SENNELIERWatercolor Metal Box 12 Tube Set

These paints are so lovely and the best deal in terms of the amount of high quality pigment you get for the price!I looked at Windsor Newton, Daniel Smith, Holbein, QOR and these paints (all very high quality professional paints) and you get way more paint for the price with the Sennelier brand. This set is a bit less expensive then the sets for the other brands I listed AND these are 10ml tubes which is twice the volume of most tubes out there (which are 5ml). This is enough to fill half pans full five times, and the paint rewets nicely. This paint is very lovely and the best vaule for your money. I did add a Holbein to my kit: Bright Violet (which I also recommend as its an amazing color if you are trying to do florals). The opera rose that comes in this set is very nice! However, I will probably add a more intense opera rose too because some of the flowers blooming right now glow so much its hard to capture with unless you have a neon (sadly not light fast) pigment to mix in with your violets.

Arrived in great shape.Edited: Now that Ive used them, I love these watercolors. The smoothness is a joy and the pigmentation is just lovely.

I have been a professional artist for over a decade and I have used a plethora of paint brands and types.However, I primarily use acrylic and watercolor. I was given a gift certificate for my birthday and was in the market for new watercolors, and found these on Blick's Art Supplies website (although I normally buy in-store). I was just about ready to purchase Windsor and Newton half pan watercolor sets, when I noticed that they sold Sennelier. I have wanted to purchase Sennelier for years, as I first saw them when I was in Paris and was head over heals over what I saw....that was 8+ years ago, so I had all but forgotten them. When my chance to spend some cash on watercolors came up, I finally jumped at the chance! Being that I've used a lot of Windsor and Newton, I expected the colors to be similar in quality and pronouncement....boy was I wrong! They are 1000% more vibrant and smooth.Keep in mind that these are not dry pan colors, but tubes. They come in a beautiful metal box which has more than ample mixing space on both sides of the lids, also with a metal thumb ring on the bottom for ease of use if holding when painting. They recently changed the recipe to add more honey from the French Alps, which is the perfect binder for watercolor, and they have an amazing sheen to them due to the Honey. This set also comes with a #3 sable brush that fits in the brush spot inside the metal box as well. You may need different sizes of brushes, but all in all this set is worth EVERY dollar.I tried pricing this whole set out separately just to see what it costs, and was shocked how cheap this set is... Each tube bought open stock is between 6-12 dollars and the metal mixing tin was 20-30, and of course for a decent brush it's going to be another 5-25 dollars. SO, all the together when purchased separately: 12 tubes of color, tin, and brush...cost over 150 dollars! So for what you get with this set it is MORE than inexpensive considering a tiny bit goes a long way, so the tubes will last you a LONG time! Even if you paint as often as I. When I have a little extra cash again I'm going to purchase a SECOND set for replacement colors when I run out. Its sooo much cheaper this way!

This set is great for professional grade watercolor paints at this price ($44 for 10 ml tubes). The color selection is better than the 12 pan set for me, which lacks one warmer yellow. Most of the colors are single pigmented except for the greens and sepia and gray. I like the sennelier yellow and red in this set. The opera rose is also a great selection for mixing colors. And considering the 10ml volume (other brands usually only provide 5 ml which is equivalent to half pan), it’s a good bargain if you don’t mind tubes.On the downside, the packaging is not very good, the box looks old. One tiny 3# brush is included in the box, but the head is off on arrival and it seems to be used as there is no glue on it…

It was a shock to feel how smooth it was to revive and transfer color to brush. Colors are great, but you know that.

First the good. These paints are very nicely pigmented, sheer, blend beautifully, and are everything I was expecting having researched Sennelier. I found them to be the easiest paints to squeeze into pans that I've ever come across. I'm still getting a feel for how they work, but so far I am very happy with this purchase and will very likely buy some open stock tubes. I would recommend them.... with a slight reservation:Now the bad. The outer box was definitely opened before I got it, and the paints themselves may have been used. I say this because the tubes were all jumbled up inside the box but did not spurt when I opened them despite several significantly dented tubes due to being pushed down on top of the molded tube rails. It seemed as if the tubes were not full as a result. There was also no plastic overlay showing the colors. I believe this was probably some old returned package that someone came across and decided to just send out again because why not. It seems ironic they came in a metal case designed to keep them safe but were more beaten up than anything I've gotten in a cardboard box (or even open stock tubes thrown together for shipping).

Beautiful paint, most transparent there is ! Light in pigment load, but buildable and has this incredible glow with each layer! The paints literally have a special song of their own ! They really are a great for anyone who’s getting started, and doesn’t want over worked paintings.

I bought this at a bargain price and was not disappointed. It was my first time using this brand and it is truly lovely.