Home Forums Explore Media Watercolor Palette Talk Reeves watercolours???

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  • #983030
    Fmalo
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        Has anyone here used Reeves watercolours???

        I was given a set (18) of 12ml tubes bearing the name Reeves (since 1766) Reeves, Harrow, England – Made under license for Reeves in China.

        I’ve kept them unopened for more than a year since I’m not sure of the quality. Should I use them or donate them to some local school art department??

        Thanks,

        Frank:confused:

        #1002031
        #1002032

        I’ve used Reeves Frank, but only because at the moment I cant really afford anything better (am building up my stocks of W+N …up to 4 tubes now!!!:)) They are okay, great for practise and I’ve done a few pieces in them that I’ve given away to friedns and relis. You can definitely tell they’re not W+N though!
        So I suppose it all depends on what you want them for, how serious you are, and if you have enough spondoolees for better:D
        LOL, hope this has helped and not confused you more!:)

        Bec
        Attitudes are contagious, is yours worth catching?

        www.rebeccasimmonds.com
        #1002036
        Fmalo
        Default

            Thanks for the advise!!!

            I think I’ll present them to my grandson. He’ll be four years old in July & should have some fun with them. He does love to paint so they won’t go to waste.

            Keep painting,

            Frank

            #1002039
            ReLeaf
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                Fmalo, Reeves watercolors are terrible. I know this because they were the first set I had. I still am forced to use some of them since I haven’t been able to afford to replace them with better yet (oh, for the day!) but overall, they’re basically crap. Your grandson will love them. :)

                What I found wrong with them is that they dry very chalky and off color, the tubes often leak at the bottom crimp and the caps break off the threaded portion all too easily. The caps also stick badly.

                Run as far from them as you can. ;)

                Horses and sheep are Good Things (tm). Everyone should have at least one of each. :) Horses teach you not to fight with things that are bigger than you and sheep, well, they're just cute. :D

                #1002043
                KansasLady
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                    Aha! So that’s what’s wrong with my paintings! I’ve been using Reeves. I just couldn’t get the effects I wanted!

                    Thanks to art, instead of seeing a single world, our own, we see it multiply until we have before us as many worlds as there are original artists...Marcel Proust

                    #1002041
                    Mason
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                        Gulp. I don’t use Reeves, but my ptgs. still look chaulky. Must be the brushes or paper….hummmm
                        Mason

                        #1002044
                        KansasLady
                        Default

                            What are the recommended brands? And if I start buying new ones at higher prices, what 4-5 colors should I start with?

                            Thanks to art, instead of seeing a single world, our own, we see it multiply until we have before us as many worlds as there are original artists...Marcel Proust

                            #1002038
                            DanaT
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                                I’ve started buying single tubes of the W+N artists watercolors to replace my Cotman (student-grade) set. Since I mostly paint in a figure class, I concentrated on the colors I use most for flesh tones: yellow ochre, alizarin crimson, burnt umber, ultramarine blue. Then I started adding other colors as I could afford it, new gamboge, aureolin, cadmium red, prussian blue.

                                It’s a pretty slow process. Theoretically you can paint anything with just a blue, a yellow, and a red so you could start out with just three tubes of paint.

                                Right now I’m sticking to W+N, because I know how their colors work together. When I get a more complete set, I may try other brands.

                                #1002034
                                boarsrock
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                                    W & N are supposed to be very good, although some of my friends have been complaining about them lately. I’ve not used them so I’m not sure. I currently use Maimeriblu. Pretty happy with the pigments and vibrancy. I think most people mix and match to their preferences.

                                    #1002042
                                    KathyJB
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                                        I have a number of small tubes of W&N I got from a close out sale but I also have some cottman.
                                        I mix my own lately and have made a pallate of primary/ tertiary/secondary colors…I prefer to get the 3 primarys and mix
                                        except for my paynes gray…I must have paynes.
                                        Kathy

                                        Kat



                                        Light the candles

                                        #1002030
                                        BobH
                                        Default

                                            I started out with a set of Reeves. Because I didn’t know any better I figured they were ok. Being a beginner I didn”t want to spend a bunch of money on the high priced, top quality paints.

                                            Right now I’m mostly using American Journey from Cheap Joe’s, they’re not very expensive and seem to work very well, many orders of magnitude better than Reeves. I did recently purchase a sample set from Daniel Smith (perylene red, hansa yellow, french ultramarine blue). They’re very, very nice. But they’re also pretty expensive. I’ve got a ways to go before those big tubes of American Journey are gone so I don’t have to decide yet!

                                            Bob

                                            Bob

                                            But me, I just want to live happily ever after, every now and then ...
                                            Jimmy Buffett

                                            #1002037
                                            Fmalo
                                            Default

                                                Again, I would like to thank all of you for your comments. I’m glad I followed my instincts & never opened the package. Off to g’son with them!!!

                                                Per Bob H’s response – I have heard great comments on Daniel Smith w/c’s, especially the quinadichrome gold. Just thought I’d pass this on.

                                                Now that the paints are OK, I’ve got to use up a TON of 140 lb Utrecht paper I had bought at a very low price. The thing I don’t like about this paper is that it’s very horizontal in pattern. ( the bumps aren’t round, but quite oblong). I’ve learned to use this to good effect mostly with water reflections using a skimming brush stroke ( brush almost parallel with paper).

                                                Oh well, thanks again &

                                                Keep painting,

                                                Frank

                                                #1002040
                                                ReLeaf
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                                                    Like the rest of you, I’m slowly replacing my Reeves, Grumbacher and Cotman tubes with artist grade paints from Daniel Smith. I like them and they were rated on http://www.handprint.com as second in quality only to W&N. While they do have more colors than you are EVER likely to use, some of them are neat and not as expensive if you really do your research and weed through the series rosters to see what are the less expensive but still effective pigments.

                                                    Anyway, for my money, I like the Daniel Smith pigments so far. For certain things though, like a more vibrant and transparent yellow, I may end up with W&N eventually.

                                                    Oh yeah, handprint.com says Sennelier pigments are terrible. Who out there has any firsthand experience with those? I’m curious.

                                                    Horses and sheep are Good Things (tm). Everyone should have at least one of each. :) Horses teach you not to fight with things that are bigger than you and sheep, well, they're just cute. :D

                                                    #1002035
                                                    boarsrock
                                                    Default

                                                        Leaf, thanks for the suggestion on the handprint site. I had it bookmarked for some time but never really checked it out. I think I might give the Daniel Smith colors a try.

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