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Kate Powell already did a review on Hahnemühle Watercolour Postcards, but I’ve got a different tin painting, and I’m having a giveaway (international, ends Oct. 29, 2017 11:59 PDT. You can enter here) and I come at it in a different way, so I thought I’d go ahead and post my review as well.
Specs: Akademie Watercolour Paper, Natural White, Rough texture, Archival, Acid free, Age resistant, Unbleached, Size: A6/ 10,5 x 14,8 cm/ 6.5 x 4.5 x 1.1 in, Weight: 230gsm/85 lb, No. of Cards: 30 postcards per tin, Features: Address panel printed on the reverse, Rounded corners on both tin and postcards
Hahnemühle Watercolour Postcards come in tins, 30 postcards to a tin. There are 10 different editions of the tin. Each edition has a different painting on the lid.
The tins are rectangular, with rounded corners. The metal is light and at 6.5 x 4.5 x 1.1 inches, it is good for carry. The top and bottom have some flex, while the sides are stiffer. It will be possible to dent the tins, but even though I tried, I couldn’t scratch off any of the painting. I haven’t had mine long enough to give it much rough wear, but I think the painting will hold up well.
I bought my set from Jackson Art supplies and received the Jubilee Tin pictured below. This is the set I am reviewing.
Hahnemühle sent me the Limited Edition tin pictured below and this is the version I will be giving away.
Here is a size comparison showing the postcard tin next to a YouTangle.Art tin and an Altoids tin.
The postcard tin is deeper than both. Besides the 30 postcards, there is a Styrofoam insert so, if you remove that, you have a little room to carry a small watercolor brush or something similar.
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If there are others like me out there (and I know there are!) who are likely to turn their tin into a watercolor palette once they’ve used the postcards, you can fit 26 full pans into one. I don’t have enough half-pans to know for sure, but it will probably fit around 40 or so.
Like the tin, the postcards have rounded corners. They are natural white, 4 x 6 inches, 85 lb paper. The back side is divided into writing and address areas, with lines for the address.
The surface has a rough linen-like texture that shows up clearly in your paintings or drawings. The texture will be pleasing to some, but others might find it difficult to work on. I discovered that some of the tins have the texture running the length of the postcard, while others have it running the width. The tin I’m using has texture running the width. I’m not sure what the giveaway tin has, since I haven’t opened it. I haven’t noticed much difference in how the paint handles, but others may disagree.
I wasn’t sure how well a fiber-tipped pen, such as a Micron or Pitt pen might do on this paper, so I used a large-tipped Sharpie pen to draw my subject. I could see no damage to pen or paper. It isn’t the paper I would choose as first choice for pen drawing. You feel the rough surface as you are drawing, bump, bump bumpity-bump. I like the effect if gives, but probably many wouldn’t.
I used colored pencils to color in the drawing. The broken line effect occurs with pencil as it did with pen, and had the side effect of wearing the colored pencil down. You could use it to sharpen a pencil, lol. I could have continued to fill in color and make it all darker, but ran out of time. Still, I like the result.
For my second effort, I decided to use a Fude-style pen. The flexible plastic nib on this kind of pen won’t fray as easily as the nylon-fiber tips, but can be bent or torn. I used it on the postcard with no sign of damage to pen or paper. (I forgot to erase the pencil lines before scanning, but as you can see a 2B pencil lead works fine on the paper.)
I decided to take a chance with a smaller more delicate fiber-type pen, so I used fineliner marker pens with a small tip. I used a very light touch, allowing the broken line effect to give me a range of light values. I added several layers of color, using a visual blending effect and was very pleased with the result. I had no sign of damage to either the pens or paper. I do suspect this paper would shorten the life of a fiber-tipped pen, so I’d use them sparingly or use pens cheap enough to be replaced more often.
For the last example, I decided to try a fully worked out painting, lifting color for effect. I did have a little problem building up values but it was doable. I was quite happy with my finished painting. Doing this kind of painting on these postcards would be for someone who wanted a challenge or was familiar with this kind of surface. If you’ve ever painted on Yupo, it is similar. Yupo is far worse, though.
Overall
Hahnemühle Watercolor Postcards come in a metal tin. There are 10 versions of this tin, with a different painting for each edition. The tin has rounded corners and has room to add drawing or painting materials and to be used for many different storage purposes once you’ve finished with your postcards.
The postcards also have rounded corners and have lines printed on one side for writing. The surface texture is a linen-like rough. Some cards have the texture running the length and some the width of the card. Pen, Pencil, Colored Pencil and Watercolor all work well on the cards. I didn’t try acrylic paint, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work as well.
The rough texture gives your work an interesting textured effect. Some people will love working on these cards, and some won’t. I wouldn’t use fiber-tipped pens unless I didn’t mind shortening their usuable life (though I do love the effect I get with them).
For anyone who is looking at collecting Hahnemühle Watercolour Postcards Tins, Jackson’s Art is currently carrying the Jubilee tin.
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