Steve, thank you so much for this great review. I appreciate your attention to detail, and also to telling the story. :) I look forward to watching more in the coming days.
Hello Steve, thank you for The video! :) I dont know if it makes any sense but Im from Poland and Im feeling so proud! I was using these paints for a long time, 4 years of art school and back then I used to envy people from US and UK because You are so lucky to have a range of brands to choose from in art stores, but now I feel so proud that now these are known in other countries and You all actually like it! I still cant afford to buy a full set of Daniel Smiths paints but now I know that what I actually have is good and I can feel happy and just keep on painting :) Happy New Year and greetings from Poland!
thank you for the review! I'm not the biggest fan of their pans but their tubes are my favorite brand of watercolor. I love how smoothly they pour, after a few weeks of drying they loose stickiness and make great plein air palette. I live in poland and I pay about 1$ for pans and 2-3.5$ for tubes
Wow, I'm from Poland and this video made me more appreciative of this brand. I would usually go for their paints (oils and acrylics) if I couldn't afford anything else and was always kinda unimpressed but maybe I can try their other products. In Poland, they're really afordable - half pan is like a dollar something.
I bought a few of these and found I liked them so much I bought more. April ships really fast and as you said her prices are very affordable. Thanks for doing this review and I look forward to seeing you use them.
Thanks for your review. Respect your opinions. Of course, I immediately ordered a set as I’m a watercolor paint junkie. Having a bit of some Polish genes, I really couldn’t resist.
Thank you for such an in depth review and comparison between them and M. Graham. It was great to know the difference between the pan and tube pigments as well!
This might be the most detailed review of the Renesans paints. Thanks for giving all the background information! It must have been a lot of work and the swatches helped a lot to be able to compare the hues to other brands and within the Renesans paints itself. Thank you!
I have to tell you, I did see Lindsey's view but I was really interested for your take on these. I loved hearing your thoughts on. When you say there a supreme quality paint then I know I'll love them and I don't have to question. Thank you for making this video and including the differences between the pans vs tubes.
Oh, great video! Although it is a Polish brand I have been using Russian White Nights honey-based pans so far. In fact Renesans watercolors are not so easy to buy in art stores here in Poland. I have to try them! :) There have recently appeared also new Polish brand of hand made artist grade watercolors called Roman Szmal Aquarius but still here really hard to buy even locally - only two shops in Poland sell them. Greetings from Poland!
I have around 20 half pans bought here in the UK from a tiny gallery which is as far as I know the only Renesans supplier here, no tubes as yet. I LOVE these paints, they are very comparable with the big brands and have great pigment load and authentic pigments. I cannot wait for the tubes to be available, I believe the tube range is somewhat improved and the half pans were already good! A few slightly oddly named colours, but you paint with the pigment , not its name. Renesans PLEASE bring these to the UK.
Thanks for sharing your latest find and info. Also, you shared how to be discerning and the kinds of differences to be found between paints and pigments. Another valuable vid, appreciated.
Thank you for reviewing Renesans watercolor paints. I used only Karmański polish watercolors before, will gladly test tubes of these ones now☺ FYI this month new brand was launched called "Aquarius " by Roman Szmal. According to professional painters so far they very highly respond on social media. Warm greetings from Arctic Norway 🖑
I just spent a lovely morning watching Rrenesans reviews and shopping on Etsy. I feel heartwarmed after spending a buncha money on a quality product, can’t wait for the paint to come. I use White Nights mostly but also have Daniel Smith. The Renesans seem to be Schminkeesque without the US price tag. Thanks for a great way to end 2018 and start 2019!!
I did see these on Lindsays, the difference between the tubes and the pans is very interesting. I guess the neatest part was the pans that snap into each other. Wow thanks for the color comparison to M Graham. These might be a good way for a person to get started in watercolor. I guess Denise has really helped us all to look at the pigments in paints. Hope your fried turkeys turned out well. That is something we would like to try. Happy Holidays!
These are great. I live in Poland so it's easy to get them where I live. I have used them since highschool (mostly acylics) and I love them still, even the student grade paints are really nicely pigmented, and yet they are really affordable.
ohh finally good review of renesans brand!! I'm form Poland so it's popular here in almost every art shop and I was curious about them, I bought only one half pan of watercolor and big tube of acrylic but now I can say if it's worth to buy more. thanks Mr Steve!!
So i'm from Poland (Hi!) and i never tried this paint because i heard a lot of bad reviews. I think i never even bought them. So I'm very looking forward to hearing more of your impressions :)
Steve! Great review and I love the in-depth details and your insight. Especially compared to MGraham. I have about 10 tubes of Renesans and the 24 half pan set. I’m enjoying them for super flowy, washy florals I like to paint. I definitely enjoy the tunes and the vibrancy more. Thank you!
Just discovered her on Etsy! I liked the paints and decided to search TH-cam for reviews, found yours then also found out you mentioning her shop and the story behind em lol pretty nice full circle haha I purchased a 24 pan set and a tube set! Can’t wait to try em out!
I normally use Sennelier paints, but I hate having to wait days (sometimes weeks, since I live in the damp PNW) for the paint to set up in pans. This seems like it might be a good alternative for my travel pallets (I'm obsessed with building the prefect tiny travel set for sketching).
Thanks, Steve. This is a great review. I love the way you find folks who are doing new and interesting things with art. This was wonderful to watch, and I know the Renesans folks are going to do well after your review as well as Lindsay's. I wish I was in need of paint, just so I could order some!
Very nice and balanced review, Steve. I'm a Holbein girl and supplement certain greens with Daniel Smith. I haven't found anything that comes close to Holbein for breathing life into a botanical painting.
I love holbein too. I would say they're the only one as good as Daniel smith. I also love schmincke and like da vinci. I'm indifferent to winsor&newton and strongly dislike m graham.
Thank you for sharing this. Their tubes look very impressive. And it looked like it poured like Sennelier does into the pans. Great value especially when a little tighter on the budget and gifts for young artists. I really likehow the iron oxide family, the phlalo green, and the orange looked. Very nice.
I got several pans of Renesans on a recent trip to Lviv (near the polish border). I really like them and wish I had gotten more. They were really inexpensive there. About $2 per pan.
