? I have used Schmincke for years and never experienced such weak colours or this mystical oozing. Normally Schmincke pans are as close to perfection as watercolour gets. Great video, thanks Lindsay ❤

[@thefrugalcrafter]

I bought from blick and the pans were wrapped. Packaging looked legit too. I'll take them out again. Maybe I got a bad batch.

[@cris_ad]

Hello, I would say Schmincke and Roman Szmal are my favorites, followed by Sennelier. I don't know what was wrong with your Schmincke watercolors, but the ones I have DO NOT behave like that. I like Schmincke because they feel very silky to use and activate and they don't shy away from convenience mixes. Roman Szmal, I feel like they are working for me, not against me. Great pigmentation, interesting pigments, and the honey makes them blend out well. Next is Sennelier, which have much of the same properties as above. I use Saunders Waterford or Etchr paper, and either Princeton brushes or water brushes. All three of the above brands work very well if you like to work slowly, take your time, and layer pigments to archieve depth and intensity. (#1 is to know how you work and what you want to achieve before spending big $$$ on paint. All artist grade paints are fantastic but will not work for you if you don't use them for their specific properties.)

[@cris_ad]

The DS thing is weird, because I already assumed they used other paints to get the colors to be consistent. If they used just rock, then their colors would vary from batch to batch? But they didn't seem to. I didn't realize they claimed that it was 100% rock. Their reaction to the whole thing was also shady and suspicious. Very bad PR.

[@noriwhite]

thank you for your last comment!! I will use all the paints, I will not try to save them for later, just use them and practice practice practice! THANK YOU!

[@thefrugalcrafter]

You are so welcome!

[@CHCHNZ461]

Love the skin comparison 😂 and very true. Same with cooking ingredients, it does not make you a better chef, cooking a-lot does.

[@katpaints]

Those last few minutes are what everyone needs to understand!!! My favorite paints are in my big palettes - my first 'official' palette was/is a Robert E Wood palette. I have refilled those huge wells several times, although I prefer to only have them partly filled, just because I like to have a bit of a puddle in there at times. I bought it for my first real watercolor class and bought the list she had for us. I already had several, but, in 1995, with a decent budget, it wasn't a big deal. There really weren't very many readily available choices and that was fine. Mostly I bought W&N because that was available. M Graham is made about 10 miles from here and I have wanted so much to be able to visit but I know from driving by that it is a tiny place, a converted auto shop. I also bought paint from magazines. That's how I discovered Daniel Smith. The catalog became the best thing available. The paints were wonderful. I remember spending $75 or so for I think it was 15 tubes. I was in love! The store was kind of on my way to visit relatives and just being there made me happy. I read a lot on watercolors and color. Stephen Quiller made sense. When his palette came out, I bought that. My more traditional colors are in my Wood palette and modern in the Quiller, pretty much as he suggested. I have bought a couple of pan palettes which are great for on the go sketching, but for PAINTING, I love those big plastic palettes! I took outdoor classes up in the Gorge (before plein air was a thing) and my little metal easel has a hook on front that my Wood palette actually slipped on to. I learned to be fussy about what I liked and stopped wanting all the new stuff. I did buy one of the last Dan Smith Quin Gold tubes. When the company was sold, it no longer had appeal to me. It was all about buy this new thing, not educating us about paint. Van Gogh was some of my favorites as was the early, very inexpensive Da Vinci. I wish I had bought more! LOL! The biggest problem is having paint you never use! Learn what happens when you have an area of damp paper and you drop some Quin rose in on one side and ultramarine on another side. Watch the reactions; imagine what that looks like. Do it again. Enjoy.

[@melissaaldosari8024]

@À Strand That’s so heartening! Thank you for sharing that.

[@firechick561]

Rosa Gallery is my favorite- I got the 12 colors in the box about the time you did- it was under 10 dollars at the time. Then I filled in colors with the Sonnet (cardboard box set) of 16. They are so similiar, bright & beautiful colors!! TY Lindsay!

