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 a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, I receive a copy of The Pennsylvania Gazette delivered every few months.  I was flipping through this latest issue and enjoying an article titled, Who Will Own Your Digital Twin?  A very interesting article about the changing legal landscape in an age of AI generated content.
  I decided to take a peek at the Alumni notes and WOW!  There I am!  With a write-up about my current TV series: Eric En Plein Air!  I didn't know this would be covered in the alumni notes so seeing it was a delightful surprise.  Thank you to my alma mater for sharing this update!

  Here is a special surprise right before New Year's!  I'm excited to share this Ridgewood Talks Podcast episode in which we talk about a variety of topics including art, travel, Monet and more!
 Huge thanks again to Jeanne from Ridgewood Walks and Gil from Ignite Creator Studios!  Happy New Year everyone!

  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!