If you ever feel the need for oil colors, Blue Ridge Oil colors are supposed to be hand crafted and located in Asheville NC. Prices didn't look too bad.
You are so easy to listen to. Watched entire video except scrolled ahead in one area. Forgive me! I have a secret. I own every tube of Winsor Newton and Grumbacher. Haven't used them for at least 15 years and here's why......first of all - just a hobbyist. But I somehow tried using marker residue from a glass plate and this works so well for me. I turn my little watercolors into digiital art so I personally don't need to use good paint anymore. Of course I will if I ever decide to take up watercolors seriously again. The challenge is on......want to try painting a watercolor with markers and a brush? Talk about an inexpensive route into watercolor painting. OMGoodness! Overall, so glad I found your entertaining channel.
Very nice review, thanks! This is a brand that deserves to be seen. I have tried most of the Renesans pans, and compared to Karmanski, and in my opinion Renesans are way better. I’m really looking forward to try their tube paint too, but it’s a bit tricky ordering from Poland.
Loved your video. I have a 12 color pan set. Strange colors, feel like some handmade paints I have. I'm just waiting for a good excuse and a budget to but some more pans. They are about $1.2 in Romania.
I have some colors of this brand to fill in some gaps in my color collection as they are extremely affordable. I'm really loving the potter's pink and neutral grey.
Glad you compared them to m.graham. was thinking that they would be a cheaper option but already have many m.graham and not looking for another b grade paint. Will stick with brands I have. So thank you .
Thank you SO incredibly much Steve for the review and link to where i can purchase them!!! Ive seen a few reviews on them and have been interested, BUT being in Australia , i would have needed to sell a kidney to to have been able to afford them! LOL! Now I've heard a positive review from YOU and can buy them whilst keeping all my organs, I'm definitely going to purchase a few tubes!!! Thank you so much!
Thank you, Steve for your thorough review. Reading the comments below I was surprised by some polish people trashing them . I am wondering if they make different batches for export ( it is unfortunately happening in Eastern Europe). Anyway - I bought them this week from April on Etsy before your review came out! Now it will be high demand on them. ;) Great for April! Many regards Daniela
cynoglav I saw several reviews and they are mostly very positive. I bought the 24 pan set but I have my eyes on tubes. Good to know that you love them. Thanks for your reply.
@@dbednarova Yeah, the new formulation seems to be so much better. Around 2-3 years ago they sometimes didn't fill the pans completely. (?!) Just note that the pans are a different formulation than the tubes - I'm not sure how they compare. I can completely vouch for the tubes though, they're really nice.
Hi Steve. I love your comprehensive reviews! I was just looking to see if you have done a review of Jackson's Artist Watercolor and I couldn't find one. I'm thinking of trying these for urban sketching since they are so affordable and keeping my Daniel Smith at home for studio work. Have you tried them? I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Being on a limited budget, I was so happy to hear your review. I immediately ordered four half pans from April. They were shipped out within hours! I got them today and made swatches. I am especially impressed with the Cinnabar Green Deep and the Bordeaux Madder Lake. Lovely intense colors! I have purchased several tubes of Daniel Smith paints since I got serious about watercolor and of course they are fantastic quality. But my goodness me the prices.... This has kept my palette very limited. I'm looking forward to trying more of the Renesans paints! Thank you so much for the review!
@@mindofwatercolor I love them too, I just would have included a couple of tubes of these in my restocking efforts. I work in other media also, so it takes me awhile to get through the paint.
Haha I just bought 13 tubes of sennelier 2 days ago lol. I tried their cad red purple and loved it so I had to get more and I strongly dislike m graham.
Ooo ooo, polish cobalts? Does that mean they're sustainable harvested?? I would love to be able to FINALLY get a company to answer this question, since the sources from Africa are both dangerous to mine, both environmentally and in terms of human labor. Crossing my fingers! Thanks for this look at them!
In Liquid Color Denise, there are small amounts of cobalt harvested as side product of mining copper. And as far as I know, we don’t use child labor in Poland;)
While Cobalt is mined in Kongo, I assumed this is a massive, modern industrial operation in parallel with Copper mining? Even if it's run by Chinese. Journalists routinely confuse Cobalt with Coltan, which I think is the African mineral with origins of questionable ethics? Coltan doesn't contain any Cobalt at all, despite the name, and despite that journalists routinely reports so. It's a mineral that is the source for Tantalum (extremely important for electronics, irreplaceable) and Niobium (rocket engines and super magnets). Niobium used to be called "Columbium", which is why the name "Coltan". Anyway, if you have ethical problems with Tantalum, I'm afraid you have to give up TV, radio, recorded music & video, photography, phones, computers, dish washer, washing machine, car, flying, trains, well, basically everything modern. So you might just as well enjoy your Cobalt pigments with good conscience.
well Steve, I tried to watch this with eyes closed (Crimson Tide T-shirt), but of course that didn't work......I love my sennilier , but may have to give these a go...thanks for your time and all I can say now is "War Eagles". ; )
I know my question may be odd, but I would greatly appreciate your help if you would be so kind to answer it. I am severely allergic to honey (and anything bee-related), which unfortunately means that I have to avoid honey-based watercolor formulas. It seems to me that the best quality watercolors are all honey-based formulas. Are there any other comparable products that would produce such intensely pigmented paints, are of the quality that last decently well, and are not too expensive? I do realize that this may be asking too much. I would prefer tubes, but I would be okay with pans as well! Anyway, thank you for all that you do. Your channel has been a great help to me.
Daniel Smith, DaVinci, Schmincke, Maimeri Blu are all top quality brands and not honey based, but I wouldn't say they are inexpensive. Sorry that last one is a tall order. If its good its usually pricey.
Yeah, I figured being inexpensive would be too good to be true. I've been sitting on the set of six cool and warm primary colors of Daniel Smith watercolors to try out, maybe I really should! Plus a Payne's Gray. :) Thanks for the advice and for the help in knowing which brands are safe. @@mindofwatercolor
Tasha McGhie, Lukas 1864 come in tubes, generous ones too, and are vegan except for Ivory black which is not ivory but bone. But there is a vegan black if you need black, most watercolourists do without. No honey, no ox gall. And they are artists quality.
