Screamin’ Deal of False Economy?

Hi friends! The packages have arrived from my birthday money-flu induced-watercolor shopping spree a couple of weeks ago. The set I am going to review tonight I have never heard of before but I really liked the look of the pallet it came in. It also came with a waterbrush, ceramic dish and sponge. I have been looking around for a good deal on half pans to fill from my watercolor tubes and they are crazy expensive, even on ebay, for basically tiny plastic square cups. When you figure in shipping they are easily $1 a piece empty. If you know anything about student quality watercolors you know that you can often pop the watercolor cakes right out of the pans. This palette had 18 filled removable pans included. The price of the whole shebang was $12.99. How could I loose?

But when push came to shove I couldn’t just throw away the paint, it goes against my staunch Yankee upbringing. So I played with the paint and it just proves my point that you can make art out of anything if you are an artist. Now, I am not recommending these paints per say but I think the palette is a great value and the paint is certainly bright and fun. For the full review watch the video!

Video!

This is the set I ordered, I just double checked my order, the name fluctuates between Jerry Q Arts and Grace Arts and the price I paid for the Jerry Q was $12.99 and the Grace is $11.99, I did not have issues with the latch on mine but one reviewer said her’s did not stay latched. I reckon both sets are the same, they are according to my order history. This is not an affiliate link:)

This kit is best for:

• The palette pans and brush which would cost $20 if purchased separately.
• Brush lettering: the paint consistency is ideal for that and I wonder if that is what the set is really intended for and it lost something in the translation when it came over in the boat LOL!
• Or washes on casual pen and ink work like in the photo above. I had a grand old time playing with this paint. That said the paint contains a lot of filler so care must be taken not to make mud when mixing. Using colors straight from the pan will overcome that.
• Unbridled play, with paints this economical you can experiment with colors, sketching and patterns and not worry about wasting paint. I was testing colors on a paper plate for goodness sake and due to the fillers the paint rests on the surface of the paper so you can use cheap drawing paper to play with these and the paint won’t feather.

These paints are not good for:

• Serious works of fine art you want to keep for a long time (if you make something awesome scan it:)
• Watercolor techniques where flowing colors is important (like wet-in-wet washes or open drip technique) the fillers make the paint heavier and more still, they are much like poster paint or tempera.
• Pretentious artists…wait, it would give them something to complain about and they seem to like that LOL!

This is a $12 paint set and you are painting for the palette in my opinion which I gladly did and found it to be a great value. If what you want to spend your $12 on is paints you are much better off to pick up a few tubes of Winsor & Newton Cotman or Grumbacher Academy paints or the $12 LUKAS Studio pocket box set of 12 half pans because those paints are more lightfast and will give you nice colors and better flow. It just depends on what your needs are. What do you think? Would you pick this set up or pass? Let me know in the comments below. Just so you know I was not asked to review these, nor was I compensated to and I bought them with my own money. I ALWAYS declare if an item was free or when I am sponsored. I want you to be able to place more or less weight on what I say based on that information however you like but rest assured, you always get my honest opinion. I hope you found this review helpful and til next time happy crafting!