Columbine Flower Tutorial & Grumbacher Deluxe Opaque Watercolor Review

hi there Lindsay here the frugal crafter
today I'm going to review the Grumbach
er deluxe opaque watercolor set now this
is a set of 24 recently I did a video
with the select transparent watercolors
and it wasn't that impressed with the
transparent watercolors I thought that
they were kind of low pigmented took a
lot of work to get him out of the pans
you could still pretty nice painting
with them they just didn't feel like
they were that high of quality and they
felt kind of like children's tempera
paint cakes to me so I wasn't really
expecting to enjoy the opaque
watercolors especially since I
particularly don't care for opaque
watercolors generally but the pigment
strength in these piece were so much
nicer than their transparent paints and
they just felt like they were much
higher quality so what you get in this
set is 24 of these colors including a
gold and silver which you can see there
on the ends I haven't seen much cracking
on these paints I saw are cracking on
the watercolor paints and in addition to
the 24 colors you actually get a little
tube of white which is really nice
because a lot of times the white cakes
of color don't really release that much
it's hard to get a really opaque
coverage and this gives you a nice
opaque white then you can just squirt it
out what you need and use it as thickly
as you'd like
so so there's that we're gonna use that
today in our demonstration and kind of
show you the shimmer enos of the
metallic it's not a super-duper shimmery
but I didn't put a really thick layer
either so you know it could just be that
you need to use it a little thicker but
I think this would be really nice for
maybe rubber stampers or you know if you
want kind of a portable kit with quite a
bit of product in it just seem like it's
a good value for that it's the same
price as the transparent watercolors you
know you get it in 12 or 24 sets but but
I did find the quality of the opaque one
just to be nicer than the transparent
which usually isn't the case that I find
so we're gonna do today
because I've got a request for it is
we're gonna paint me : mine and I'm
using a photo by Kerry Lynn Michonne as
a reference and I'll put a link to that
in the video description I'm gonna show
you some of the different techniques
that we can do with these paints I'm
gonna begin this is a junky old brush
don't know why that's in my water this
is an acrylic brush but in my water
color thing look at that that's what
happens when you leave your brushes in
the water overnight the wood swells and
then all your paint flakes off so we're
to the
don't do that I'm just gonna let the
background and I'm not really gonna go
over the the flower if I can help it too
much because I just want to kind of do a
a very quick painting study here I go
over the stems though I just don't wanna
go over those pretty purple Columbine
flowers and I'm gonna get in closer with
my smaller brush so and that's
interesting if you're like an acrylic
painter and you wanted to try
watercolors you can use your acrylic
brushes for watercolor although I would
not recommend if you're a water colorist
and you want to try to acrylics that use
your watercolor brushes for acrylics I
call it some very very tough on brushes
you're not gonna hurt your acrylic
brushes with watercolor but you will
hurt your watercolor brushes with
acrylic so just keep that mind if you've
been thinking about dabbling and some of
the other the other mediums out there
now I'm working on a 140 pound of
watercolor card if I Strathmore I love
those things they're very handy to have
and then when you're done you can mail
off your painting I really like the idea
for beginners because sometimes you know
you grow so much and then you might look
at a little painting be like oh hi I'm
gonna throw that away but you know what
it's probably just a fine painting
you're just too critical of yourself so
that way if you just make it and you
send it off then you don't have to think
about it again and somebody else gets to
enjoy your artwork knowing these big
puddles that I have down there I'm
actually gonna just set a corner of a
paper towel in there and soak some of
that up that's just a little too too
juicy alright so now we'll do a
background I'm gonna use some I really
like yellow ochre so we'll try the
yellow ochre on this kit out I have a
paper clip to a board so I can kind of
tip it now the thing I liked about this
that I didn't like about the other one
so much is that this color really seems
to flow even though it's an opaque color
and a lot of times you know Pig
watercolors seem to just be they feel
like children's paints because they feel
like they have so much filler in them
like there's not enough pigment and they
won't flow on your paper like that
transparent ones I didn't think flowed
