Travel Friendly Watercolor Supplies
For a while now I have been on the lookout for a watercolor notebook that has over 30 pages and is over 90lbs. It hasn't been easy because I usually find notebooks that don't have many pages but are 140 lb which is the weight of paper that I prefer. However, I recently purchased a packet of 2 watercolor notebooks and a set of 12 watercolor tube-paints from arteza.
ARTEZA WATERCOLOR NOTEBOOKS:
Lets get into the features:
* Each notebook comes with 76 pages!
* Comes in packets of 2
* You can use BOTH sides of the paper
* 110 lb paper
Retails for $18.99 USD (That's about $9.99 for each notebook!)
From a consumer perspective these notebooks
are a great buy, they are affordable and you are getting a lot for your buck. I don't know about you but art supplies are not cheap, and the cheap ones don't tend to typically do well. That's why I was really excited to try these out. If they are even halfway decent then they are worth every penny!
ARTEZA WATERCOLOR PAINT TUBES:
Lets see the features:
* 12- 12ml tubes
* Safe for adults and children
* Primary vibrant colors
Retails for $12.99 USD ( That's $1.99 per tube)
I was really intrigued to try these paints
out. In the past when I have used student or craft grade watercolor paint one of the issues I have found is that they are really chalky. The other issue that I find is that they don't mix well and I end up with really muddy colors. I think that's one of the reasons people don't stick to watercolor, because they start with really student or craft grade watercolors and they end up frustrated with their work. I was really excited to try these out because based on the pictures they looked very vibrant and hopefully that transfers into beautiful work!
Lets try these out!
The first thing I did was put them into an empty pan set I had. I wanted to see what would happen once they dried. Did they crack or dry solid? We'll see I will update later.
What I first noticed is that they pack a punch! They are really pigmented. I barely touched the paint and it would give me a lot of color. I also noticed that they were surprisingly opaque for watercolors. I realized that I needed to really dilute them with water to get them to be a little more transparent.
To be honest I didn't expect them to mix well with each other. However, I was surprised because I was able to mix them and create my own mixes. They didn't get muddy or look chalky either.
When the paint dried I didn't notice granulation. Overall I really enjoyed the colors and the paint. It performed well for being affordable paint.
The paper will hold well to small amounts of water. I wouldn't recommend using much water on this paper, meaning you can't really rework or lift colors. I noticed that it would start to show the fibers if I put too much water down. However for quick sketches I think this paper will get the job done just fine. The notebook itself feels really luxurious since it's covered in cloth.
Let's travel...
To be honest I think this will make the perfect combination of art supplies to travel with. The notebook itself feels sturdy. It's not too bulky and it's large enough once you open it up to either use one page or use both pages to create a study or a landscape or capture a journal of a travel. The weight of the paper is just right. It's not too light or too heavy that it interferes with your ability to sketch and create in various media, at 110 lb.
Even if the paint cracked a little it wouldn't be an issue because there are ways to fix that, which I can talk about at a later date.
Overall I believe that the cost of these art supplies, the quality of the supplies, and their portability make these a great travel companion or kit for any artist level!
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