Watercolour Paints

By Billie & Phoebe at The Spires College

In this review I will be looking at the ARTA travel watercolours, part of the … range. As I opened the set I was delighted to find 12 bright colours: with 2 shades of yellow, red, green (one cooler and one warmer), a vibrant blue, a brown, and a white and a black shade. The colours  immediately looked and felt like good quality watercolours and you are not disappointed when using them. The colours come in a small, sturdy travel case that you are conveniently able to take anywhere in the world with you with ease. I took mine to Barcelona to paint some coastal scenery but they are also perfect to use at home. The easily removable paints make it incredibly simple to clean and there are 5 separate compartments for mixing colours. The set comes with a clever water pen with no need to carry pots of water with you to paint, just needing to be refilled and requires you to squeeze the paintbrush lightly to re-wet your brush. This makes it incredibly easy to travel with and very clean. The set also comes with a small sponge for absorbing water if there is too much and so you are able to create a variety of different pieces with this set. Whilst using this set I found that the paints were very high quality, by this I mean that the paints felt more oily, not chalky as affordable watercolours typically do, which is great for achieving a smooth and blended piece. Aswell as this, the paints are very permanent, by this I mean that the colours stay almost exactly the same colour after painting and do not fade after a while which I find with many watercolours. Whilst painting with these colours, I found that they were incredibly buildable and perfect for layering which I enjoy in my portraiture pieces. This set is great for beginners wanting to paint on-the-go and is great quality for a reasonable price.