Holbein Artists’ Watercolors

Holbein’s Artists’ Watercolor is the most widely-used and renowned product of the company. Originally introduced in the early 1920’s, these watercolors have been under constant development and improvement, gradually increasing their quality to levels that go beyond any comparison. Consistent with the Japanese water coloring tradition, these paints don’t contain any dispersants that prevent the creation of distinct brushstrokes.

These watercolors are available in 108 highly concentrated colors in 5 and 15ml tubes. The color range includes many exceptional hues that won’t be found anywhere else. All watercolors by Holbein are ASTM D 4236 certified, which basically means that they are non-toxic. Besides the Japanese traditional water-painting and the European water coloring techniques, these colors are also suitable for lettering and scrolling.

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Product Pros & Cons

Artist Likes

  • Good cap protects the paint from going solid
  • No chipping or dissolution when watered
  • Fantastic color palette range and tones
  • Rich in color pigments and quite condensed
  • Beautiful color mixing
  • Intense and vibrant colors

Artist Dislikes

  • Will only spread out well with a little help from the user

All artists who use this product have only positive comments and remarks to make. These watercolors will produce a vibrant color, will never be too watered down, will never chip, and will never go bad due to poor packaging. The only thing that is different from other watercolors is that the absence of dispersants which favors Japanese traditional coloring will require a little spreading effort from the artist’s side. This however gives more control over how the color is spread on the paper, so it may be perceived as an advantage as well.

Final Considerations

This product is something like a trademark for Holbein. There is literally nothing bad to say about it, and artists who have been using it for many years have nothing negative to report. That said, if you’re into water painting, Holbein’s Artists’ Watercolors are the best product you can find on this planet. Some of the amazing colors included in this product range won’t be found elsewhere anyway.