Full disclosure, I’m not an expert watercolor artist. This is actually the first “real” watercolor color palette I’ve ever had. The only other watercolors I’ve had was a cheap palette from Hobby Lobby and my Tombow Dual Brush markers. With that being said, I can absolutely tell a difference when using quality watercolors.
Details
Watercolor Confections palettes are 12 artist grade, highly pigmented watercolor pans. They come in 10 different color options: Vintage Pastels, Decadent Pies, The Classics, Shimmering Lights, Tropicals, Pastel Dreams, Essence, Woodlands, Odyssey, and Complexions. This is a review of the Vintage Pastels palette, but I’m sure the quality is the same/comparable to the other palettes.
The retail value for each palette is $30. You can probably find it discounted or on sale if you’re willing to shop around and wait awhile. But at $30 I’d say it’s a fair price for what you’re getting. It’s certainly not cheap, but you are getting a palette of 12 artist grade watercolors and you get what you pay for.
I bought mine from Art Philosophy and I would definitely recommend buying from them. The shipping was only $3 and it showed up earlier than I expected. They shipped in the same day that I ordered. At the time I’m writing this review Vintage Pastels is sold out on their site, and most other sites. So I’m going to link to a few different places I’ve seen them available and just check them all to see who has it in stock. Or try out one of the other colors! Because they’re all so pretty.
I’ve seen it available at a few other random online stores, but I’m not going to recommend a site I’ve never used before. Buying through Amazon and Etsy is usually pretty safe.
The Colors
The colors in this palette are the main reason I bought this palette as opposed to another brand. I love the muted pastel tones, and “vintage pastels” describes it perfectly. I know you can mix and make any color if you get a set of primary and secondary colors, but I liked that these were already the colors I typically use. And you can actually blend a lot of these colors together to get even more variety.
Each color comes in an individually wrapped and labeled pan. There are 12 colors: periwinkle, sage, golden glow, terracotta, suede, stone grey, breezy, soft lilac, charcoal, dark rose, apple blossom, and dusky mauve.
The Palette
The watercolors are removable pans inside of an all metal palette. You’re able to rearrange them, take them out, or put in different colors if you want. The palette opens up to both sides with a palette on each side. There’s two big sections on one side and four little sections on the other. It makes it so convenient to mix up colors and not have to get out another palette.
The palette also came with a card to swatch all the colors. I love this because colors look so different in the pan vs on paper. This is a great reference while you’re painting.
Quality
These watercolors are artist grade and highly pigmented. You can get a very rich and vibrant color by adding less water. But they also maintain their color with lots of added water. Because of this the little pans will last quite awhile. I was worried when I first got it that it was too small, but I’ve used it quite a bit so far and haven’t made a dent in any of the pans. The palette itself is also great quality. It’s all metal and very sturdy.
Final Opinion
I am beyond pleased with the Watercolor Confections Vintage Pastels palette. I think this is the perfect palette for someone who is starting to get more serious about exploring watercolors. The shade range in this palette is perfect for creating floral paintings, but also so much more. Don’t let the price or the size of this scare you. It is definitely 100% worth it. I’m already planning on getting another palette (I’m thinking Decadent Pies)!
