I am beyond excited to try out this beautiful set of watercolors from Michael Harding.  This set of colors was sent to me as a gift by Mr. Harding and I am extremely thankful.  I first met Michael while I was a graduate student at the Florence Academy; he gave a fascinating lecture and demonstration and I was enthralled.  At that time, I had heard that he was developing a set of watercolors which I was champing at the bit to try.
  Recently, I wrote to Michael to let him know what I'm up to and that I was going to try out his watercolors ASAP.  Out of his own generosity, he asked me what 10 colors I would like to try and then sent them to me.  I decided to go with my standard color palette, but Michael Harding has an amazing range of colors that you can see here: https://www.michaelharding.co.uk/watercolours
  This is not a paid review or any special promotion, but I am sharing this as a painter who cares about pigment quality.  I've been using Michael's oil paints for years and I can't wait to try his watercolors.  Pigment quality is especially important for watercolor and I'll share a review once I use these gorgeous colors.  Artists like Michael are invaluable and I'm honored to use his paints.

  I couldn't resist and did some color tests.  I used to share photos of color swatches, but the photos never do justice to the genuine color so I'll just encourage you to try them for yourselves.
   I can tell you that the colors are potent, luminous and lay down beautifully.  The colors also lift nicely which is something I do while painting.  (lifting means rewetting a color and then "lifting" it off the paper with a brush or towel).  Good quality color is important for all painting, but it makes a huge difference in watercolor.
  I can't wait to really take these colors through their paces when I get to some gardens or for some portraits!  I definitely recommend these high-quality watercolors.

 For anyone interested, my set choice of colors is: W401 Cadmium Yellow Lemon - W119 Yellow Ochre - W407 Cadmium Red - W501 Rose Madder - W125 Burnt Sienna - W126 Burnt Umber - W201 Ultramarine Blue - W411 Cobalt Blue - W307 Viridian - W129 Ivory Black

  As an artist, I'm always trying out new set ups and materials.  I love experimenting with different products and I wanted to share this truly "pocket-sized" watercolor set.  I just got it as a Christmas gift and I couldn't wait to test it out.
  The kit comes with a set of 12 colors, a palette that holds 8 colors and has a mixing area, a small watercolor sketchbook, a brush pen that holds water, a terrycloth wrist band (to wipe off brush) and a clip to hold the palette on the sketchbook.  The palette separates and is held together with strong magnets.   The paint is good quality for sketching and includes a nice range of colors.  I wish the palette mixing area was a little bigger, but this is meant to be portable.
  The set came with instructions and a website: https://tobioshop.com - This isn't a sponsored post, but it looks like they have some other fun products also.  It seems like a gimmick, but I actually like this set a lot!  Merry Christmas!

  Thank you to the team at EnChroma for reaching out to me to be a part of this virtual exhibition to celebrate colorblind artists.  Colorblindness is fairly common in males, but I usually receive curious looks after people see my work and I tell them that I'm colorblind.  The technical term is "color deficient", but it's referred to colloquially as "color blindness".  Being color deficient, I can still see a certain range of colors, but it's difficult to explain how I see the world.
  I've known about my colorblindness since I was young and I used to have a hard time differentiating between the crayons (still do!).  But as I started painting, I learned about the importance of value (light and dark) and it made me feel empowered.  I also use my palette to learn about the colors of the world by mixing a color and making comparisons; I find myself using my color palette like a visual aid to help interpret colors as I mix.
   As an artist, I gravitate more towards subtle colors.  But even being colorblind, I love the colors of nature (flowers especially) and I enjoy experimenting to find new ways of seeing and understanding the world around me through painting.
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​https://enchroma.com/es/blogs/seeing-differently-a-celebration-of-color-blind-artists/eric-santoli

  Here's a small (6.5" X 8.5") plein air oil sketch that I did today.  The weather was nice and I liked the way the sun was hitting these empty flower pots.  We also recently planted flowers and they're growing fast so I'll be painting those very soon!

  My palette for this one was: Zinc White, Lead White, Cad. Yellow Light, Yellow Ochre, Cad. Red Light, Cad. Red Medium, Burnt Sienna, Ultramarine Blue, Cobalt Blue, Viridian, Raw Umber, Burnt Umber and Ivory Black.