[@italiangabster]

Love this! I got the Mjiello Pure Pigment set when its price dropped real low a few months ago and I’m OBSESSED. They rewet so easily (their ultramarine?? godsent) and they’re so vibrant. They were on my wishlist for so long and I’m so glad they delivered. I have a lot of brands but lately I mostly use Mjiello and on my main palette I have mostly Daniel Smith and have recently been incorporating M. Graham and Da Vinci. They work exactly as I expect them to. My old workhorse paint was White Nights’ 36 set. I still recommend the paints themselves but you know about the buying situation- probably hold off. The other brand I really like but haven’t used as much recently is Roman Szmal. I made my own palette of 14 and used it a lot for Reds/Purple mixes. They’re really precious to me though so I’m trying to preserve them LOL Qor is the only brand I’m still raring to try out… It sounds so fun!

[@monica-NJ-123]

I bought Sennilier bc of the good reputation and when I used them I was so disappointed, I really had to wet them and dig the color up , the colors were very pale . My favorite is Winsor Newton and Danielle Smith , they are my go to paints ❤ TY for the review , always love your sound advice 😊

[@amyx231]

Rewatching this reminded me, I do have the Sennelier Aqua Mini palette in my stash. That tiny 8 color one. I got a good deal, and it was my first pro level WC set. I love thé pigmentation and everything. But… would it have killed them to have a magenta/cooler red in there? 😂 I do florals a lot so it was hard not to be able to do good purples.

[@thefrugalcrafter]

There could have been amore useful arrangement in that set for sure!

[@amyx231]

@@thefrugalcrafter right?! Split primaries plus maybe yellow ochre and burnt sienna/umber would’ve made a lot more sense. Or even a green and purple for convenience colors.

[@justacatwhocantype]

Wow. I did not have nearly enough time for art youtube these last weeks, so I am catching up with all your videos now, and man, were you ever busy! 😄 Those Schmincke paints in the Whiskey palette, that is an example of Schmincke's color choices for their regular sets. These 8 colors would also be included in ther standard sets of 12. Schmincke makes such excellent watercolors, but for some reason they put togther this horrible color selection for their basic sets. The Sepia, the non-granulating Ultramarine, the carmine that won't mix a proper purple for anything... yeah, I have no idea why they are doing this but I know for sure that with Schmincke I will only buy individual colors. If I should ever buy a full set of their's again, it would be a special edition one with better color choices. They are such good paints when you select the right colors. They actually are one of my favorites, along with Winsor&Newton, Sennelier, Rembrandt and QOR. And Lukas the way it used to be, sadly they have changed and this is now apparently a thing of the past. But other than that, overall, when it comes to the artist grade paints that I have tried, they are all good really. Amongst those big known brands, there so far has not been a single one where I would say that they aren't good to work with.

[@lisaspears8974]

My favorite is mission gold for vibrancy Daniel Smith for color/granulation combos in one tube Qor for playfulness and vibrancy. White nights for intensity Kuretake for its opacity The worst least favorite are schminke weak pigments and over priced And Windsor and Newton only has about 6 or so really great colors but the sets are meh.

[@danielleb.7055]

Firstly I would love a "student" grade ranking!I personally don't have a "favorite " brand. I like certain brands for certain colors. I agree with you on d.s. I am currently swatching all of my watercolors by color ( all brands mixed together) and the couple d.s paints I have just aren't great quality and definitely not the best out of the few brands I have.( I have very common colors from d.s that every brand has like ultramarine for example). So after the few paints I bought, I'm definitely not buying from them anymore, and the thing last year irked me. But I'm done my rant w them. When you said the cobalt turquoise was good, I went and bought it ( I was already looking for a new one and absolutely love cobalt turquoise and colors that are similar) and I used it and was like huh why did she say this was great? It was the crap one lol and literally, shortly after, you made a video saying that the new Lucas one is not the quality it was previously. Then it made sense! lol. Anyway this was a fun video and I enjoyed your opinions and basically agree w your placements on almost everything ( based on the few brands I do have). Have a great day

[@thesleeplessspook]

