Review: Prima Watercolors {and stuff} PLUS Tulip Painting Tutorial!

Hi friends! I posted a haul video on YouTube yesterday and I asked what you wanted to see me use first and it was overwhelmingly the new Prima Watercolor Confections paints, watercolor coloring book and waterbrushes. Well, I aim to please and that is what we will work with today!

My daughters and I gave these products quite a run for their money yesterday, it was -13 below outside and there was a Ghost Whisperer marathon on TV so we stayed inside to paint! You will see the results from that and learn how to draw and paint some tulips in today’s video!

Oh, here is a quick tip, pay attention to where the hanging hole is on the back of the watercolor panel otherwise you will have to cut a new hole when you go to hang it (don’t ask me how I know…) I have to say for home décor the stretched paper “canvas” is really fun. I think the paints might fade and there is no good way to really protect the paper so I would not spend a ton of time on these but for a fun splash of color like I have here it is perfect.

More info can be found on Prima’s website (wholesale only I believe)

All of the supplies I showed in the video are available for the public to purchase at Simon Says Stamp (affiliate link), I think some might have sold out after my haul yesterday but they are brand new and should be restocked immediately (10% off coupon code for Simon Says Stamp: 10februaryth  I am not sure how long it is good for tho)

Here is the painting reference photo.

Pros:

•  I love the palette tins, they are the same as more expensive paint and they will fit standard half pans when the paints run out.
• The colors are very bright and concentrated.
• The waterbrushes are inexpensive and great quality (I have a set I have been using hard for over a year, they bristles stain but they still work as good as new)
• Low price: at $25 retail they are a great value, actually I have been pleasantly surprised with the quality of all of the watercolor supplies that Prima has come out with.
• Coloring book has cute designs

Cons:

• I am fairly certain that the paints are student quality with synthetic dyes rather than true pigments and they might fade
• No ASTM rating on the box to determine the toxicity of any of the paint.
• The paper in to the coloring book is student grade, similar to Beinfang, not a huge deal but it is hard to blend and impossible to lift the paint off the paper. The canvas panels are great though, no trouble there. The canvas panels are still probably an all wood pulp paper but the paint reacted much nicer on it.

Bottom line: The quality is better than I expected for materials at this price point. I enjoyed working with them without frustration and my 11 year olds really loved them (disclaimer-the packaging says 14 years and older, use your own judgment) I like how the palettes take a standard half pan so I can reuse them when the paint is gone by replacing the half pans of filling the pans with tube paints. I recommend there, you really can’t beat the price. That said, they are very similar in behavior to gansai tambi so if you have those already you don’t need these.

So, what do you think? Are you going to give these a try? Let me know I the comments below! Happy crafting!