Product Review
Arta Pocket Box Watercolour Set
Jackson’s Art Supplies have long established themselves as the artists one-stop resources shop. From charcoal dust and canvasses to fine liners and palette knives, Jackson's have got you covered. But will this new pocket palette from Arta stand up to its creative peers on the shelf.
We put the Arta Watercolour Pocket Box through its paces to see if it really can deliver on its promise of affordable quality for beginners and professionals.
Words by Billie & artwork by Phoebe at The Spires College
Today we’ll be looking at the Arta Pocket Watercolour set to see if this pack of compact creativity can hold its own when it comes to studio time and art on the move.
For a thorough test, I’ve put it through its paces with an A4 portrait of one of my favourite singers, Lana Del Ray.
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, a white and a black. The colours immediately looked vibrant and upon use, felt like high quality watercolours that did not disappointed.
The easily removable paints make it incredibly simple to clean and there are five separate compartments for mixing colours. The set comes with a clever and sleek water pen so there’s no need to carry pots of water with you as well. If you haven’t used a water brush before, they’re perfect for carrying and and applying water to brushes or to simply use as a brush itself.
The addition of the water brush to this set makes it especially clean to work with and as a result, incredibly easy to travel with. As well as this, the set also comes with a small sponge for storing or absorbing excess water which opens greater opportunities for your artwork and its scale.
In terms of the sets packaging and usability, the colours and brush come in a small sturdy pocket size travel case. This is ideal to use when travelling, throwing in your bag for the day out or to have stationed at your desk. I took this set to Barcelona for example to paint some coastal scenery but also use them as my go-to paints at home.
While using this set, I found that the paints were of a very high quality. When using them I found they mixed well, created colours high in pigmentation and resisted the chalky feel of other affordable watercolour sets. This was great for achieving a smooth and blended piece with plenty of tonal scale.
One thing that really stood out was that these paints are very true and permanent. By this I mean that the colours stay almost exactly the same after painting and do not fade once fully dry. Whilst painting, I also found that they were incredibly buildable and perfect for layering which I enjoy in my portraiture pieces.
All in all, this is a great and highly portable paint kit that would be ideal for a beginner wanting to paint on-the-go or for the more established artist looking for more options while retaining quality.
Click here to see more from Arta at Jacksons Art Supplies and don’t forget Jackson’s Art Student Discount program