I'd love love LOVE to see you rank your student colors. I tend to reach for student grade most of the time simply because I work so much in my watercolor sketchbooks vs making pieces to actually hang up on a wall. For my faves, Qor is my #1 followed very closely by Mission Gold and Holbein. I have to agree about Holbein's pricing, though. I think it's pretty ridiculous vs what you're actually getting so I use all of my Holbeins very sparingly (plus I personally think their gouache is better than their regular watercolor). I LOVE Shin-Han but I don't find myself reaching for those nearly as often as the others. Qor's my favorite because it really challenges me. My style tends to be very tight but because of Qor's flow-strength, I'm forced to have to loosen up when using it and that in turn forces me out of my comfort zone and to accept mistakes as successes. My favorite paints of all time are outside the commercial zone entirely in the hand-made realm. I hope you find time at some point to rank those in your collection but I dare not recommend any to you because talk about a Pandora's Box to open! Hello second and possibly third mortgage to support THAT habit. LOL!

[@phillipstroll7385]

My favorite brand: Although I do agree with EVERYTHING you said about this paint company, Daniel Smith is still my favorite and here is why: I'm not crazy about blindly bright colors. I want exceptional tinting strength without all the "here I am! Back light by a Neon sign bright blinking bright" look other brand paints offer. I love to recreate the works of the old academic style masters. Bouguereau is one of my favorites. I don't want to spend half my time muting colors too make them appear 500 years old when I can simply buy them. Daniel Smith is my favorite because they offer a wide selection of colors. I can get what I want and it is always consistent and always available. I was an oil painter. Now that I'm old and crippled I can't really oil paint as much as I want. But I can always watercolor because clean up is super easy. I can also use them like an oil paint by mixing the watercolor paint with another oil like consistency water soluble product. I learned that little trick from an extremely famous art forger. He painted with house paint mixed with this product so he could paint fakes fast with quick clean up. He spent a great many years in an English prison for his naughty naughty behavoir, but he fooled the entire art world for over 20 years. Museums still have his paintings instead of the real works. Let me be clear here. I am NOT advocating dishonesty. Not at all. What he did is disgraceful and between he and his maker. What I am advocating for is being able to continue replication of the greatest works in history of humankind while being completely honest and hanging them in my own home. My second choice is QOR. This is why: sometimes I like to go crazy, get lazy and create abstracts. In those cases I do want bright vibrant color that flows. That's perfect for this paint. I've never tried M Graham paints though so who knows; if I had maybe my mind would be changed, but they are a bit too expensive for my liking. I refuse to by handmade, A Galo or all these new pop up brands. Why? A) they seem to think their time is priceless B) they never have stock when needed C) I want what I want when I want it. I'm not going to wait for someone calling themselves a business to get off their ass to make product because KZbin is hard. If I want handmade paint I'll buy the pigments and make it myself for a fraction of the price and zero nonsense.

[@Goldi-Luc]

haha i love that! what is the oil like water soluble thing you mix with your watercolors?

[@msfrehel8758]

This strange Schmincke box is NOT the usual Schmincke quality! I‘ve got a lot of pans and NO colour looks like yours!

[@msfrehel8758]

My absolut favourite watercolours are made by A. Gallo from Italy. They are simply gorgeous, handmade and therefore really pricey, but absolutely worth it! I also love the more affordable Roman Szmals and the really usually high quality Schmincke ones. 🎨

[@mishayx5258]

Im going to poland at the new year, hoping to find an art store to which i can buy the roman szmal, altho they are pretty affordable already from the uk they are evennn cheaper from their motherland, gotta be watching loads of videos to have an idea of the colours im going to be going for :)

[@msfrehel8758]

That‘s awesome! Habe fun picking your favourites! There are so many great ones; I love Ocean Blue and Autumn Green as many do but the single pigment colours are great as well.

