M. Graham Watercolors

I have been using student grade watercolors up until this point. I had done lots of reading of reviews and some research on the M. Graham paints that were very positive.  When I saw a really good deal on a basic set through Amazon.com, I had to try them. The basic set comes with 5 colors.  Right now on Amazon, it is $25.55 for the set.  The same set on Dick Blick is $43.53.  Dick Blick usually has very competitive prices and I have bought supplies from them on several occasions.  The Amazon deal was too good to pass up.



Now, I have never used tube watercolors before so I wasn't sure of exactly what to expect.  The colors  are intense.  I have nothing to compare these to since I haven't used any other artist grade watercolor brands before but I love, love these! 

There is certainly a learning curve that I need to overcome.  As you can see from the sketch below, the two red flowers are way over saturated in my opinion.  I think I started getting a better handle on things with the two spent flowers in the center and the one in lower left.  I love how smooth these paints are.  Even the feel once the paint dried is different compared to the student grade pans I was using.  The paper is left feeling smooth while with the student grade paints there is a chalky feel once dried.

This sketch is of a group of mini roses that are past their prime.  Even though they aren't as beautiful as they once were, there is still something interesting in seeing the transformation of their life cycle.