REVIEW: Khannah’s Honey Hues – Midnight Forest & Springtime Rainbow Handmade Watercolor Sets

Each pan of paint from Khannah’s Honey Hues is a four to eight week production. It starts with the mixing of the binder, through the pouring of 6+ layers, and includes the design of the packaging materials.

Meet Kate Hannah Robinson.

I asked Kate:

”How would you describe yourself in relation to Khannah’s Honey Hues? Founder, administrator, Be All and Do All, etc.?”  

Her response was:

“Ooooh uhm… I guess founder? One-woman-creative-mastermind (evil optional)? I’ve never really thought about it. I think a term that’s bandied around a bit is colourwoman/colourman for paintmakers, but that doesn’t necessarily cover everything… I guess founder then? Wow, that was rambly hahha”

Obviously a woman with a good sense of humor and character.

So what about the paints? Well, they don’t have a sense of humor as far as I can tell, but good characteristics? Yep. They do have those.

I found the paints easy to rewet, intense in color, and with dispersion that moves the paint while giving me good control.

*dispersion – the way that the paint moves in the water. Some paints explode and spike out everywhere, some barely move at all and most are in between.

The paints are available in four kinds of pans.

Pan capacity approximate:

• Hexagon – 2.5 ml
• Half Pan – 2 ml
• Standard Metal Pan 1.5 ml
• Mini Metal Pan – .75 ml

The colors can be bought individually or in curated sets.

Note: Khannah’s Honey Hues is in England so all prices are in Great British Pounds but local currency prices are shown at check out.

I received the Midnight Forest set. Kate was kind enough to add a sample dot collection of her new Springtime set, and a cool paint swatch stencil.

Pigment Key

P stands for Pigment, the second initial stand for the hue, and the number is where it is listed in the international Pigment Index chart.

PB=Blue, PBk=Black, PR=Red, PY=Yellow, PG=Green, PV=Violet, PO-Orange, PW=White

ST=Semi-Transparent, SO=Semi-Opaque, O=Opaque, SS=Semi-Staining, G

Khannah’s Honey Hues – Midnight Forest Watercolor Set

This palette was made in collaboration with nature artist Carrie Rogers.

It’s a selection of moody colors that work well together and create a great sense of drama.

NOTE: I used Khannah’s Honey Hues Swatch Stencil for these swatches. See more about the stencil down below.

Colors and Pigment Info:

• Sepia – PBr7/PBk6 – ST, SS, NG, I
• Caput Mortuum – PR101 – O, SS, G, I
• Faun Ochre – PY43 – SO, SS, NG, I
• Evenfall Moss – PG8/PBk11 – SO, S, G, I
• Indigo Hue – PG7/PV23 – ST, SS, NG, II
• Damson – PV23/PG7 – ST, SS, NG, II
• Buff Titanium – PW6 – O, SS, G, I
• Neutral Tint – PV19/PG7 – ST, SS, NG, I

Examples

As usual, I did an abstract where I just played with the colors to see what they did. I was impressed with how well the colors played with one another, how easily they spread, and how easily I could control the movement.

Given the name of the set, I had to do a woodland landscape. Carrie based her color choices on the woodlands behind her home, when the Spring flowers were blooming. I see the colors of water, greenery, and wood and stone textures. What do you see?

Even more, I see colors commonly found in animals. Buff Titanium is a great base color, perfect for the undercoat in many species. Caput Mortuum and the Neutral Tint add the hint of rust and gray coloring.

I’ll be using this set quite often!

Khannah’s Honey Hues – Springtime Sample Dots

None of the colors in this set are granulating. No lightfastness ratings are available as it’s a new palette.

• Hibiscus – PR255/PW6 – SO, SS, I
• Pimpernel – PO61/PW4 – SO, NS, II
• Galad – PY3/PW4 – O, NS, II
• Fluorite – PG7/PW6 – O, NS, II
• Turquoise – PB15/PG7/PW6 – SO, SS, I
• Lily of the Nile – PV23/PW4 – O, SS, II
• Brietta – PV19/PW6 – O, NS, II

Because these colors are all opaque or semi-opaque, they’re a bit like working with gouache though the finish isn’t the same. If you get the paint too thick it can look chalky when dried (as all opaque watercolor & gouache does). But since this is watercolor, that chalky look is telling you that you need to use more water with the paint.

The colors are opaque enough that you could use them on black watercolor paper.

You can see that the dot samples are of a generous size.

Besides the examples done here (one 4 x 6 in, one 5 x 7 in and one 6 x 9 in), I’ve done three more 4 x 6 inch paintings. I’m almost out of the Galad and Lily of the Nile, but have enough of the other colors for another two or three paintings of that size.

This was my play example.  I do like contrast so I always find this kind of set a little frustrating – no darks! But that makes it a challenge, and I do like those.

The colors are bright and sunny with lavender (my favorite!) to paint shade.  The colors mix well.

One of the obvious ways to add darks is with a line and wash, using pen to get that black contrast.  This set is wonderful as a coloring set, whether you are coloring in your own drawings or someone else’s.

These are Springtime-Rainbow-bright colors, but they also seem tropical to me, and hint at cool, clear waters and undersea treasures.

Khannah’s Honey Hues – Swatch Stencil

I mentioned earlier that I also received a color swatch stencil.

I lifted this image off of Khannah’s Honey Hue website, with suggestions for using the swatch.

The stencil itself is a heavy plastic.

Similar stencils I’ve seen have been a flimsy, but flexible, plastic.  This a strong, rigid plastic.  It’s easy to hold down while drawing in the swatch and doesn’t tend to shift as much.

Tools

• All Khannah Honey Art Supplies 
• Midnight Forest Set 
• Springtime Watercolor Set
• Swatch Card Stencil 

• Hahnemuhle Collection Watercolor Pad Cold Pressed 9×12 Inches 300gsm
• Hahnemuhle Collection Watercolor Block Rough 9.5×12.6 Inches 300gsm 
• Hahnemuhle Collection Watercolor 300 Block Hot Pressed 9.5×12.6 Inches 300gsm
• Rabi Alieva da Vinci Brush Set for Watercolor & Gouache 

Outside Links of Interest

• Carrie Rogers Art Instagram 
• Khannah’s Honey Hues On Instagram

Disclaimer: I received the six-half-pan Midnight Forest set, a sample dot card of the Springtime set and the Swatch Card Stencil from Khannah’s Honey Hues for the purposes of this review. I received no other considerations, though this post may contain affiliate links which help support the Doodlewash community. As always, all opinions expressed are my own.

Sandra Strait

I’m a self-taught artist who dances about with all sorts of artistic mediums. My main loves are Watercolor, Zentangle and Ballpoint pen. The subjects of my work are many and varied and change at whim. I’m a little bit crazy, but doesn’t that come with being an artist? I post Reviews and Tutorials here on Doodlewash.

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