[@Cloudbreacker]

I was surprised by your ranking of the Schminke Horadam range because in my Opinion they are some of the best watercolors on the market. I’ve been using them for about 8 years and I have had no complaints so far and I also noticed no drop in quality. As far as I know, they use the same formula for their tubes and pans so there should be no difference between the pans and the tubes. This being said, the swatches from your whiskey painter look strange. I own the same palette (without the water flask) and my swatches look totally different. I also never had any issues with sticky pans. The stickiness might be caused by environmental factors but the colors themselves should still perform the same. This difference in quality is very odd and I have no clue why it even exists.

[@thefrugalcrafter]

So strange. Maybe I got a bad palette? I purchased from blick which is a reliable seller.

[@Cloudbreacker]

@@thefrugalcrafter I decided to pull out my palette and painted some swatches as well as a demo painting. The paint swatches you showed in the video are definitely less pigmented than mine. I also checked my concerningly large hoard of horadam colors and I found 1 Pan of Yellow Ochre that is oddly soft, sticky and overall weird looking. My best guess is that Schmincke might have had some binder issues at some point. This is the only explanation I was able to find. It’s so unfortunate that such an expensive product wasn’t able to deliver better results.

[@rk3476]

I love your ratings! Try Roman Szmal Potter’s Pink full pan. It’s a softer color, I think, than the Winsor Newton or Maimeri (which I like), and it’s easy to rewet (honey based, I think).

[@apocalypse_frau]

I have a 24 tube set of Qor; I just don’t reach for them. Free to a good home. I’m not kidding;I’d love to help a student out, or someone ready to move to professional grade. All I would ask is for you to cover postage. Please let me know if anyone is interested.

[@thefrugalcrafter]

I bet someone will take you up on that, so generous!

[@beckyb4074]

Hello Apocalypse Frau, I might be interested in the Qor paints, as I only have student grade watercolors. But deciding factor for me is knowing where you are, in US or another country regarding postage. And last possible drawback for me, is I don't have my own checking account, but hopefully I might get my son to cover cost. Ask Lindsay for my email if you'd like to discuss and I will message her to tell her it's ok to share. She's the one that told me about your comment, but it took awhile to find it. Take care and God bless. Sincerely Becky B from Arkansas

[@beckyb4074]

Hello again, I got your comment in my email from KZbin but I can't find it in the comments of Lindsay's video at all. Just letting you know that I had to email my son to ask him regarding PayPal thing, but I don't know exactly when he'll get to respond to my email. Would you like me to give you my email address? Let me know, I can always delete it after I get a email from you. Take care and God bless you. Sincerely Becky B from Arkansas

[@apocalypse_frau]

@@beckyb4074 I don’t see my comment either. Strange! At least you have the information from my comment; sometimes YT is wonky. You may share your email with me. As far as I’m concerned, the Qor set is yours; we’re just working on the logistics to get them safely to their new home. ☺️

[@juicytulipboutiqueandartis8051]

First of all, you are such a good teacher! We appreciate you sharing what you have learned. But about the fav of mine, I've only tried a few but I'm one of those scared to paint people kinda. I use other paintings for reference. Always. That HAS to change in order to feel authentic.

[@Egy166]

I am not a fan of Daniel Smith!!! I prefer Roman Szmal Aquarius and I buy them from Jackson's art in England

[@SwedePotato314]

My personal favorite is Holbein and a close second is White Nights and then Daniel Smith. Each for their own unique properties when I need certain things. Holbein for control, opacity and details, White Nights for the same control and opacity and their reliability and how familiar I am with them. And then Daniel Smith for their beauty and beach grounds and when I need granulating or wet on wet with expressiveness. I love Sennelier for layering and for bright clear florals. And Winsor and Newton for portraits. And Paul Rubens for sketchbook work and studies. Super Vision for special effects. I have a set of Schminke in my cart that I’m saving for. And Roman Szmal is another I really really want. I appreciate and trust your reviews, this is so much fun and so interesting to watch. I appreciate how thorough you are and how knowledgeable and civil the comment section here is. This channel is my happy place lol ❤

[@sierracarscadden6049]

This was great! Thanks for sharing. I love a lot of these brands too. Also, really love Roman Szmal paints. Great quality, unique colors, and super affordable.

