[Closed] STW arty types - which water colour paints?

Don't recommend messing about with student grade or lower.  Artists/professional quality may be more expensive but it stretches further as is heavily pigmented wheras the lower quality paints have much more filler/binder to pigment ratio.

I also recommend either full-pans or else tubes which can be squeezed into the palette.  Half-pans can ruin expensive brushes in short order.

Recommended paints:

Winsor and Newton Professional

Schmincke Horadam

Daniel Smith

I use Daniel Smith and W&N Pro, but have seen the Horadam paints in action and they too are very good.

@malvernrider - cheers, exactly what I was after. Although what are half pans and full pans??

Pans are the dry pats of paint and the full or half size plastic boxes they are supplied in. They can be switched around in and out of tins.

I had a nose around online for deals, and (as a painter in all mediums, but watercolour student) if I had this for xmas I'd be very pleased (if doing small format field sketching with smaller brushes)

http://www.cheapartsupplies.co.uk/schmincke-horadam-finest-watercolour-paints-8-half-pan-compact-field-box/

Here's a tube set of W&N, around the same price, better for larger field sketches and would also function at home as a small studio set.

https://www.cassart.co.uk/painting/watercolour_paints/painting_sets/winsor_newton_artists_watercolour_tube_lightweight_metal_box_set_of_12_5ml_assorted_colours.htm

@malvernrider - cheers pal, really appreciated

No worries 👍🏼

Another tip- I faffed around for ages with different pads and boards and tape, etc trying to get a flat sheet painted.  Finally settled on block pads (ie glued all round) as each painted sheet dries perfectly flat, no taping or faffing required.

Ingredients:

15-25 sheets of wayercolour paper Paper

Sheet of thick card same size as paper

Big bulldog clips x 4 or 6

Copydex,with applicator

Method:

DIY watercolour blocks can be made by bulldog-clipping and gluing a pile of (say 20 sheets) 300gsm watercolour paper.  Needn't be highest quality paper for field sketching.  Bockingford etc is fine.  Choose what size pad you want to carry then guillotine paper or buy ready-cut.   Use a piece of same-sized card as a backboard.  Once all the paper leaves and backboard are patted into line and clipped tightly, then paint Copydex adhesive all around* the edges.

*Be sure eave a 1cm section unglued.

Leave to dry.  Remove bulldog clips.

There's a perfectly good watercolour sketching block.

To use:

The non-glued section is there to insert palette knife when separating off the top sheet once your  painting has dried.  It 'saws' off easily, leaving a fesh blank sheet below ready to paint again.

Sorry for all the typos OP, am typing on tablet and rushing as STW forum usually crashes on me every few minutes then cant get back in to correct it in time.

Feel free to PM me if I can be of further help.

All the best.

PS - Subscribe them to both Yong Chen's and Tim Wilmot's youtube channels!  Great tutorials, IMO.