M. Graham & Co. Watercolor Set

M first try with M. Graham Watercolors and love them. First discovered M Graham when looking to replace my old W/N Titanium White Gouache. And when I saw the price of a replacement with W/N brand, I said "let's try M. Graham, the price is right and how bad can it be?". And am thrilled I did as the Gouache is fantastic and mixes perfectly with watercolor. So that's the backstory. Now for these paints. The consistency of their Watercolors (and gouache too) make them a pleasure to work with. Creamy. mix well on palette or paper (the painting surface). Plus they are USA made :) by a small company in Oregon. Gotta love that! So now about this set of "basic" colors. I really didn't have high hopes because usually, the "primary" sets (or basic sets) usually lean too warm or too cool, or in the case of Daniel Smith 5ml starter kit, too extreme for me (though certainly contain lovely colors). But this set is a great "primary" set with some surprising extras. The details for the "primary colors" in this set: - The Azo yellow is a very pure primary yellow and has great tint and mixing strength which "yellows" often lack. - The Ultramarine Blue is not the "warm" blue that you get with the French Ultramarine Blues that always lean to purple. I would classify this as fairly pure "primary blue" category. And when mixed with the Azo yellow you really can have a great range of really very pure greens.. - The Permanent Alizarin Crimson is the "good stuff". Leans cool, as expected, but mixes really well with the Ultramarine Blue for very rich purples and definitely is more "red" than purple. Surprising ability to mix this with all the colors in the set to create neutrals as well as purer color. Now for the last two "bonus colors" (at least that is how I think of them) - Burnt Siena - This is a very rich and creamy middle brown. It does not lean to the "red" and does not lean to the blue. It is really a neutral brown. So for this set, by itself, it is very pleasing, but mixed with any of the other colors and you are able to achieve rather remarkable neutrals and very interesting greens, reds, purple/blues, etc - Sap Green - A fresh sap green and definitely a bonus color in this set, You could call it a "convenience color" as the ability to mix greens from the other colors is phenomenal. And when used a "base" green to add the other mixes in it really comes alive with variety and richness. No worries on even adding the Permanent Alizarin Crimson to this to mute your greens easily... it all works! What else am I trying with these basic colors? - I have also been playing with the Daniel Smith Neutral Tint watercolor with these and the mixes are wonderful, subtle and rich - Also using White Gouache (M. Graham brand) and the "tints"are clean and pure. (I paint thicker than most watercolor peeps and work with both the transparency of watercolor and opacity of gouache in the compositions. Google Nathan Fowkes for examples of what this technique can yield) Couldn't be happier with this set! Highly recommended if you are: - New to watercolors and want to try out a great mixing affordable set (professional grade) - New to color mixing (easy to get it right and also easy to see where you went wrong) - You want a very simple palette of base colors for Plein Air usage (I use this set + white gouache + neutral tint and have all I need which replaces my previous field set of 14 colors... ah simplicity!)

I purchased the Marinescape set and an additional single color, Azo Yellow. I can get a wide variety of colors from mixing with these six paints. The packaging was loose in the box but it did not harm the products by not being cushioned with other packaging. The tubes opened easily and a few seemed lightly pressurized as the paint came out quickly but not so bad that it was hard to control. Prussian blue however was a little crazy coming out, maybe it had a little more paint in it than the others. When freshly out of the tubes and painting I noticed a swampy/earthy smell emitting from the paint. Maybe something with how the honey reacts to the pigment? It becomes less and less noticeable the more the paint firms up. I believe it to be a non issue as the paint performs beautifully and it’s exceptionally vibrant. The paintings I’ve done with these paints are eye catching and more lively in color compared to my previous paintings. I did the color chart in a quick, messy manner so I’m sure there are better examples online but I think this set plus a more primary yellow produces every color you could need. I’ve previously used Qor and Winsor and Newton (Cotman first, then artist grade). M Grahams are my new favorite and I can’t imagine going back to my other paints. High quality, transparent, vibrant color. I live in Tennessee where it is reasonably humid. The paint firms up well on an open palette but it’s sticky to the touch. It doesn’t flow around or melt out of place. It is also setting up in half pans just fine, though normally I’d wait 1-2 days for other watercolor to dry out in half pans I’m waiting 3-4 for these paints since I’ve heard others say they take longer. Good value for the quality you get.