[@smitachengappa]

Hi Lindsay, recovering from eye surgery today so about to get into bed and listen to this😊. Looking forward to the next podcast! Vision will be blurry for a bit so difficult to paint, filling the void with art videos and podcasts.

[@thefrugalcrafter]

I hope you heal quickly!

[@smitachengappa]

🙏🏽

[@CreativePhenomenonArt]

This was fun. I love to hear others opinions on art supplies. I absolutely value yours 😊 As for favorite watercolors hmmmmmm at the moment I am playing with some Roman Szmal watercolor paint and I really like them. As I keep painting I’m realizing that I like certain colors and not one brand as a whole.

[@attorneycarissa]

I just bought the Paul Rubens 24 half pan set and that's the only brand I have from this video because I'm a new painter. I enjoyed swatching them and I'm hoping to use them this weekend. I really appreciated this video. I wasn't sure if I could mix different brands, so this was super helpful. Thank you!

[@tracyvis2101]

I always enjoy hearing your thoughts on watercolors! I’ve never thought you were the “pot calling the kettle black.” This is your business! You teach art and review art supplies for a living. Having all the brands and being able to make the comparisons is what makes you reputable and knowledgeable and the reason I listen to your opinions and consider them when buying art supplies. DaVinci is my favorite watercolor. But I also use Lukas, Turner, Roman Szmal, Sennelier, and Daniel Smith mostly because I found good deals on them. I would love to try A Gallo watercolors but they are just too expensive for me to consider. I’m hoping someone sends you some of those to review! Oh and I would be interested in a video of you ranking the student grade paints.

[@janawright1715]

My first watercolors were Daniel Smith, I’ve since tried many others and still go to DS, I also like Mijello Mission Gold. To each their own. 😂😊

[@mostlyvoid.partiallystars]

I really want to try mijello next!

[@carriannescreations]

Yessss!!!!!! Came to say Dainel Smith really does fix my life 😅😊

[@3534538]

I really admire your "parting words". It's so true unfortunately - what I consider a treasure will most likely be considered garbage by another person. My favorites are Schmincke and White Nights, Schmincke for flowers and White Nights for the butterflies 🙂And I like the flow of the Qor watercolors. Thank you for making this very interesting and informative video 🥰

[@melissamcintyre7661]

See.. SEE!!!! This is why I just love you and TRUST you! You prove yourself soo very trustworthy, Lindsay!! ❤️ Thank you for this.. soo very helpful to the community 😊 M. Graham are my daughter's favorite watercolors, but I don't have one, hah! I have many of the ones you talk about, but I like them all for different applications, if that makes any sense to anyone! I'm annoyed with Daniel Smith, for the reason's spoken, and was underwhelmed with Schmincke pans as well! Ah well, we live and learn, yes? 🥰

[@sewmuchglitter]

I'm a hobby watercolorist but I love Arteza due to affordability and I can control the colors more than others I've tried. I enjoy your reviews, they help!

[@hollyzessin2886]

My favorite overall are schmincke. Winsor Newton recomends adding gum arabic to the water when rewetting dried tube colors, just repeating the website information not trying to start a fight.

[@HeyLauraVan]

My current favorite is Roman Szmal! I have a variety of brands and many overlapping pigments, and usually have found that I like the Roman Szmal version of that color better than the Daniel Smith/Schmincke/Winsor & Newton/Rembrandt/Sennelier etc. Re your Schmincke issues: I think you may have gotten a bad batch! I recently bought a Schmincke set, and compared them with an older Schmincke set I bought 12 years ago. (Both sets were half pans.) The quality is superb in both - the pigment is so velvety, rich, and they easily re-wet.

[@thefrugalcrafter]

Huh, you might be right!

[@Brembelia]

I agree with you about Daniel Smith, that's why I'm not interested in buying them. I also agree with you about Winsor & Newton, that they are making changes in quality to accommodate mass marketing. To me, there seems to be two camps of painters. One is the more traditional painters (botanicals) who layer and prefer transparent non or less granulating paints. Then there are the more modern painters (loose) who prefer the granulating paints (Schmincke). I am also under the impression that the difference between White Nights -35, and -36 is that WNs-35 (the lavender metal box) is, on whole, the non-granulating, while the WNs-36 set is granulating. I could be wrong about this, but at the moment, that's my take on these two. I have the WNs-35, and think it is a good mid-range paint set where 93% of the paints excel in being non-granulating and high for being lightfast.