My favorite watercolors are Renesans, then Daniels Smith and lastly Van Gogh. The Renesans are at list artist grade colors at a student grade price which is unheard of!! In the same time, oh boy they have some REALLY beautiful colors!!! Van Gogh is easily the best beginners colors, as also their pocket sets make a great choice for anybody on the go! Daniel Smith is the best Professional grade colors and that's where watercolors end for me. PS W&N is a great top of the line brand, don't get me wrong but their watercolors are overrated, in my humble opinion of course...
Yes, he is and yes they are. My daughter brought me back a Reese’s hat souvenir from Hershey PA and he became a hat stand for it. So that became his name.
Steve, What are the attributes of these paints (and other good paints) that makes them good artists quality? And do you know how color fast these paints are?
Did anybody had problems with intensity of the ultramarine, and also the sienna (both raw and burnt). I am not sure if it is just my tubes ( maybe there is some binder separation in mine). Tried it straight out the tube and dried for couple of days, both on cheaper Fabriano Studio and 100 % cotton Artistico. I am trying to determine is it me or the paint. Maybe the tubes are a bit old...any info would be appreciated.
Hi, Steve. I can't get these paints to stop running in any palette i put them in. Any idea what i can add to them (stirred in with a toothpick) to make them thicker/drier so I can use them in palettes?
Have you let them dry? It takes a couple days or so but they set up very well for me. I just leave them out to dry for a few days and test their firmness with my finger.
On first sight, Very sensible selection of pigment groups. So regardless what you think of how they suit your style, they're meant as a serious effort. But if one names a color "Perylene Violet" then the pigment should be Perylene Violet.
Vermiliontea, if the same pigment is used and a different colour results it is because of the grind. Overgrinding can result in loss of vibrancy in a single pigment colour.
@@lindyashford7744 They're mixing a red iron oxide with an Indanthren blue. PR101 & PB60. Perylene Violet is PV29. I'll go with Steve's suggestion that the pans are intended to be a tier lower watercolors, to be sold cheaper. How pigment react to milling - a different issue - is individual and depends on the pigment. Most become stronger, greater tinting strength, but also less permanent, less lightfast.
Vermiliontea, sure, I guess you are right. The colours I chose were all for the named pigment. So they must have cut some corners, even though some of their stuff is really very good.
@@mindofwatercolor hehe maybe I got a dud one. Must check my swatch card later when I get a chance as maybe I've mixed it up with another colour. Either way loved the review. So detailed and in depth
Thank you for a detailed review and comparison! After your first video I went looking for them here, in Ukraine, but had no luck. Now I will try to find that lucky Ukrainian whom you've mentioned ;) ))))
i love the colours and the comparison...they really do look brilliant watercolours to paint with. i especially really love how you'll be using them for a whole month!! [no-one else does that and it's inspired] and i'll have to check out the australian supplier thanks ever so
I have watercolors that are hard in their tubes from college (over 30 years) are these worth cutting open and digging them out just to get started again or would you say trash them and start over? Any thoughts from anyone?
Very interesting review and well done. I am glad to see another honey based watercolor brand. I am MGraham almost exclusive ( Real quin. gold Daniel Smith the exception) , so I will not try these. Maybe others will and have great success like I have with MGraham.
I also noted your comments about transparent iron oxide and nickel azo yellow being your favorites. Mine too! I mix my own greens and the Ni Azo Yellow is my go to for that purpose.
Absolutely not. White Nights are (at least in my opinion) way way better than Renesans paints. I'm not able to layer that much with Renesans because it reactivates on the paper and lifts a lot too. It's just a struggle to paint with them :( The pigmentation and the colors of Renesans are beautiful, but painting with them is nothing else but frustration for me.
@@mindofwatercolor ah thank you so much for replying! White Nights worked wonderfully on the paper I use so I will definitely try Renesans on different papers then!
@Avies I'm actually finding out that you are right after some more in-depth testing. Renesans layered pretty well for me initially but does seem to lift off the paper more easily compared to other paints. This was a surprise and good observation on your part. This is not necessarily a drawback depending on painting style but as you said it could be an issue if you layer a lot.
I don't know if you are familiar with artist Jane Blundels web site, but she has excellent color swatches and comments on many different brands of watercolors. Her blog section has much of this information. Here is the site: janeblundellart.blogspot.com/
PB36 is not Cerulean Blue. (I think it was just M Graham that started to use it as such - cheaper - and then got followers). It's Cobalt Chromite aka Bonnard Blue. Cerulean Blue is PB35, Cobalt Stannate. PB28 is "True" Cobalt Blue aka Thenard's Blue (Cobolt Aluminate). There is of course nothing wrong with PB36. It's an excellent pigment group.
PB36 and 35 are both considered Cerulean. Daniel Smith, M. Graham, DaVinci, Maimeri Blu all use PB 36 for Cerulean. PB36 is also listed as Cerulean on at least two pigment indexes.
You are both correct but ... the original Cerulean, PB35, is Cobalt Stannate. However, PB36 is "often marketed as Cerulean", per my resource and is Cobalt Chromate - darker and greener than PB35 - and the "Chromate" part of PB36 is why mixing produces beautiful blues and greens (maybe why it's used in watercolor more). Interesting discussion!
@@mindofwatercolor My position is that "Cerulean Blue" is a name that identifies, and always has identified, a specific pigment. Now, some brands may well happen to label the newer PB36 as "Cerulean", but rightly they should add "Chromite", "Chromium" or "Hue" to that label (which D.S. do, and they have both, Schmincke call their "Cobalt Cerulean"), otherwise, customers will be comparing apples and oranges. From the 'The Color of Art Pigment database' : * PB 36 (Cobalt Chromite Blue-Green Spinel) is often substituted for the historically genuine Cerulean Blue (PB35, Cobalt Stannate) by Colormen, in some cases even claiming it to be "genuine", however C.I. Pigment Blue 36 is not the traditional pigment named Cerulean Blue PB-35.; C. I. Pigment Blue 36 (Cobalt Chromite) is usually greener, and brighter than C. I. Pigment Blue 35, with a higher tinting strength. PB36 (Cobalt Chromite) is said to be a lower cost pigment to manufacture (due it's lower cobalt content). Additionally it's higher tinting strength may also tempt some manufacturers to dilute it with adulterants. PB36 is a nice color in it's own right, but the cheaper pigment cost should be reflected in the price of any paint made from PB36 and called "Cerulean Blue", unfortunately, it is often priced similar to the genuine Cerulean Blue (PB35) which is a costly pigment.
