(Originally published 5/9/13)
As of this writing, this is currently my favorite brand of watercolors. Come to think of it, M. Graham is probably my favorite brand of paint. I would say most of paintings at this point have been done using their color.
I first heard of the brand when I was looking for a slower drying acrylic, but I happened to stumble upon their watercolors and gouache in a community college bookstore for about half the suggested retail price. Though I normally buy online if I can help it, sometimes you can find the cheapest prices in stores. It was also surprisingly very cheap in comparison to the other higher name brands. For a 15 ml tube, it was about the same price as a 5 ml tube of Winsor & Newton, and around half the price of a Schmincke 15 ml tube.
My, did it deliver. The paint was the richest I’d ever seen. A little goes a very long way, and the tints out come out wonderfully luminous. I don’t know if it’s because of the honey humectant, but I do know that the honey is what causes it to re-activate very easily when dry.
Some brands will crack and crumble off your palette, so it was quite a relief to me that this wasn’t going to be the case. The paint doesn’t ever really dry out (except for maybe the earth colors) which makes it much easier on my precious sable brush tips. Most of the paints are single pigments, so your mixes will march out very cleanly.
Another wonderful thing is that I can control it very easily. I previously had problems with my other watercolors since I could never blend or fade out the edges without watermarks. I feel as though using these really boosted my painting abilities since I now have an easier time using other brands.
In terms of packaging, I have never had a problem with stuck lids. And the tubes look very pretty to me.
I’m also a big fan of the company as well. It’s pretty rare to find a small, family-run company these days that makes a nice product at a nice price. In terms of customer service, I have always been able to ask questions or voice concerns directly to the manufacturers. Not to mention they’re very green about the environment.
There aren’t many cons I can think of. Some people don’t like the smell of the paints. I personally like it a lot; the closest thing I can compare it to is some kind of plant. I’ve also heard of ants or bees getting attracted to the honey, but that’s never happened to me and I’ve been using these watercolors for around two and a half years. Perhaps it’s dependent on the environment you live in…
Sometimes there might be a little separation in the tubes, but you can squish the tube a little or stir the insides with a toothpick. There are also complaints of the paint being sticky in thick layers, but I don’t really understand why anyone would want to paint thickly with watercolors. There’s always acrylic or gouache for that.
Also in the place of back runs you might find the honey texture. Some people actually like back runs though I never have.
The only real con for me is the easy reactivation that I praise. In some cases (especially on a hot day) the paint will creep and drip out of the palette wells. I’ve found that in my palette Gamboge is the worst offender for this. I would keep your palette horizontal as possible. Some people can dry them into pans, but I haven’t yet found success in that. So for me they’re studio-only.
But I find that the cons aren’t nearly enough to keep me from using them. The paint is strong, easily re-wettable, very controllable, and it smells nice (to me, at least). The price is great, and the company is wonderful. I doubt I will ever find anything better. But if only, if only it would dry into pans…