[@jennw6809]

Ok, I watched to the end :) Not sure why it took me so long to get to this video, I guess when this came out I was trying to not buy more?? I'd have to say that M. Graham are also my absolute favorite, there is just *something* so luscious about painting with them. I did NOT feel this way when I first started painting, though, I was like "ew why are they so sticky?" I also love their gouache, except the white which is weirdly not good. Back to watercolor, Qor and DaVinci would have to be #2 and #3 for me. I know, DaVinci is less exciting, since they are more "standard" -- but that's why they are great for beginners. Wish I knew about them right at first! I see them as being very comparable to Schmincke and to W&N, but make so much more sense for people in the US. I also absolutely love my Mission Gold, particularly certain colors that are just incredible like their Rose Madder (PR176, so great for painting fruit) and their Indanthrone Blue is just to die for. I started out with DS and they do great quins and phthalos, but the Primatek thing turned me off. Also their line is bloated, they don't do low-tinting pigments nearly as well as M. Graham and DaVinci, and all those irridescent and interference colors and the endless black variants are all stupid. Not to mention they closed their Seattle store during Covid and never reopened it. Honorable mention: Maimeri Blu has a very interesting, single pigment granulating Payne's Grey. You've made me remember I really want to try their Potter's Pink.

[@thefrugalcrafter]

Good points!

[@E4Alabbasy]

I can't really tell you that you are wrong in the end it is Your experience with them 😅 I do believe though that sometimes it's not the quality of the paint itself but what works for you personally, not to mention what palettes you are attached to emotionally😅😅 Currently my favorite brand is Holbein because of their color selection I don't know it feels much more suitable for me And because I dont have any issue mixing any color I want with them. Btw why is Mijello controversial 😅? I did noice that many stopped talking about it all of the sudden but I don't know why

[@thefrugalcrafter]

A few years ago they had a set with some fugative colors. I have the pure pigment and a couple pan sets and they are great!

[@marymccaslin1690]

I’m purposely not reading the previous comments because I don’t want to be swayed from them, but I really enjoy Mission Gold and M. graham. It’s important that they are vibrant and easy to rewet. I’m not sure if you mentioned these, but I like that little Owen set of 24 for travel. Thank you for doing this video!

[@hollyzessin2886]

Winsor Newton restricts shipping in sales territoties. The US currently doesn't carry full pans for sale. Jacksons can't sell to US customers because of territories.

[@thefrugalcrafter]

Ahhh

[@hberbac838]

As usual, a monumental effort on your part! Thank you for taking so much time to show others some of the qualities of the artist grade products. An even bigger thank you for your comments at the very end. It is so important in our consumer based culture to help us realize that it is not the product, it is the user. By chance I was just thinking about my own very small stash and what will happen to it. If at all possible I will gift my things to some place or person so it won't be wasted. Thanks again, Lindsay for your thoughtfulness.

[@starshinesoldier]

This is so helpful! I have quite a few of the brands you have. Lol, many bought by your recommendations. 😂 This is inspiring me to use them! My favorite artist grade watercolors are the Yarka St Petersburg and the Mijello Mission Gold, (though I have the 36 set, not the pure pigments set). And honestly the only reason they are my favorites is because I used them a ton when I got them. Since they are so affordable but still Artist grade. The more expensive brands I own are used less because I am still a little scared to use them. X.x Working to overcome that hesitation but it’s hard.

[@jennw6809]

I agree you definitely shoulda rated DaVinci higher :) They are a small family company and they really care about their products. The CEO answered my recent email in an hour and said he was looking forward to watching your gouache review and that they were already working on improving the formula based on customer feedback!

[@thefrugalcrafter]

Oh wow, I'm glad they will see it. I hope it comes across as helpful.