Jen de Leon

Artist · Designer · Educator

Review: Daniel Smith Floral (Cottage Gardens to Botanicals) Watercolor Half Pan Set

The Floral – Cottage Gardens to Botanicals Set by Daniel Smith includes a travel case with 6 colors plus nine empty half pans.

Daniel-Smith-Floral-Set

Cadmium Yellow Medium Hue (PY 53, PY 151, PY 83) is a low staining, semi-opaque mid-toned yellow color.

Quinacridone Gold (PO 48, PY 150) is a transparent, low-staining golden yellow hue with granulating properties.

Quinacridone Rose (PV 19) is an extremely transparent, vivid red-violet hue that is beautiful on its own or mixed with blues to create beautiful purples.

Phthalo Blue (Green Shade) or PB 15:3 is a super staining, super transparent, very dark-valued, intense cool blue hue with high-tinting strength and good saturation.

Cascade Green (PBr 7, PB 15) is a cool, dark and mossy green that is semi-transparent, granulating, and moderately staining.

Green Apatite Genuine (PrimaTek) is a vivid natural green with brown undertones. It is semi-transparent, granulating, and low staining.

Daniel-Smith-Floral-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 have no complaints with Daniel Smith watercolors as they are top notch, but the travel case is of poor quality and design.

I would recommend this set not only to floral painters but to beginners as well as it contains primary and secondary colors that are bright and colorful. 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. 😉

Are you thinking of buying this set? Please let me know if you have any questions.

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