that well and these are flowing very
well which is something that you don't
see with low quality low quality opaque
watercolors and just to be clear I'm not
being paid to do this I did actually
receive these paints for free
because I was auditioning some different
things to use in a class and they didn't
end up meeting my needs for what I
needed but I thought it might be kind of
fun to review these in case anybody has
been interested so I'm gonna use a lot
of paint there and it's flowing really
well and I'm pretty happy with that so
now I'm gonna try some of this green
here and I think it's probably like a
permanent green light it doesn't look
Aarthi enough to be a SAP green but it's
mixing nicely with my yellow ochre I
like it that's a little much on it so
it's nice and I mix it in with yellow
ochre though and since there's a lot of
pigment I feel and I don't know I don't
know what pigment they're using I know
if they're single I don't know much
about them but I like that I like that I
don't have to use a lot and if I don't
use a lot they're very transparent
they're not very transparent but they're
certainly I'm certainly seeing the paper
through so kind of just to give you an
idea there and I do want to kind of go
in make sure leave any really big lumps
around now these will dry lighter cuz
they are a watercolor
I think I'll mix some of that over it I
might tell it cuz I don't see how bright
that is on its own that's a little much
for what I'm doing here I'm grab the
yellow ochre and again these don't
release quite as easily as you know my
favorite transparent watercolors but
they're no pink watercolor so that's
really par for the course are kind of
like a like a tempura but they just feel
nicer than like a children's tempura now
I don't think these are terribly cheap I
think that this set that I'm using here
retails for like 47 bucks or something
so you know it's it's not super cheap
just want to put that up there in case
you fall in love with it and you go and
see the price and are horrified now if I
don't want to have any blooms I want to
make sure that I either blot any puddles
up with a paper towel or I blot it up
with a dry brush this these colors lift
really well which is typical of what
paint colors because they tend to
they're opaque because they sit on top
of the surface of your paper instead of
absorbing in and that's kind of what may
give zit that opaque look
so they're gonna lift easier so if
you're a beginner and you're feeling
like you want a little more coverage and
you want to be able to fix your mistakes
a little bit better then this could be
the one thing for you know do you want
to put some kind of fuzzy flowers in the
back I'm gonna do that just by grabbing
some of the pink and just flicking it in
there
oh telephone hang on a second well I
just threw me off my total dry thought
and there was nobody there on the phone
anyway they hung up by the time I got
there so I'm just colors oh and if you
if you do find that your color nut or
what brand you're using if you find that
you're not getting your colors very
easily out of your paints that you can
spray in with water ahead of time let
them sit like five minutes before you go
to paint and that will really help them
loosen up I just think that gives it a
fun texture so I'm just doing that with
any other colors that I've already used
just just flicking the color on and I am
just gonna blot anything that looks
muddy or any place I want a little bit
lighter and then I'm gonna dry it just
to save a little time but you can walk
away you have a cup of tea if that's
your preference I'll pause it while I
dry it and we'll come back and finish it
up
okay that only took a couple seconds
with my heat gun and we're gonna start
painting this and I'm gonna start
actually by doing these Center stamens
this nice bright yellow here and part of
the reason I want to do that and I just
flick some water on there by mistake so
I'll block that off the reason I want to
do that is just so I don't forget about
it and end up having having color where
I don't want it now remember I said
they're opaque look at this they're not
really that opaque because I'm going
over pencil lines with this yellow and I
can clearly still see those pencil lines
so they're not they're not as opaque as
you would think they're not really that
opaque the nars opaque is like a like a
tube gouache so just kind of keep that
in mind now I want to go I'm gonna go
around and work on these outer petals
and I'm gonna do a technique I like to
do with watercolor and I'm just gonna
wet the petal here I don't want I want
it to be oh look at this I'm kind of
where I got some paint in there that
green
I can grade up to that and I can
completely reshape that pedal if I want
to so see what I mean about beginners it
being kind of good you know maybe if you
want to paint maybe more spontaneously
