Jen de Leon

Artist · Designer · Educator

Review: Daniel Smith Earth (Desert to Mountains) Watercolor Half Pan Set

The Earth – Desert to Mountains Set by Daniel Smith includes a travel case with 6 colors selected by artist Brenda Swenson plus nine empty half pans.

Daniel-Smith-Earth-Set

Buff Titanium (PW 6:1) is a semi-transparent, granulating light beige or ecru shade.

Raw Sienna Light (PY 42) is a semi-transparent golden yellow hue.

Bronzite Genuine (PrimaTek) is a sparkly warm honey-bronze color with granulation and transparency.

Venetian Red (PR 101) is an opaque earthy red-brown hue that is granulating and moderately staining.

Burnt Sienna Light (PR 101, PO 48) is a transparent earthy red-brown color.

Lunar Black (PBk 11) is a transparent, granulating neutral black shade with low staining properties.

Daniel-Smith-Earth-Set-Swatches

PRODUCT:

All of the paints selected for this set have a lightfast rating of I (Excellent) and re-wet easily with a damp brush.

VALUE:

At $35.95, each half pan is costing $5.99, which is not bad in comparison to other brands. (I bought this at $26.69 during a sale.)

To put this in perspective, Winsor & Newton Professional Watercolor Half Pans cost $6.47-8.70 each. Sennelier French Artists’ Watercolor Half Pans cost $5.61-8.12 each. Holbein Artists’ Watercolor Half Pans cost $9.07-13.81 each.

PACKAGING:

The travel case is lightweight, compact, and will fit nicely in your pocket, but it’s not well designed. You can read more about it in my previous review.

OVERALL:

I would recommend this set if you wish to save time mixing browns. It is a great selection for painting landscapes.

However, if you want to use this on the go, I would suggest transferring the pans into a metal box (or an Altoids tin). That’s what I did. 😉

Please let me know if you have any questions.

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