Travel Professional Artist Paint Brush Set Review

I love reviewing art supplies. I know they will get used! I'm happy to share with you a paint brush set made by Paratek.

You can get them on Amazon Prime for $12.99: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077F2YT2X

This Set Comes With:

• 12 brushes
• 1 palette 
• A fancy case

I'll use everything, but the fan brush. I'm just not a fan of fan brushes. Maybe I should try them again. I don't usually find them that helpful with blending.

I love how the case contains everything. Each bush is separated. The really thin brushes have plastic protectors, and those did keep coming off. They could be made a bit tighter, to stay on better. You can see one fell off in the picture below.

The case zips up, and is easy to take paintings on location. I took the set to work.

Usually I use just an old box for a palette. It's nice to have an actual palette to use. 

These Brushes Can Be Used for a lot of Things:

• Acrylics
• Oils
• Watercolor
• Gouache
• Tempra
• Enamel 
• Facepaint
• Fingernail Polish

 I'll be mainly using them for acrylics. I love oil paint, but my asthma doesn't love them. Watercolors are fun, but I find them to be not as permanent as other kinds of paint.

What kind of paints have you used?

Disclaimer: I got this paint brush set in exchange for our opinion on them. The company in no way told me what to write, or influenced me in any way.

WW: Crow {Linky}

I've been working on this mixed media piece for quite some time now. I'm doing a series about something beautiful with something being destroyed. I had envisions of  a crow smoking, but a cigarette butt in it's mouth looked so hokey. Even when I cut it down length wise it looked really stupid. 

I thought about stitching wire by it's feet - like the bird was caught, but got out. The problem with that was that crows are really smart. They wouldn't get themselves in a situation like that. 

In the end I went with the drops I started in the background by adding more and more drops - acid rain. It's more of a loose concept, but will still fit into the series. 

It's a really long piece! That makes it a bit hard to see. Click on the images to see them larger. I got comments that putting them extra large makes them impossible to see in the phone view. 

Here's a close up of the face. The eye has light blue thread stitches on it.

Some of the drops are in the background. I added some too. I put clear acrylic on glass one drip at a time. I let it dry. Then I scraped them up with a razor blade. I added a dark color under the drips, and a highlight.

The legs are stitched.

The back of the canvas:

Next I'm working on the owl that can't sleep because of city lights and noises, but I want to start a cute squirrel playing in plastic bag + a jellyfish that is stuck in a jelly jar with other jelly fish around it. I may have a few pieces going on all at the same time.

Do you like to paint, or do you get into any other art form?

CubeCraft 11-Piece Detail Paint Brush Set Review

I started a painting awhile ago, then it got put on hold, and now I'm painting on it again.

CubeCraft 11-Piece Detail Paint Brush Set is what I'm using to paint with. Their brushes are A*M*A*Z*I*N*G. 

They just stay shaped really well, and not one bristle became loose. I hate when I'm painting away, and a bristle is stuck in the paint.

The set comes in a sturdy box. I love this for going to paint on location. It makes it easy to wrap if it's going to be a gift to.

The brushes simply slide out the bottom of the box.

The tips all came with protectors. That's not always something I see on brushes. I can tell CubeCraft cares about maintaining the quality of their product. I'm not always the best about putting the tips back on when I'm finished. I do however keep my brushes clean, and shape them back up with my fingers to maintain a good point. 

Cleaning Your Brushes:

• Always wipe your brush on a plain rag (one you don't care about), or paper towel to get all the paint out before cleaning it. This is less hard on the drain. 

• If you are using a water based paint then rinse it with water. If you are using a oil based paint then rinse it with mineral spirits, or turpentine. I use a product called Gamsol. It's allergy safe.

• There are brush cleaners that you can buy at any craft or art supply place. Read the instructions because some have you leave the cleaner in your brush because it's a conditioner. 

• A mild soap works well to clean with to.

• Always clean your brush until all the color is out of it. 

• Reshape the brush when you are done.

• Dry your paintbrush flat. If you dry it standing up, the water seeps into the brush breaking up the glue, which the bristles will come up eventually.  

These brushes are fairly small for detailed work.

They can be used for any media:

• Watercolors
• Pen and Ink
• Acrylics
• Oils 

They are also separated in the packaging.

I'm working on a painting of the back side of a sunflower. You can see my reference right there. I haven't started paining the actual flower part yet. The steam was painted with something I've never painted with before. It's painted on corn husk. I used the matte medium to adhere the husk to the canvas, and painted on top. I'm still not done, but it's getting there. 

I'm going to use tissue paper to paint on the petals. *Note that colored tissue paper is not light safe. I'll use white, and color it with acrylics.

I have the underpainting done of the steam, but will be going in to touch up lights and darks. Before I do that I'll start in with the underpainting of the flower petals first.

Above the flower will be a honey bee with a gas mask on. The piece is about the mass decline in the bee population.

The brushes worked great. I'll be using them more and more with the detail work. 

Cost:

$19.95 on Amazon. 

Do you like to paint?

Disclaimer: I received CubeCraft 11-Piece Detail Paint Brush Set for a discount in exchange for an honest review.

CubeCraft 12 x 27ml Acrylic Paint Set {Review}

Acrylics are my favorite paint medium. I like to mix things with them, and with other paint mediums I find what you can mix with them to be limited.