or maybe don't want to draw first maybe
you're a beginner and you're afraid of
making a mistake you can lift that right
up that came right up now I'm gonna go
in with this magenta color oh the nice
thing to notice about these is they are
labeled don't know if you can see that
on the camera but because it's just like
engraving kind of in the plastic it is
labeled and actually this set did come
with a brush but I didn't care for it so
I'm not using that but just kind of like
a little a little soft paint brush there
we just heard kids come in I'm gonna do
this pedal when I'm gonna go greet my
children and then we'll be back and how
many children cuz when the phone rang it
was probably somebody saying that they
had to stay for practice so hold on one
second okay I'm actually gonna zoom in a
little bit there children save the bus
and this is like doesn't feel like it's
one of the vintage Lindsay videos you
know good times
alright so I am wetting this and I'm
gonna do this for each of these outlying
petals adding in the magenta you can
really get some transparent effects for
these kind of makes me wonder if maybe
they get the the products labeled but I
don't think so I just don't see these
being very opaque on any surface I think
that that that it would be the kind of
misleading and maybe will grab a piece
of black paper or something before we're
done and we'll compare it and see if it
will see if any of these colors stand
upon on black maybe the some of the
lighter ones will some of the earth
tones now I will say though like if I
was using one of my artist grade tube
paints they would definitely be flowing
more in situation like this where I've
let the kettle and out of the colors
these definitely don't want to move as
much so like I said like this might be
better for someone who's doing like
rubber stamping or doing miniatures or
something where they don't
want to have their paints flowing too
far in any direction so you know I
always think that you know the best
product for me isn't necessarily gonna
be the best product for you everybody
has their own goals when they're
painting in their own um their own
reasons there we go he's a pretty good
pigment strength but I don't feel like
I'm getting the color built up as deeply
as I want but then again I'm not mixing
colors I'm kind of grabbing them from
the pans just to kind of see what their
pre-mixed colors are looking like let's
see if we can get that a little bit
darker with maybe a little bit of the
ultramarine blue here mix that over over
there take a little bit of that purple
yeah it does look a little more chalky
on the palate doesn't it doesn't look as
transparent doesn't want to beat up it's
definitely a little more viscous so
we'll mix that let's see what we get for
a nice dark there let's see how that how
that looks on our on a painting here so
I have a little bit of that on the tip
and see that's very blue let's go over
here a little bit of that up here and
then add our other colors in like we do
with the one pedal that you got to do it
to the others so just go in and look
that in purple I'm all out of sorts
painting downstairs today I've been
working upstairs all winter cuz it's
been cold down here make my palette on
the wrong side phone's ringing
furnace comes on it's a madhouse so what
can I say
a little tip in there
I don't think I I think doing
backgrounds with these would be nice I
don't think I really like the the
painting so much with these though I
have to say I think if I was doing like
a background for a scrapbook page or art
journal or something they would be fine
and dandy but not keen on them just
doing a painting I feel I feel kind of
restricted so I don't know have you guys
use these anybody out there use done let
me know in the comments I'd be really
curious to hear what you think this
would be this will probably be one of
the stuff I end up given up the kids I'm
letting them play with or using in my
classes you know if somebody doesn't
have materials and that's what that's
taught you a lot of the stuff that I
review that doesn't quite make the cut I
use in my classes and not it's just like
you know my kids classes are my beginner
classes or have it on hand in case
somebody forgets their stuff you know
exposed to like an art journal of course
where you're not really painting you're
just kind of back doing a background it
would be absolutely fine and I also want
to get these little I get some paint in
these little buds over here pretty
loosely zoom out a bit we're getting a
little too close and personal here get
our pants better arranged so you can see
them and I'm gonna go in and do the
whole stems and leaves I'm gonna keep it
pretty loose though I'm not really
liking the control that I have of this
paint even though it's like the paint's
not moving so much it still I just don't
feel like I have the control I want
darkening that up with a little bit of
