A good set of tube paint offers a good range of colors that come with a medium level of pigmentation. Markham, the creator of Starling, a podcast dedicated to helping artists develop depth in their creative practice, broke down the difference between the levels of pigmentation. The student-level tier level of paint is where most people will find the best value for their needs. A typical painter who is trying to express their artistic side through a relaxing practice will want to begin working with a set of watercolor paints. Some sets include a color mixing wheel as an added bonus, but the paints themselves are easy to work with and will show up on paper with the hue and vibrancy you need to really achieve the color that you hope to. Another handy tip from Markham: Rewetting tube paint is not the same as rewetting pan paints. The tube paints begin as a liquid and, when rewetted, are going to show up duller than when they were fresh out of the tube. Rewetting is also not very friendly to your brush. Keep this in mind so you can avoid the frustration of finding this out firsthand.

Tube paints are better for larger works and more for artists who work in a studio-like setting,” says Markham. “Rewetting tube paint is different than pan paints that are made for that. Using tube paints that have dried on the palette is possible, but it is hard on your brush and will often give you a duller version of the color.” The better quality versions have a higher concentration of pigment and would be considered artist-level. An artist-level watercolor will have a higher intensity of color, which gives it the ability to create a better range of value in washes. It also is more archival and often has a better lightfastness rating,” Markham said. “Lightfastness refers to how the paint responds with exposure to light and humidity. On tubes of watercolors, many artist level paints will have a rating on the side for lightfastness and you want a very good or excellent rating here if you are investing in artist level paints.” As an artist, discovering new art supplies is always an exciting experience, and in my latest art supply haul video, I’m excited to share my thoughts on some of the latest supplies I’ve gotten my hands on.

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All watercolor paint is non-toxic and easy to clean up, which makes it a great choice for a beginning painter,” says our resident arts and crafts expert Amy Markham, an artist and middle school art teacher. “Yet, it has so many possibilities that any artist can develop a lifelong love affair with the medium.” Remember, as an artist, it’s essential to keep experimenting and exploring new materials to keep your creativity flowing. So, grab some new art supplies and start creating! The new Art Nouveau set adds a wonderful selection of muted colors to the Gansai Tambi lineup, plus a few surprising brights that complement them perfectly. Here's the full list of colors: Tube paints are also a very common watercolor paint style. In this case, the paint is stored as a liquid in a small tube.

The highest quality will be considered an artist-level and the next step down would be a student-level. But not like the Crayola paints from your school days. When you see student-level, think more of an art-school student level,” she said. “They are meant for someone who is learning to use the medium and getting the best out of it at a lower, entry-level price while they explore the properties of the paint.” Painting with watercolors is an artistic endeavor commonly experienced by novice painters or children, due to the non-toxic nature of the paint, ease of cleanup and affordable cost. But the elementary idea of watercolor painting doesn’t accurately depict what these paints can do in the hands of artists who use more highly pigmented watercolor paints. Firstly, I’m showcasing the Kuretake Gansai Tambi Art Nouveau Watercolor collection. These unique Japanese watercolors are a mix between watercolor paint and gouache, giving you the best of both worlds. The Gansai Tambi Art Nouveau collection features 24 rich and vibrant colors inspired by the Art Nouveau movement. I was impressed by how beautiful the colors were and how they performed on paper. As Markham points out, finding truly rich pigmentation in paints is not always easy and not usually cheap for the companies making the products.

The biggest difference when stepping up to the artist-level paints boils down to a couple of factors: pigmentation in the paint and the ability to last the test of time after being painted, meaning it will still look good as a piece of art long after it is finished.