Hi friends! Please excuse my brain cramp yesterday, I can’t believe I blogged the same project twice and t never occurred to me until I was scrolling through my blog looking for something this morning. Sorry about that. Today I have a paint review for you, one that has been requested a lot! Winsor & Newton Professional Watercolors. These are the paints I used on the barn owl painting on Friday.
In this watercolor paint review we will look at Winsor & Newton Artist watercolors vs their Cotman range and also compare them to other artist quality watercolors.
I am reviewing the 24 color halfpan set I purchased on Amazon for $87
Pros:
Strong pigmentation of colors
Most single pigment colors
Good flow
re-wets easily
Paint does not bead up on metal palette
Available worldwide
Cons:
Weak earth tones
Can be very expensive (I bought them because I got a deal, this set retails for about $212)
Bottom Line, these are lovely paint and probably the most famous watercolor brand. They are nice but there are other cheaper brands on the market that are just as good though. I hope you found this review helpful and til next time happy crafting!
The Frugal Crafter Blog 
No worries about your “brain cramp.” It shows you are ready for a well deserved vacation.
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Hi Lindsay. No worries here too. Watched your video and commented. You certainly did get those paints at a good price. Sounds like you might pay as much as we do in the UK at normal prices. I like these paints too and in the past have had Cotmans but wanted to upgrade for the better/stronger pigments. Happy painting and thanks for the info. 🙂
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that is why I like to review and compare different brands because we all get better deals on some paint over others so it is nice to k ow if it is worth paying extrafor this name or that:)
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You’re doing too much, imho. (edit this and the following if you like)
I watched with interest your swatching of the WN w/c’s on student grade paper. And, wondered if that’s the best practice, even though the WN did hold up well. I say this, b/c I tried swatching (which I learned from you) using my new Phoenix watercolor pan set (the company gave me 2!!) with different results on different papers. I used a Strathmore mixed media paper (pad) – they came out dull; then an un-named white paper – not bad, also Arches – the best results. However, truth be told, I did use a lighter hand on the last 2 papers, so maybe that’s why they came out brighter. No need to respond; it’s just a thought – maybe a learning curve for me – just to let you know. Lucille xx
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you can swatch on whatever you like. I don’t base my reviews on swatches alone (I know many people do but I think that practice in unfair) but I also do a couple paintings on several grades of apper to give a fair comparison. I typically use fabrinao studio to swatch all paints as it is cheap and I can get a good apples to apple comparison of paints. You can swatch on the paper you use most so you know how that will look. For watches I don’t think it matters too much as long as you are using a decent paper. I use fabriano studio because it is a 25% cotton paper that is middle of the road between student and professional.
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re: “I don’t base my reviews on swatches alone”
Actually, even though you might have mentioned that before, it just struck me (I get ‘brain cramps’ all the time) as, like, that’s really the right thing to do. Thank you, Lindsay, for your so complete response, and, for taking the time out to answer. xoxo
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I’m just getting into watercoloring and I looked at WN, Grahams and Dick Blick’s professional series. I ended up going with the Dick Blick. (They were priced between the WN and Graham, but double in quantity vs. the other 2. Reviews were also very positive.) I’m going to test and experiment on 2 different watercolor pads – Canson and Strathmore to see which is better. I’m looking forward to my experimenting and painting fun!
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they area good brand, they usually have their products made by top art companies if they don’t make them in house.
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Thanks for doing this watercolor review. I always like hearing what you think. Seeing the comparison between different brands is helpful.
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Thanks. Your POV alwãys welcome.
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