the ultramarine blue since I've already
already used it it seems to flow really
well if your paint if your papers really
wet but I do notice if your papers dry
it does kind of want to just just sit
there more than more than be kind of
lively it's this probably make this
description probably makes no sense to
anybody
and the butts kind of have that sheath
of leave for something around it they're
not really bright so I'm letting me
I'm just letting that green go up there
I do need to darken the stems they're a
little bit more red but I don't want to
grab a different red that I haven't used
yet I'm just gonna use up magenta right
in there on that stem color to get it
where I need it to be I don't want to
add a whole new color at this point
because then it's going to look a little
strange a little stranger I should say
and I think I feel like I need like I'm
not I'm just not happy with like the
transition from the background to the
foreground so before I go and dry that
so I can finish painting the flower I'm
just gonna flick in some of the
background colors again because this is
just not working and I find that
flicking paint is one of the best ways
to disguise the fact that you don't know
what you're doing when you're working
this isn't working what am I gonna do
I'll click some paint and it'll be
perfect it's just a little trick of the
trade friends just a little trick of the
trick of the trade
these can be just suggested little
flowers in the background a little
overboard there that's alright well blot
it okay I'm enjoy this and we'll come
back and finish up the center of the
flower okay you know like the center of
this flower those little petals in there
are way more blue someone actually go in
here with my brush I'm Sam we're gonna
sculpt you sculpt to help the petals cuz
I really I really lost their shape in
here I guess I wasn't paying very very
much attention when I painted the outer
petals and I'm let's see I lost a pedal
that over here so see I can lift up this
paint pretty darn easily I blocked that
off just to remove some of that pink but
I just need to get back there this brush
I'm noticing I really tend to get a lot
of beads of water on it I love it
because it's got the comfort grip handle
or what but I've been getting a lot of a
lot of beads of color and so I'm lifting
that green right off of that pedal doing
those colors right out of there so I can
go in with my other colors and I want
them to be a little bit bluer so I've
taken the ultramarine blue
and some of that purple mixed it
together so I don't have such a purple
purple and I'm gonna go in and just drip
that into those damp petals so that the
connect color can spread around a bit
and we can get those petals looking a
little bit different than the petals
that are on the outside a little bit
bluer there's other colors of Columbine
and something like really skinny petals
on the back they're all a little
different I'm gonna go a little bit
stronger of that blue here because where
I was on top of a another petal I feel
like I just need that little extra punch
of color now I do need some deeper color
down to the center of these and I'm just
gonna go in and paint that right on and
let it kind of fade up into the middle
of those petals and pretty much that
will do it for this I'm gonna dry it and
we'll come back and see it all done all
dry okay the card is dry I did go in and
add just a few little accent kind of
shading lines in there oh no I'm not
that impressed with my painting but I
think that if you're somebody that wants
to do backgrounds you want to in expense
well yeah what I'll call it inner spend
so I think it's kind of expensive for
what it is quite frankly but you know
it's very liftable like I lifted out
some of the colors on the haste of
petals in the front there because they
were just too dark they weren't showing
up against the outer petals so that's
good you can lift back up there are some
kind of is like a peach and there's some
Browns you can mix some skin skin tones
with and I found that colors mixed
really well and the colors were pretty
vibrant it wouldn't be my first pick for
watercolors opaque or otherwise I
probably would recommend the Gansey
tambi watercolors over these if you
wanted a more opaque watercolor set but
you know it's definitely definitely
usable definitely you know if you have
this definitely use it it's not gonna
hurt anything they just won't do my top
pick but I'd love to know what you think
in the comments below please let me know
and I'll put a link to the reference
photo I used as well in case you want to
track that down and try this painting
for yourself I'm pretty sure you can do
a better job than I just
but it was fun than the lesson eh that's
what art is all about isn't it thank you
so much for watching please give me a
thumbs up and subscribe until next time
happy crafting