Cost and tradition may be a factor but its a splitting of hairs in this day of modern pigments in my opinion. What really matters to a painter is the color you put on the paper and what you do with it. I can make a Cerulean-like hue in a half dozen ways and no one will ask me or care if its PB35 or 36 or something else entirely.
@@Vermiliontea I understand your point about the cost. For example, if Cerulean Blue PB35 cost $100 a gram (just a random price I am throwing out) because of the "true" cobalt content/expense to make and a company sells the cheaper PB36, labeled also Cerulean Blue, at the same $100 a gram - simply because the public doesn't know the difference or doesn't care - then it's wrong. It's kind of like buying artificial crab meat from your supplier and then selling it at the price of real crab meat while "not labeling" it as artificial crab meat. Unfortunately, not enough people have any knowledge about this kind of stuff when purchasing (it can be anything we purchase) and a company that sells any product at a higher price because they can get away with it, is not gonna stop any time soon. As consumers, it seems to be our responsibility to find such things out.
I am glad you don't do many paint reviews. I have bought more brands, swatched more paint than can fit into a very large 3 ring binder. Trying to buy happiness and he who dies with the most toys wins....wrong..need to stop swatching...testing,...comparing....AND START PAINTING... so will pass on this one.
Exactly! TH-cam art channels in general are in massive habit of reviewing art supplies, especially paint. They are popular videos and relatively easy to make videos requiring little actual skill. Which is why there are so many of them.
@@mindofwatercolor thats why i keep coming back to your channel. Real teaching. Thank goodness There are several people that i can learn from on you tube. Even when the restrictions are lifted I can no longer go to classes( now am physically unable) and my favorite local artist ( ernestine bucking, buckingart) has moved to north Carolina. Used to teach oil painting and realize how much work goes into a class. I haven't painted with watercolor for more than 40 years and even then never got comfortable with it. Will be watching and thank you.
Nope! I would be in violation of FCC regulation is if was. I didn't receive a dime for this review. Only some product to try. Not NEARLY enough to entice me to do a dedicated video. I get asked dozens of times to do reviews and turn most of them down.
This is suprising cause Renesans mediums and paints are bad. And they cost suuuuper cheap like nothing. They have bad reputation in here. Karmański's watercolour are much better.
Steve, thank you so much for this great review. I appreciate your attention to detail, and also to telling the story. :) I look forward to watching more in the coming days.
Thanks April. It was my pleasure!
Ahhhh I’m so happy this paint is getting so much attention.
@@sherrylynns5325 Thanks Sherry!!
Hello Steve, thank you for The video! :) I dont know if it makes any sense but Im from Poland and Im feeling so proud! I was using these paints for a long time, 4 years of art school and back then I used to envy people from US and UK because You are so lucky to have a range of brands to choose from in art stores, but now I feel so proud that now these are known in other countries and You all actually like it! I still cant afford to buy a full set of Daniel Smiths paints but now I know that what I actually have is good and I can feel happy and just keep on painting :)
Happy New Year and greetings from Poland!
thank you for the review! I'm not the biggest fan of their pans but their tubes are my favorite brand of watercolor. I love how smoothly they pour, after a few weeks of drying they loose stickiness and make great plein air palette. I live in poland and I pay about 1$ for pans and 2-3.5$ for tubes
So excited to see this product from Poland! I like the pan/tube options and of course knowing that quality is affordable. Dzienkuje bardzo.
Thanks so very much for the shout out Steve. Your kindness is greatly appreciated. Aussies are now waiting for their Renesans products to arrive 👍
My pleasure April!
Wow, I'm from Poland and this video made me more appreciative of this brand. I would usually go for their paints (oils and acrylics) if I couldn't afford anything else and was always kinda unimpressed but maybe I can try their other products. In Poland, they're really afordable - half pan is like a dollar something.
I bought a few of these and found I liked them so much I bought more. April ships really fast and as you said her prices are very affordable. Thanks for doing this review and I look forward to seeing you use them.
I’ve got 12 of these colours and I love them. More on the horizon😘
I had to buy some tubes of this paint half way through this review. Very cool!
Thanks for your review. Respect your opinions. Of course, I immediately ordered a set as I’m a watercolor paint junkie. Having a bit of some Polish genes, I really couldn’t resist.
Reese is so cute with his headband 😄
Thanks for another wonderful art and review
Thank you for such an in depth review and comparison between them and M. Graham. It was great to know the difference between the pan and tube pigments as well!
This might be the most detailed review of the Renesans paints. Thanks for giving all the background information! It must have been a lot of work and the swatches helped a lot to be able to compare the hues to other brands and within the Renesans paints itself. Thank you!
I have to tell you, I did see Lindsey's view but I was really interested for your take on these. I loved hearing your thoughts on. When you say there a supreme quality paint then I know I'll love them and I don't have to question. Thank you for making this video and including the differences between the pans vs tubes.
Great video! Thanks for all the pigment info, i love learning about the pigments ❤
Oh, great video! Although it is a Polish brand I have been using Russian White Nights honey-based pans so far. In fact Renesans watercolors are not so easy to buy in art stores here in Poland. I have to try them! :) There have recently appeared also new Polish brand of hand made artist grade watercolors called Roman Szmal Aquarius but still here really hard to buy even locally - only two shops in Poland sell them. Greetings from Poland!
Gosia A Możesz je już kupić w szal-art i maluje.pl
Hello from Canada. I didn't try the Renesans yet, but I LOVE Roman Szmal Aquarius. There are nice stratifiing colors like the Daniel Smith favorites.
@@mobydickii8407 Aquarius is best polish brand ever :) I'm in love with this paints.
