(Originally posted 6/6/13)
I haven’t been a gigantic fan of Winsor & Newton for much of my artistic journey, so I was surprised to actually enjoy using this. The main draw for me was the little tin that I could carry around more easily than the larger palettes. I’ve seen pictures of the heavyweight version of this set, and this tin’s design looks a fair bit handier. The tin does have a slightly flimsy feel, but I don’t mind so much. There’s a thumb ring in the back as well. I don’t know if anyone else does this, but I much prefer either keeping it on my lap or on a table. You can also fit other Winsor & Newton half pans down the middle, but the Schmincke pans are too large.
The colors are quite saturated, and they flow super well. From all the paint sets I’ve experienced, I’ve never been more pleased with the pigment selection. This is mostly because there are no Cadmium paints here. The colors included are:
-Winsor Lemon
-Winsor Yellow
-Winsor Red
-Permanent Alizarin Crimson
-Ultramarine Blue
-Cerulean Blue
-Winsor Green (Blue Shade)
-Yellow Ochre
-Burnt Sienna
-Raw Umber
-Burnt Umber
-Ivory Black
The colors are very transparent, and I think that they were sensibly selected. There’s a nice cold and warm version of all the primary colors for a more interesting time color mixing. I find Winsor Red a nice transparent replacement for Cadmium Red, and I’m very fond of Winsor & Newton’s Cerulean, Burnt Umber, and Burnt Sienna. Cerulean in this brand has a nice grayed down quality that I enjoy along with it’s texture in washes. The Burnt Umber along with the Burnt Sienna glow a lot, and it’s fun to see the patterns they make when mixed with the Ultramarine. I can also mix my favorite darks with Permanent Alizarin Crimson and Winsor Green, or Burnt Umber and Ultramarine Blue with a bit of the Crimson.
If I had to pick one, I think my biggest quip would be that the paints are not hand poured into the pans. I think they’re broken into little cubes that sort of fit inside the pan molds, so the paint falls out pretty easily. But you can just spray water in the pan, let it dry, and all shall be well until it falls out again.
Even though I prefer my Schmincke pans at the end of the day, I do keep coming back to this set simply for the color selection and the tinier palette. It’s been a joy to use with a water brush, and many of my current sketches have been done with this.