Great little set of paints and good value for money. Can’t wait to try them out again, but M. Graham paints have always been excellent quality and their honey added and silky consistency. The tubes are a good size and work well even when stored for months. The colors pop and are vibrant which is why I love this brand and have continued to use them for years.

Sprung for these after I saw the gorgeous set of colors they contained and I was sorely missing the warm weather that summer brings. Packaging was very neat and undamaged. The tubes are a good size, but some seemed pressurized inside and some had paint rushing out of the tube as soon as they were opened. The colors are very vibrant and true to what can be seen on the packaging. Beautiful for painting landscapes and beach scenes. The wash goes on smoothly and they're highly pigmented. I have not panned all of these as they're full of honey and the test I did really didn't set completely. Just be aware the Permanent Green Pale, Cobalt Teal, and Sap Green all have Prop. 65 Labels on them which I wasn't initially expecting... then again the only other M. Graham paints I have are gouache that I haven't touched in a while. Couldn't see an AP label on them. Just don't drink the paint water and proceed with an appropriate amount of caution. They're pricey paints, but give them a try if you have the appropriate funds to do so.

I have been building a complete palette of M Graham paints over this winter. I am nearly finished purchasing every single pigment color with a 1 Lightfastness rating. I am so thrilled there is an American-based company that is making paint that rivals that of ANY European company. The colors are vibrant, granulation is wonderful among those that contain graduating minerals. The number of transparent colors is significant in both staining and granulating categories. There are a HUGE number of single pigment colors as well as those single pigments with the highest lightfast ratings. (MG uses LF ratings of I (highest) & II. I don’t think they even sell anything less than a LF rating of II (ASTM). The paints FLOW playfully as any good watercolor should. Not that it’s possible to ever fully control watercolor paints but good control can be gained using less-wet on dry paper. The quality of poured and dried pigments is equal to fresh out of the tube. The ONLY thing anyone might perceive as a negative (I Dont) about M Graham paints is that they Dont work well as plaen air medium in HOT environments because of the honey used in processing. These WATERCOLOR paints never dry down to a solid mass and exposed to summer temps in a car, backpack, etc will liquify and can spill from a Pan palette. They remain tacky always. I consider this quality a bonus in terms of rewetting a poured pan or studio palette. You will never need to mist these paints to “prime” for use which makes them an excellent medium to use with water brushes. I do use these for outdoor painting, I just don’t use in high summer heat in the desert SW region I live in. If I used paint straight from tube it probably wouldn’t be an issue at all. Invest in a collection of 6 tubes warm/cool each in reds, blues and yellows and play with all the wonderful qualities M Graham paint has to offer. They mix beautifully into any color you could desire.

*original review* I want to start by saying these colors are supper stunning. They are beautiful and pigmented. I can see why many artists use these paints, however, they are a waste for me. I like to fill half pans to take with me. Any other brand has been perfectly fine with filling the pan and becoming easy to port with me. These will not dry. It makes it not only impossible to take them with me, but a mess in my workspace. I’m constantly accidentally dipping my arm in the paint when just casually painting with other colors on my pallet. It is too much of a mess for me. I won’t be buying any further tubes. If you are a less messy artist and don’t fill pans like I do you may love these. *Update* After a year and who knows how long, I have picked up these paints again and I love them. The are stunningly vibrant on the page. The half pans I originally poured did not ever dry hard like other brands. The consistency is sticky, but it stays in the pan when traveling. It rewets beautifully. If you plan to make a travel pallet with these, plan in advance. Don’t count on taking poured pans for a while. You can travel with tubes while you wait. I have bought other colors.

Prussian Blue is the only M Graham watercolor paint I've used and I LOVE it! I love the way it explodes on the page. There is so much pigmentation! It's beautiful. I'll definitely get some more M Graham paints. Most of my paints are Daniel Smith currently.

Very nice color