I have around 20 half pans bought here in the UK from a tiny gallery which is as far as I know the only Renesans supplier here, no tubes as yet. I LOVE these paints, they are very comparable with the big brands and have great pigment load and authentic pigments. I cannot wait for the tubes to be available, I believe the tube range is somewhat improved and the half pans were already good! A few slightly oddly named colours, but you paint with the pigment , not its name. Renesans PLEASE bring these to the UK.
Great thanks for that input. I wondered about U.K. availability
We just buy them from Poland, no need for a middleman. ;)
It is not a middle man, its a stockist, Renesans put me in touch with them.
Thanks for that Steve. Sounds great. Will certainly look them up.
Thanks for sharing your latest find and info. Also, you shared how to be discerning and the kinds of differences to be found between paints and pigments. Another valuable vid, appreciated.
Thank you for reviewing Renesans watercolor paints. I used only Karmański polish watercolors before, will gladly test tubes of these ones now☺ FYI this month new brand was launched called "Aquarius " by Roman Szmal. According to professional painters so far they very highly respond on social media. Warm greetings from Arctic Norway 🖑
Thank you for a wonderful review. I enjoyed hearing the story behind the company!
I just spent a lovely morning watching Rrenesans reviews and shopping on Etsy. I feel heartwarmed after spending a buncha money on a quality product, can’t wait for the paint to come. I use White Nights mostly but also have Daniel Smith. The Renesans seem to be Schminkeesque without the US price tag. Thanks for a great way to end 2018 and start 2019!!
I did see these on Lindsays, the difference between the tubes and the pans is very interesting. I guess the neatest part was the pans that snap into each other. Wow thanks for the color comparison to M Graham. These might be a good way for a person to get started in watercolor. I guess Denise has really helped us all to look at the pigments in paints. Hope your fried turkeys turned out well. That is something we would like to try. Happy Holidays!
Thank you for this review. It helped me decide on buying a number of tubes.
Thank you for the thorough review. I look forward to seeing them in action in your painting. Merry Christmas!
These are great. I live in Poland so it's easy to get them where I live. I have used them since highschool (mostly acylics) and I love them still, even the student grade paints are really nicely pigmented, and yet they are really affordable.
Yes!! Been waiting for this one! I love the paints so much too, I'm really looking forward to seeing what you'll paint with them :)
Thanks Eve! Anxious to do more with them.
Thank you for an excellent review. Fabulous paint and price.
ohh finally good review of renesans brand!! I'm form Poland so it's popular here in almost every art shop and I was curious about them, I bought only one half pan of watercolor and big tube of acrylic but now I can say if it's worth to buy more. thanks Mr Steve!!
So i'm from Poland (Hi!) and i never tried this paint because i heard a lot of bad reviews. I think i never even bought them. So I'm very looking forward to hearing more of your impressions :)
Be careful about what you hear. Buy a sample tube or two and try it. Decide for yourself.
Steve! Great review and I love the in-depth details and your insight. Especially compared to MGraham. I have about 10 tubes of Renesans and the 24 half pan set. I’m enjoying them for super flowy, washy florals I like to paint. I definitely enjoy the tunes and the vibrancy more. Thank you!
I LOVE this paint!!!! I found it on Etsy and it’s so cheap and amazing! I rank it in my top 5
Just discovered her on Etsy! I liked the paints and decided to search TH-cam for reviews, found yours then also found out you mentioning her shop and the story behind em lol pretty nice full circle haha I purchased a 24 pan set and a tube set! Can’t wait to try em out!
I normally use Sennelier paints, but I hate having to wait days (sometimes weeks, since I live in the damp PNW) for the paint to set up in pans. This seems like it might be a good alternative for my travel pallets (I'm obsessed with building the prefect tiny travel set for sketching).
Thanks, Steve. This is a great review. I love the way you find folks who are doing new and interesting things with art. This was wonderful to watch, and I know the Renesans folks are going to do well after your review as well as Lindsay's. I wish I was in need of paint, just so I could order some!
Thanks Steve. I appreciate everything you do.
Very nice and balanced review, Steve. I'm a Holbein girl and supplement certain greens with Daniel Smith. I haven't found anything that comes close to Holbein for breathing life into a botanical painting.
I love holbein too. I would say they're the only one as good as Daniel smith. I also love schmincke and like da vinci. I'm indifferent to winsor&newton and strongly dislike m graham.
Thank you for sharing this. Their tubes look very impressive. And it looked like it poured like Sennelier does into the pans. Great value especially when a little tighter on the budget and gifts for young artists. I really likehow the iron oxide family, the phlalo green, and the orange looked. Very nice.
I got several pans of Renesans on a recent trip to Lviv (near the polish border). I really like them and wish I had gotten more. They were really inexpensive there. About $2 per pan.
If you ever feel the need for oil colors, Blue Ridge Oil colors are supposed to be hand crafted and located in Asheville NC. Prices didn't look too bad.
Thank you, Steve. The review is very helpful, will try them.
Nice review! I prefer the tubes to the pans but they are a terrific value either way. I agree on the comparison with the tube paint to m graham.
Thanks Lindsay. Absolutely love the tube paint. And thanks for first bringing these to my attention.
I bought the paints after Lindsay's painted with them. Love them
First chance I get, I'm going to check this brand out, thanks Steve.
You are so easy to listen to. Watched entire video except scrolled ahead in one area. Forgive me! I have a secret. I own every tube of Winsor Newton and Grumbacher. Haven't used them for at least 15 years and here's why......first of all - just a hobbyist. But I somehow tried using marker residue from a glass plate and this works so well for me. I turn my little watercolors into digiital art so I personally don't need to use good paint anymore. Of course I will if I ever decide to take up watercolors seriously again. The challenge is on......want to try painting a watercolor with markers and a brush? Talk about an inexpensive route into watercolor painting. OMGoodness! Overall, so glad I found your entertaining channel.
Very nice review, thanks! This is a brand that deserves to be seen. I have tried most of the Renesans pans, and compared to Karmanski, and in my opinion Renesans are way better. I’m really looking forward to try their tube paint too, but it’s a bit tricky ordering from Poland.
