I was so excited when Sakura sent me this brand new Koi Watercolor Field Sketch Set! My older set had 24 beautiful colors and I used it often… but this one has 30! They’ve added new shades of greens and blues that are perfect for nature paintings. Plus, these travel kits come with a cool water brush. Fill the reservoir with water before you leave the house, and you’re ready to paint on the go!
I was pleased that this kit has the same compact dimensions as my old one, so it still fits easily in my purse. It has a sponge you can use to clean your water brush, as well as a palette that can attach to the left or right side of the kit. There are tabs to hold postcard-sized paper sheets in the lid (Strathmore makes watercolor paper pads in this size). There’s even a ring on the underside of the case that you can slide your fingers through to easily hold the kit in one hand while painting!
Here’s a list of the newly added shades: Permanent Yellow, Turquoise Blue, Indigo, Permanent Green Pale, Permanent Green, and Sap Green.
I couldn’t wait to play with it, so I made a couple of quick ink and watercolor sketches.
I love to use Pigma Microns with watercolors, because the ink won’t smear or run when you paint over it.
My favorite paper for these sketches is Strathmore’s Mixed Media paper. It has a smoother texture than watercolor paper so it’s easier to draw on. It also won’t warp when damp like cardstock will.
At the time of this post, the kit is still fairly new so some art stores may not carry it yet. However, I did find it on Amazon. Happy painting!
