I have to say a word about the set. It’s really useful, and very cost-effective. Each of the paints are useful on their own. I would highly recommend getting it.
Conclusion
If you love Daniel Smith paints, I’d look into this one. It’s a good, neutral yellow to have.
Despite me not liking the set AS A SET, I would recommend getting it. That is because the individual paints are great in their own right.
I hope you enjoyed this one, and I’ll talk to you again real soon!
Here’s the complete review on YouTube. Read on for the written version (:
Cobalt Blue by ShinHan PWC
I purchased this alongside their Cadmium Red Deep and Cadmium Yellow Deep.
I really love this paint and have used it EXTENSIVELY, in many of the works I shared with you here and on Instagram for the past several months.
Here are some of my works showcasing it.
Cobalt Blue – Paint Info
Pigment: PB28 (cobalt blue).
Semi-transparent
Lightfastness 3/3
Series D (almost the most expensive on the A-E scale)
My Only Complaint With Cobalt Blue
My only complaint with this paint is that it doesn’t achieve dark enough values. It’s not as light as some ceruleans I saw, but it’s still not as dark as many of the Phthalo Blues and French Ultramarines.
I think this could work to your advantage if you are painting in a softer style. For me however – I love strong contrasts at times. I love to use a wide range of values.
Another issue caused by this is that it’s hard for the blue to be dominant when mixed with the red and yellows I purchased (partially my fault, as they are more opaque).
I do love the way it looks
With that being said, I produced many beautiful paintings with it, and love the way it looks.
I’d recommend getting it as a part of a gentle trio, alongside lemon yellows and rose-like colors.
Where to get it
These sell on Amazon as sets. I’m not usually a big fan of watercolor sets, but for the price point – these may be worth it.
Here are affiliate links (I get a small commission, you pay the same price):
I recently published a ShinHan PWC watercolor review video.
I wanted to share it here as well, and show you what these paints look like.
My first impression of these is really positive. I actually I ended up purchasing 3 more tubes that I also share in this video – ShinHan PWC Primary Colours Review.
ShinHan PWC Line of Watercolors
ShinHan have 3 different lines of watercolor – the PWC (also known as “Extra fine”, the Professional and the SHAMI (which I heard is more suitable for children).
PWC seems to be significantly superior to the “Professional” line (a slightly misleading name), that is of student great.
PWC paints are better pigmented, have superior lightfastness and are composed of single pigments.
The Tubes
I got these in a free sample pack. It had three colors.
Ultramarine Deep
Pigment: PB29 (Ultramarine Blue)
Series B (A is cheapest, E most pricey)
Lightfastness 3/3 (high)
Transparent.
Permanent Red
Pigment: PR209 (Quinacridone Red)
Series A
Lightfastness 3/3
Transparent
Vandyke Brown Pigment: NBr8 (NBr stands for Neutral brown, Vandyke Brown)
Series B
Lightfastness 2/3 (normal)
Transparent.
I noticed these are very soft and nice to pick up using the brush.
I liked the way the colors look (when wet and dry). I also liked the mixes I got.
As I mentioned, this encouraged me to buy additional tubes (which I’ll also share in an upcoming post).
I hope you enjoyed this quick review. Be sure to check out the full video to seem ore of the demo itself.
A few days ago I published a YouTube vid that I think a lot can benefit from.
I want to share some highlights in this post.
If you want to watch the full video, you can check it out here:
The Stages of Watercolor Painting
When I got started in watercolors, I ran into some issues I couldn’t find a solution for.
They mainly revolved around the actual process of painting, on a macro level.
What should I start with?
Do I cover everything up in the initial wash?
Should I use wet-in-wet? When?
This video and tutorial are my attempt of answering some of these questions.
I’ll do this using this painting’s process:
So let’s talk about the different stages of watercolor painting…
Introduction
This is MY personal approach. I encourage you to learn from it, and then seek out advice of others.
This way you’ll learn what works best for YOU, and what’s most suitable to your style and desired final result.
I personally like to finish a painting in as few layers as possible.
This means I don’t do a huge amount of glazes. I usually wrap a painting up in 3-5 layers.
Also, as I like to make the most out of each layer, I make a lot of use of wet-in-wet and lifting when necessary.
I do these in every layer, as I see fit.
So here’s the initial drawing, ready to be painted.
My approach to this is going to be fairly simple.
The figures are my focus of attention.
The background is going to be secondary and simplistic.
This is why I decided on first painting the figures fully, and only then attending to the background.
Every “type” of painting is going to be different.
If this was a landscape painting, my initial wash would have probably covered much more of the paper.
More on that near the end of the post, under Conclusion…
The first stage is the initial wash.
The Initial Wash (AKA First layer)
This is the first layer we will paint.
With this one, my main concern is to keep things flowing and even.
I don’t care about the colors mixing into one another.
I know I can tighten things up and even correct some mistakes in the next washes.
This is what my initial wash looks like.
Do you see all the blooms and cauliflowers?
This is cause by wet paint “bleeding” into a somewhat dry paint.
I really don’t care about it!
The first wash, to me, is adventure time. This is perfectly fine.
Here’s a close up of how some of the colors blended.
I’m really pleased with this result.
The 2nd Wash
This is the time to paint in all the mid-values.
This is basically everything that’s darker than the initial wash.
Here’s my 2nd wash for this one.
I usually find this to be the most difficult wash.
This is because this one REALLY sets the tone for the entire painting.
It’s a really important one that will start building the shapes of the people in the painting, as well as the feeling of light and shadow.
The 2nd wash also demands more attention to edges.
You want a nice mix of soft and hard edges. This really helps create interest.
Here’s the 2nd wash done.
The 3rd Wash
This is the time to put in the richest, darkest shadows.
You will probably also go over many areas you already covered earlier, in the 2nd wash.
You want to make sure to push the value range as much as necessary.
Most realistic scenes have a very wide range of values, from the lightest whites to some really dark blacks.
Notice how this stage really makes things pop.
This is because by painting the shadows, we actually paint the lights and highlights.
4th Wash and Beyond
For me, this stage is for darkening things that are supposed to be darker.
At this point I also add some final details that perhaps I didn’t get the chance to so far.
In this particular painting, all I did for the 4th wash was to add that background.
And we are done!
Conclusion
This is it for the process.
I want to mention something important. Every painting is different.
I use different approaches for each painting, and for every “type” of scene.
So for landscapes, I’ll probably cover everything up.
For portraits or people, I’ll probably work on them and only add the background in the end.
With time, you’ll learn what works best for you, for each type of subject and painting.
It’s almost like you’ll have a blueprint for each type of painting.
If you are a beginner, don’t worry.
This will come with time and experience
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial.
If you have, make sure to check out the full video to see more of the process: The Stages of Watercolor Painting
And this is it!
Let me know what you think in a comment below.
Is this similar to your approach?
Do you treat the stages differently?
