Alice Rhodes

This Christmas I asked for the Winsor and Newton 45 half pan studio watercolour set. That's quite a mouth full! I was lucky enough to wake up on December 25th and find the beautiful watercolour set wrapped up under my tree!  Naturally, I couldn't wait to try them out and see if the set lived up to Winsor and Newton's reputation. I already own the small travel set so I was aware that the actual paints are of beautify quality and create stunning paintings but  wanted to see if the range of colours provided were worth the money some retailers charge for this specific set. 

1. Starting of with the price, I searched around to find a good deal on this set. I decided to buy it from amazon which cost around £20 - £25. Having just looked on Amazon now, the price is £35 with free delivery so I think it must of been in a Christmas sale when I purchased it. Both of those price seem very reasonable to me as the set is of high quality from a renowned name, however, I've seen this retailing in the range of £70 - £90 in many retail stores. Those prices are considerably higher and, although the set is wonderful, I would personally say no set of water colours that come in the standard case are worth that much money! So my top tip would be search for the deals and don't get scammed!

2. Onto the actual product, as I have already stated, the quality of the actual watercolours isn't questionable! They're creamy and thick with lots of rich depth however, they can be watered down to become fainter and feathery. As for the range of colours, you couldn't possibly need more than what is given. There's a nice amount of cool and warm tones, a good variation of shades and tints and the set comes with a few whites and blacks too.

3. I mainly paint portraits as it is what I find fun, I enjoy progressing and improving over time and learning what my 'style' is. The problem I find most common is that sets, ironically portrait sets, don't provide enough shades for darker skin tones. This set isn't for portraits specifically, it's for anything but I found it had a really lovely range of browns, deep reds and oranges and dark blues which I find necessary when I'm painting ethnic skin tones! So if you're like me and mainly paint/draw portraits I'd highly recommend this set over a portrait pencil set etc. 

That's all I have to say about the watercolours! They are really beautiful and if you're looking to purchase something more special/expensive I'd recommend these. Apart for the price some retailers set I couldn't fault the product and think it is worth the investment if you are a passionate painter, however, if you're just starting out I wouldn't invest in an expensive set straight away, all watercolours (even the kids sets, which I love!) will do the job whilst you learn the basics. 

I hope you enjoyed this review, leave your opinion of the set in the comments if you own one! Have any questions, feel free to ask and I'll respond as soon as possible. Tweet me @ alicerhodesblog . Check out my art on Instagram @ alicerhodesart . Follow me on bloglovin for more posts like this!