Thanks Steve, you are such a resource. Much appreciated.
Loved your video. I have a 12 color pan set. Strange colors, feel like some handmade paints I have. I'm just waiting for a good excuse and a budget to but some more pans. They are about $1.2 in Romania.
I have some colors of this brand to fill in some gaps in my color collection as they are extremely affordable. I'm really loving the potter's pink and neutral grey.
Agree. I got 6 intense tubes/10€ .. crazy. Very good paint
Wow these look great and I love the price! Great review!
Nice review Steve, very insightful. 👍🏻
Glad you compared them to m.graham. was thinking that they would be a cheaper option but already have many m.graham and not looking for another b grade paint. Will stick with brands I have. So thank you .
Thank you SO incredibly much Steve for the review and link to where i can purchase them!!! Ive seen a few reviews on them and have been interested, BUT being in Australia , i would have needed to sell a kidney to to have been able to afford them! LOL! Now I've heard a positive review from YOU and can buy them whilst keeping all my organs, I'm definitely going to purchase a few tubes!!! Thank you so much!
Another Aussie here watching the review, because Adamstownart in NSW just got these in stock!!
Wonderful review, actually going to M. Graham. I need every edge, I can get! Jeanne
Thank you, Steve for your thorough review. Reading the comments below I was surprised by some polish people trashing them . I am wondering if they make different batches for export ( it is unfortunately happening in Eastern Europe). Anyway - I bought them this week from April on Etsy before your review came out! Now it will be high demand on them. ;) Great for April! Many regards Daniela
daniela bednarova hi! In the past, they were really bad and only had the pans. I bought two tubes fairly recently and love them.
cynoglav I saw several reviews and they are mostly very positive. I bought the 24 pan set but I have my eyes on tubes. Good to know that you love them. Thanks for your reply.
@@dbednarova Yeah, the new formulation seems to be so much better. Around 2-3 years ago they sometimes didn't fill the pans completely. (?!) Just note that the pans are a different formulation than the tubes - I'm not sure how they compare. I can completely vouch for the tubes though, they're really nice.
@@dbednarova I finally started watching the review. Wow, they're so expensive for you! We only have to pay 2USD for the series one paint tubes. :(
@@cynoglav9665 Yes I heard that, and somebody showed it on YT too. That will be my next step. Thank you.
Awesome review I might get some of that watercolor for christmas
Hi Steve. I love your comprehensive reviews! I was just looking to see if you have done a review of Jackson's Artist Watercolor and I couldn't find one. I'm thinking of trying these for urban sketching since they are so affordable and keeping my Daniel Smith at home for studio work. Have you tried them? I'd love to hear your thoughts.
No, sorry, I've not tried them.
Being on a limited budget, I was so happy to hear your review. I immediately ordered four half pans from April. They were shipped out within hours! I got them today and made swatches. I am especially impressed with the Cinnabar Green Deep and the Bordeaux Madder Lake. Lovely intense colors! I have purchased several tubes of Daniel Smith paints since I got serious about watercolor and of course they are fantastic quality. But my goodness me the prices.... This has kept my palette very limited. I'm looking forward to trying more of the Renesans paints! Thank you so much for the review!
I wish I had seen this before I restocked my M Grahams. Thanks for the review.
Why? M. Graham is fabulous. Its tops in my book.
@@mindofwatercolor I love them too, I just would have included a couple of tubes of these in my restocking efforts. I work in other media also, so it takes me awhile to get through the paint.
@@mindofwatercolor By the way, I love the M Graham oil paints as well.
Runs to buy more paint... even though I already have too much. (Really though, darn... because I just ordered a 12 pan set of Sennelier 2 days ago)
Haha I just bought 13 tubes of sennelier 2 days ago lol. I tried their cad red purple and loved it so I had to get more and I strongly dislike m graham.
Ahhh- I want some of these, if only because my grandfather is Polish.
Great review, thank you!
Ooo ooo, polish cobalts? Does that mean they're sustainable harvested?? I would love to be able to FINALLY get a company to answer this question, since the sources from Africa are both dangerous to mine, both environmentally and in terms of human labor. Crossing my fingers! Thanks for this look at them!
April could maybe find out. Strike up a convo with her. Super sweet lady. Thanks!
In Liquid Color Denise, there are small amounts of cobalt harvested as side product of mining copper. And as far as I know, we don’t use child labor in Poland;)
While Cobalt is mined in Kongo, I assumed this is a massive, modern industrial operation in parallel with Copper mining? Even if it's run by Chinese.
Journalists routinely confuse Cobalt with Coltan, which I think is the African mineral with origins of questionable ethics? Coltan doesn't contain any Cobalt at all, despite the name, and despite that journalists routinely reports so. It's a mineral that is the source for Tantalum (extremely important for electronics, irreplaceable) and Niobium (rocket engines and super magnets). Niobium used to be called "Columbium", which is why the name "Coltan". Anyway, if you have ethical problems with Tantalum, I'm afraid you have to give up TV, radio, recorded music & video, photography, phones, computers, dish washer, washing machine, car, flying, trains, well, basically everything modern. So you might just as well enjoy your Cobalt pigments with good conscience.
Cheers from Poland!
PR101 and PB60 to make 'Perylene Voilet'? Isn't that the name of a specific pigment PV29 though? Thanks.
Yes, so technically this is Perylene violet hue, but not even that very accurately. Its a great neutral tint though.
Thanks for this very informative review. Is there a distributor in Canada?
Hi Diana, at this time, I am distributing for both the US and Canada. My link is in Steve's description.
Excellent review. Thanks
What paper did you do your waffle stamp cards on Steve? Great content, we love your channel up here in Alaska!
Bee 100% cotton.
