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Have any of you tried using handmade watercolours? I recently stumbled across Greenleaf & Blueberry’s watercolours, and they look absolutely lovely. It looks like they’re hard to get a hold of, though, as they’re made in very small batches and are quite expensive, but always are “sold out”. I’ve also noticed quite a few on Etsy selling their handmade watercolours. Just curious if any of you have tried any of these out, and what your thoughts were on them.
I’ve bought Greenleaf and Blueberry, and like some the Shungite and Magnetite, but not the Cate d’Azure (WAY too grainy and I like texture). What I did not like was that they top off the pigments over the top so that they are hard to use — to wet. I doubt I’d buy from them again but see what others have to say.
I have bought (and then bought again) paints from MatteoGrilliArt, a painter from AU who paints are amazing. That is his Ultramarine Blue next to Daniel Smith below — both were rewet for the same amount of time before swatching for my studio pans. I bought Raw Sienna, Burtn Sienna, Carmine, and Madder… and will buy more. His paints are dense with pigments, and his shipping is reasonable to the USA.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/MatteoGrilliArt?section_id=18229309A friend swears by pfeifferartsupply and I want to try her paints.
So yes, I buy handmade, usually on recommendations and trying one or two first…
Ooh, thank you Kate for the info! 🙂
I’ll look into MatteoGrilliArt and pfeifferartsupply in the future. Recommendations from fellow artists/friends means a great deal!
EDIT TO ADD: Just checked MatteoGrilliArt – the ultramarine and burnt sienna look dreamy, but does not ship to Canada. Boo!
I haven’t tried them up until a few weeks ago when I won some from someone who is developing a line. She’s still working on her formula and I’ll be sending her feedback. They’re fabulous colors. Mostly she needs to get a consistent consistency.
So sorry everyone — The DS ultramarine is the one you can read! The one next to it is the MatteoGrilli colors.
A Post: https://dkatiepowellart.me/2017/08/30/ganesha-and-matteo-grillis-paints/I just wrote to ask him why… What the heck is it with shipping to Canada???
Kate, I wonder if it’s about declaring what’s in the paint? It’ll be interesting to hear his answer, his paint is really pigmented!
So Matteo said: “Hi Kate, I had a very bad experience with Canada Post, I am quite reluctant to post there again. Sorry.”
I understand… I had one with AU and for a time I thot I’d never ship there! He might be persuaded if you ask…
Thanks Kate! I may just have to ask him, because I’d really love to try his paints. They look lovely!
I’ve got several handmade watercolours that I like quite a bit.
Pruche paints are really lovely – beautiful consistency and extremely saturated. Pretty basic colour selection with some unique earth tones (the Spanish Gold Ochre is the nicest ochre I have ever seen, and Salmon is a really nice reddish Burnt Sienna alternative)
Eventually, Everything Mixes is like a watercolour mad scientist. Really unique and beautiful pigments and combinations. Buy Flusch Green and she’ll throw in a multimedia portrait of her cat.
I would not recommend Greenleaf and Blueberry, only because of the price. They sell out so quickly that the one time I managed to catch one of their sales in time, I impulse bought a secondary earth triad. After the exchange rate, shipping to Canada and duty, I ended up paying over $120 CAD for those three paints. Now, don’t get me wrong, they’re good paints, but no different from other handmade paints or Daniel Smith Primateks which cost 1/4 the price.
Handmade watercolours in general are relatively expensive compared to commercial brands, but you get to support a nice artisan and they sometimes have some unique pigments.
Thank you for all of that information, Lee!
I actually purchased a couple from Pruche the other night. Looking forward to trying them out. (It also helps that she’s in Canada!)
I just received my Pruche paints the other day (lightning fast shipping, but then again it’s domestic shipping within Canada). I purchased the ultramarine blue, burnt sienna and A.P. light violet – they come in half pans. I am in love! Thank you so much for the recommendation, Lee. I’m so happy to be supporting an artisan creating handmade paints.
They’re lovely and pigmented. I do find the A.P. light violet a little bit more granular than I’m used to, but it gives a nice effect and the shade came in perfect for the shadows on the fur for a pet portrait commission I was working on.
I’m looking forward to trying more of her colours!
I will, promise. I’m just bit pressed for time lately (job changes, etc). If you take a look at her site, she does have some good swatches and I can say that they are true to her photos, at least the 3 that I chose.
Lighting is always my issue for taking photos, because when I do have time to paint or take photos, etc., it’s usually too dark! LED lights do help, but they’re certainly not as nice as natural lighting.
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