I got an Acrylic Paint Set from CubeCraft to review. 

I really like the variety of colors! 
These colors are featured in order starting with white and going counter clockwise.

• Chinese White
• Primary Lemon Yellow
• Yellow Ochre 
• Burnt Sienna
• Burnt Umber
• Ivory Black
• Cobalt Violet
• Cobalt Blue 
• Cerulean Blue
• English Light Green
• Alizarin Crimson 
• Primary Red Cadmium

The paint is ASTM D-4236 certified, which means it's independently certified as non-toxic, and safe for use and it is odorless. This would be a great set for kids, or people that suffer from allergies or asthma.

It doesn't say, but the paints seem student grade. They are not heavy bodied acrylics. I like this type of paint to make washes, and to mix in with my other mediums. You can see how easily the paint squirts out.

They are pretty big tubes of paint. They are 27ml, with is more than most tubes.

I'm pretty hesitant to show 1/2 done work, but I've been working on a painting. I'm trying out something new. I put different kinds of salt down on a layer of Elmer's glue. Painted with washes on top, and now I'm sewing in the lines. I still have a lot to do, but here's a start after using some of these paints:

As you can see I have to sew the vertical lines into the igloo. I didn't even show all of it. The igloo is sitting on polar icecaps that are melting. I have yet to decide if I want to include a polar bear in the background, on top of the igloo, or trying to swim amongst the melted water. Decisions! How would you finish it up?

The white in the painting is the glue and salt. The rest is paint.

The cost of the acrylic set:

$26.95 and it's on sale for $16.95. You can get the set on Amazon. It comes with 12 tubes of colored paint, and 1 small pallet. 

Disclaimer: I received this paint set at a discount for the purpose of this review. The opinions are 100% mine.

US Art Supply 12ml Acrylic Tube Artist Paint Set Review

I love new art supplies. Especially when school is about to start. I plan to use US Art Supply 12ml Acrylic Tube Artist Paint in the classroom for demos.

This is a 12 color set:

1. Titanium White
2. Lemon Yellow
3. Yellow Ochre
4. Vermillion
5. Crimson
6. Hooker's Green
7. Viridian
8. Ultramarine Blue
9. Cobalt Blue
10. Burnt Sienna
11. Raw Umber
12. Lamp Black

 

The tubes are small, so this set is great for beginners, or sample painting. You can get a lot of variety in color without spending a fortune on paint. It's the perfect size for me to do demos in the classroom. I like smaller tubes because I go through the tubes before the paint dries out.

If you are a serious painter, that goes through a lot of paint than get bigger tubes. 

The paint is heavy bodied. I can tell it's not cheap paint. Cheap paint has water, or white added to the colors, which make them chalky looking.

Made in the US or China?

The company where these paints are sold out of is called U.S. Art Supply.
 
On the back of the box it says, "Made in China".  
 
I wish it was made in the U.S.  

Cost

$19.99 and on sale for $6.96.  

This is the final outcome of a small painting I did using the paint:

 

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.   

 

Acrylic Paint Set By Color Gallery Review

I love Acrylic Paint Set By Color Gallery to review. These are sold by: Ander Blake Company. 

You can buy this set of acrylics on Amazon for $24.99 - on sale for $13.95.

The set comes with a wide arrange of color. There's 12 colors to be exact:

Titanium White | Mars Black | Lemon Yellow | Medium Yellow | Yellow Ochre | Burn Umber | Light Green | Forest Green | Blue Lake | Scarlet Red | Crimson | Midnight Blue 

I can tell when paint is cheap when it looks chalky, or see through - companies add white, or a filler of clear paint. This brand isn't cheap! The paint is thick. 

 Painted Wooden Glasses

I bought plain wooden glasses in the clearance section at a craft store. The boys wanted to paint them. Mica was set on making his purple, and Isaak wanted his to be grey. I tried talking them into having a different color for the rims, or adding hardware bling, but they would have it.

Mixing

We started out talking about mixing colors. Mica wanted his glasses to be purple. I asked him what two colors makes a good purple? He answered right, red and blue. I told Mica that Midnight Blue and Crimson make a great purple.

Isaak wanted his glasses to be grey. I asked Isaak if he wanted a flat grey using Titanium White and Mars Black, or a blue grey by adding Blue Lake to the mix? He wanted a flat grey.

The color comes out looking just like the color shown on the tube. The paint is thick, buttery and easy to mix.

Then I had a discussion about how it's important to not get paint all the way up through the bristles with Isaak. That's hard on the brush. It loosens the glue, which holds the bristles in.

Like I said the paint is nice and thick, so touch up was minimal. 

Finished Glasses

Isaak said, "I have to have lenses Mom!" I took a plastic apple container and cut the bumps off for Isaak's lenses. I'll show more of these photos later this week.

Acrylic Paint Set By Color Gallery is a wonderful introductory set, people that want to try out painting, or people that paint every once in awhile. There's a wide range of colors, and the paint is great quality.

You can use them to paint on canvas, fabric, wood and more.
For people that paint regularly, on a bigger scale I'd buy bigger tubes.

I love the vibrate quality of the color!

What color would you use first?

Like Ander Blake Co. on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram for more creative ideas, and fun!

 

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free from Ander Blake Co. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.