Nice watercolor paint.
well Steve, I tried to watch this with eyes closed (Crimson Tide T-shirt), but of course that didn't work......I love my sennilier , but may have to give these a go...thanks for your time and all I can say now is "War Eagles". ; )
Roll Tide! and thanks for pushing through! 😄
Glad I am not the only one that noticed. This Ole Miss Rebel became completely distracted by the Tide shirt about halfway through. LOL
I know my question may be odd, but I would greatly appreciate your help if you would be so kind to answer it. I am severely allergic to honey (and anything bee-related), which unfortunately means that I have to avoid honey-based watercolor formulas. It seems to me that the best quality watercolors are all honey-based formulas. Are there any other comparable products that would produce such intensely pigmented paints, are of the quality that last decently well, and are not too expensive? I do realize that this may be asking too much. I would prefer tubes, but I would be okay with pans as well!
Anyway, thank you for all that you do. Your channel has been a great help to me.
Daniel Smith, DaVinci, Schmincke, Maimeri Blu are all top quality brands and not honey based, but I wouldn't say they are inexpensive. Sorry that last one is a tall order. If its good its usually pricey.
Yeah, I figured being inexpensive would be too good to be true. I've been sitting on the set of six cool and warm primary colors of Daniel Smith watercolors to try out, maybe I really should! Plus a Payne's Gray. :)
Thanks for the advice and for the help in knowing which brands are safe. @@mindofwatercolor
Tasha McGhie, Lukas 1864 come in tubes, generous ones too, and are vegan except for Ivory black which is not ivory but bone. But there is a vegan black if you need black, most watercolourists do without. No honey, no ox gall. And they are artists quality.
Very good!!
My favorite watercolors are Renesans, then Daniels Smith and lastly Van Gogh. The Renesans are at list artist grade colors at a student grade price which is unheard of!! In the same time, oh boy they have some REALLY beautiful colors!!! Van Gogh is easily the best beginners colors, as also their pocket sets make a great choice for anybody on the go! Daniel Smith is the best Professional grade colors and that's where watercolors end for me.
PS W&N is a great top of the line brand, don't get me wrong but their watercolors are overrated, in my humble opinion of course...
This is an aside--it never dawned on me that Reese was probably named after the peanut butter cups :) Are they a favorite?
Yes, he is and yes they are. My daughter brought me back a Reese’s hat souvenir from Hershey PA and he became a hat stand for it. So that became his name.
Steve, What are the attributes of these paints (and other good paints) that makes them good artists quality? And do you know how color fast these paints are?
Extremely high pigment load, and lightfastness.
Have you come across a brand that has a pink coral color? Or would you just mix it?
I mix them, but I think Daniel Smith does.
Did anybody had problems with intensity of the ultramarine, and also the sienna (both raw and burnt). I am not sure if it is just my tubes ( maybe there is some binder separation in mine). Tried it straight out the tube and dried for couple of days, both on cheaper Fabriano Studio and 100 % cotton Artistico. I am trying to determine is it me or the paint. Maybe the tubes are a bit old...any info would be appreciated.
Hi, Steve. I can't get these paints to stop running in any palette i put them in. Any idea what i can add to them (stirred in with a toothpick) to make them thicker/drier so I can use them in palettes?
Have you let them dry? It takes a couple days or so but they set up very well for me. I just leave them out to dry for a few days and test their firmness with my finger.
@@mindofwatercolor they've been in my Cloverleaf paintbox palette for like 10 months
Have you ever tried watercolor sheets like Peerless (available on Amazon) or Viviva? What's your thought?
Seen them but nope, haven't tried. Have not really been interested in them. I don't see the advantage I guess or the point.
Thank you for comparing these to M Graham!
Interesting Steve. If your interested in a good story of honeyed watercolour paint ,artisan made ,check out Isaro paint.
The good news is I ordered a pan set, the bad news is my wife got there first and put them under the Christmas tree. Oh well 19 more days
On first sight, Very sensible selection of pigment groups. So regardless what you think of how they suit your style, they're meant as a serious effort. But if one names a color "Perylene Violet" then the pigment should be Perylene Violet.
Vermiliontea, if the same pigment is used and a different colour results it is because of the grind. Overgrinding can result in loss of vibrancy in a single pigment colour.
@@lindyashford7744 They're mixing a red iron oxide with an Indanthren blue. PR101 & PB60. Perylene Violet is PV29. I'll go with Steve's suggestion that the pans are intended to be a tier lower watercolors, to be sold cheaper. How pigment react to milling - a different issue - is individual and depends on the pigment. Most become stronger, greater tinting strength, but also less permanent, less lightfast.
Vermiliontea, sure, I guess you are right. The colours I chose were all for the named pigment. So they must have cut some corners, even though some of their stuff is really very good.
Where did you get the cards that you do your swatches /info ?
I wondered the same thing!
I want to know about them too. Also I'm still stumped about what the G and S symbols meant
Waffleflower. Link is in the description.
@@mindofwatercolor Thank you!!
@@nicolle2126 G = Granulating & S= Staining.
I wonder if its possible you got a bad Perylene Violet as my one is definitely more similar to the DS one .
Mine is the same as the dealer's swatch and the swatch on the Renesans site.
@@mindofwatercolor hehe maybe I got a dud one. Must check my swatch card later when I get a chance as maybe I've mixed it up with another colour. Either way loved the review. So detailed and in depth
Thank you for a detailed review and comparison! After your first video I went looking for them here, in Ukraine, but had no luck. Now I will try to find that lucky Ukrainian whom you've mentioned ;) ))))
I was sure I've seen you mentioning these paints in some other video but I can't find it now....perplexing..
The person I mentioned I think was traveling somewhere near Poland. Sorry.
Nope, this is my only mention of them so far.
@@mindofwatercolor now I remember! That day I saw another artist talking about them 😄😄 and I did come across that traveller! 😄😄
i love the colours and the comparison...they really do look brilliant watercolours to paint with. i especially really love how you'll be using them for a whole month!! [no-one else does that and it's inspired] and i'll have to check out the australian supplier thanks ever so
I have watercolors that are hard in their tubes from college (over 30 years) are these worth cutting open and digging them out just to get started again or would you say trash them and start over? Any thoughts from anyone?
Is it a high quality brand? If its a lesser student grade brand I wouldn't bother.
Very interesting review and well done. I am glad to see another honey based watercolor brand. I am MGraham almost exclusive ( Real quin. gold Daniel Smith the exception) , so I will not try these. Maybe others will and have great success like I have with MGraham.
