Winsor & Newton Professional Water Colour Lightweight Metal Box, 24 Half Pans

I only received these late today and am already so excited about them. I bought the Cotman set five years ago, when I knew nothing about watercolour. I thought they were expensive at the time, but have since spent a small fortune on art materials. This set cost me double that for less paints. Am I bothered? Er, no I am not! I have already had a little play around and noticed a VAST difference between these and the student paints. Don’t believe anyone who tells you different. The layering is incredible, no muddying, just pure, beautiful, sheer layers. I am so glad I decided to get these, after a tone of research. I do have other paints, Daniel Smith, Holbein etc and they are lovely. But these ….. Heaven, I’m in heaven. Enjoy!

A wonderful selection of 24 Winsor & Newton half pan professional quality artists watercolours secured in a tin box, these paints offer high quality pigments and lightfastness and a great selection of colours. This tin box is a little over 8 inches long by 3 inches and seems durable enough. This item is not cheap and I would therefore recommend the affordable Winsor & Newton Cotman paint set for beginners and those wanting to fill sketchbooks where lightfastness and quality is not so critical - unless of course you can afford the best regardless.

This is a very good set of water colours. The quality is excellent and the range of colours is very practical for most subjects. Applying the colour is such a delight as the colour itself is so pure and the colours mix and blend very easily. It is also easy to lift the colour out with your damp paint brush if you have made a mistake. Highly recommended. After having used this set for over a year overall most of the colours performed well. Viridian was included in my set and the colour was very weak and poorly formulated (there were bits of pigment which were very hard to dissolve). After finishing with it I have switched to Schmincke pthalo green which is very versatile and transparent. I might go back to Viridian but would buy in a tube or use a different manufacturer.

The paints themselves are genuine W&N professional quality watercolours and are beautifully pigmented and a joy to work with. There is a noticeable step up in quality between them and the W&N Cotman set. The only thing letting this set down is the very flimsy, cheap, poor quality tin (I swear it’s the same tin the Cass art watercolours come in and they are a fraction of the price.) In an age where there are so many great watercolour products, I would like to see W&N put as much thought in to the paint case as they do their paints to keep their professional quality products feeling more, well, professional.

First class quality as you'd expect from Windsor & Newton. Excellent sized tin for travel and colour pans secure. Wonderful feel of paints on paper, delighted with purchase and great price.

Initially I wasn’t sure if I made the right choice purchasing the professional set, as I had already bought the Cotman set. I was also alarmed that I may have been scammed after reading a negative review saying that these were actually Cotman paints in fake packaging. However, today I did a swatch of every colour from this professional set next to the equivalent Cotman colour on Arches cold pressured 100% cotton paper, and the difference is obvious. I am very happy and relieved to see these professional colours are genuine. I’ve attached my swatch for reference. I highly recommend!

The first thing I noticed with these W&N professional paint it that I didn't need a lot, they are packed with pigment. If you use student grade, these are mind-blowing better

For years whilst I was doing my watercolur art course I used Winsor & Newton Cotman watercolours (because the tutor advised us all to do so to save money) Well this was a big mistake for I was not happy with any of my washes and definitely not happy with end results of actual paintings. When I saw this Winsor & Newton professional watercolour set for only forty something pounds I snapped it up and I am so happy I did for I saw the difference immediately to student paints. These professional colours are luscious vibrant with fantastic luminosity and the difference in laying down a wash is heaven. When I make mistakes these paints easily wash out without ruining the painting. Days after laying the paint if I see an area where I want to add to it the paint stays clean and moves with a bit of water so I can add what ever I like. My paintings now look professional, I am proud to show them. I instantly fell in love with this paint box it transformed my art and I gained confidence. I will never use any other. I am saving a lot more money not wasting paint trying to achieve a standard and style of artwork which was just not possible with student paints. I have even moved on to using tubes of the professional Winsor & Newton watercolours and use the pan box for plein air, just put it in my art bag and off I go sketching and watercolouring whilst out and about. Something I never dared do using student paints.