M. Graham is still my favorite. Probably always will be.
I also noted your comments about transparent iron oxide and nickel azo yellow being your favorites. Mine too! I mix my own greens and the Ni Azo Yellow is my go to for that purpose.
Can't beat it!
Is this better than white nights paints ?
I don’t have White Knights but I’m guessing they are.
Absolutely not. White Nights are (at least in my opinion) way way better than Renesans paints. I'm not able to layer that much with Renesans because it reactivates on the paper and lifts a lot too. It's just a struggle to paint with them :( The pigmentation and the colors of Renesans are beautiful, but painting with them is nothing else but frustration for me.
Reactivating and layering is almost always a paper issue more than a paint issue. Renesans layers extremely well!
@@mindofwatercolor ah thank you so much for replying! White Nights worked wonderfully on the paper I use so I will definitely try Renesans on different papers then!
@Avies I'm actually finding out that you are right after some more in-depth testing. Renesans layered pretty well for me initially but does seem to lift off the paper more easily compared to other paints. This was a surprise and good observation on your part. This is not necessarily a drawback depending on painting style but as you said it could be an issue if you layer a lot.
I don't know if you are familiar with artist Jane Blundels web site, but she has excellent color swatches and comments on many different brands of watercolors. Her blog section has much of this information. Here is the site: janeblundellart.blogspot.com/
Yep very familiar. She recently posted Renesans swatches with comments. Helpful blog for sure.
PB36 is not Cerulean Blue. (I think it was just M Graham that started to use it as such - cheaper - and then got followers). It's Cobalt Chromite aka Bonnard Blue. Cerulean Blue is PB35, Cobalt Stannate.
PB28 is "True" Cobalt Blue aka Thenard's Blue (Cobolt Aluminate).
There is of course nothing wrong with PB36. It's an excellent pigment group.
PB36 and 35 are both considered Cerulean. Daniel Smith, M. Graham, DaVinci, Maimeri Blu all use PB 36 for Cerulean. PB36 is also listed as Cerulean on at least two pigment indexes.
You are both correct but ... the original Cerulean, PB35, is Cobalt Stannate. However, PB36 is "often marketed as Cerulean", per my resource and is Cobalt Chromate - darker and greener than PB35 - and the "Chromate" part of PB36 is why mixing produces beautiful blues and greens (maybe why it's used in watercolor more). Interesting discussion!
@@mindofwatercolor My position is that "Cerulean Blue" is a name that identifies, and always has identified, a specific pigment. Now, some brands may well happen to label the newer PB36 as "Cerulean", but rightly they should add "Chromite", "Chromium" or "Hue" to that label (which D.S. do, and they have both, Schmincke call their "Cobalt Cerulean"), otherwise, customers will be comparing apples and oranges.
From the 'The Color of Art Pigment database' :
* PB 36 (Cobalt Chromite Blue-Green Spinel) is often substituted for the historically genuine Cerulean Blue (PB35, Cobalt Stannate) by Colormen, in some cases even claiming it to be "genuine", however C.I. Pigment Blue 36 is not the traditional pigment named Cerulean Blue PB-35.;
C. I. Pigment Blue 36 (Cobalt Chromite) is usually greener, and brighter than C. I. Pigment Blue 35, with a higher tinting strength.
PB36 (Cobalt Chromite) is said to be a lower cost pigment to manufacture (due it's lower cobalt content). Additionally it's higher tinting strength may also tempt some manufacturers to dilute it with adulterants.
PB36 is a nice color in it's own right, but the cheaper pigment cost should be reflected in the price of any paint made from PB36 and called "Cerulean Blue", unfortunately, it is often priced similar to the genuine Cerulean Blue (PB35) which is a costly pigment.
Cost and tradition may be a factor but its a splitting of hairs in this day of modern pigments in my opinion. What really matters to a painter is the color you put on the paper and what you do with it. I can make a Cerulean-like hue in a half dozen ways and no one will ask me or care if its PB35 or 36 or something else entirely.
@@Vermiliontea I understand your point about the cost. For example, if Cerulean Blue PB35 cost $100 a gram (just a random price I am throwing out) because of the "true" cobalt content/expense to make and a company sells the cheaper PB36, labeled also Cerulean Blue, at the same $100 a gram - simply because the public doesn't know the difference or doesn't care - then it's wrong. It's kind of like buying artificial crab meat from your supplier and then selling it at the price of real crab meat while "not labeling" it as artificial crab meat. Unfortunately, not enough people have any knowledge about this kind of stuff when purchasing (it can be anything we purchase) and a company that sells any product at a higher price because they can get away with it, is not gonna stop any time soon. As consumers, it seems to be our responsibility to find such things out.
Another hand made brand that may be similar is the Isaro from belgium: www.isaro.be/shop/gb/
I am glad you don't do many paint reviews. I have bought more brands, swatched more paint than can fit into a very large 3 ring binder. Trying to buy happiness and he who dies with the most toys wins....wrong..need to stop swatching...testing,...comparing....AND START PAINTING... so will pass on this one.
Exactly! TH-cam art channels in general are in massive habit of reviewing art supplies, especially paint. They are popular videos and relatively easy to make videos requiring little actual skill. Which is why there are so many of them.
@@mindofwatercolor thats why i keep coming back to your channel. Real teaching. Thank goodness There are several people that i can learn from on you tube. Even when the restrictions are lifted I can no longer go to classes( now am physically unable) and my favorite local artist ( ernestine bucking, buckingart) has moved to north Carolina. Used to teach oil painting and realize how much work goes into a class. I haven't painted with watercolor for more than 40 years and even then never got comfortable with it. Will be watching and thank you.
Ask for sample before buying!!!! This is a advertisement
Nope! I would be in violation of FCC regulation is if was. I didn't receive a dime for this review. Only some product to try. Not NEARLY enough to entice me to do a dedicated video. I get asked dozens of times to do reviews and turn most of them down.
This is suprising cause Renesans mediums and paints are bad. And they cost suuuuper cheap like nothing. They have bad reputation in here. Karmański's watercolour are much better.
Are you sure? Have you tried them or is this just what you've heard? Reputations are sometimes underserved and fueled by rumor.