Paul Rubens Watercolor Tubes

One of the most interesting characteristics of this set is that several of the Opera colors behave differently than expected. The Opera Blue and Opera Red Light both show visible granulation. The granulation adds texture and makes these more versatile than typical neon paints, especially for artists who enjoy atmospheric or layered effects. There has been some discussion about the Opera Rose and Opera Peach being too similar. After testing them side-by-side, I found there is a meaningful difference: Opera Rose shows more granulation and slightly more texture in washes, while Opera Peach appears smoother and warmer. They are close in hue family, but they are not duplicates in behavior. Across the set, staining strength is relatively low. The paints lift easily compared to many modern watercolor pigments, which makes them forgiving for glazing, soft transitions, and corrections. One behavior to be aware of is bronzing when the pigment load becomes heavy, especially past mastone. This is worth keeping in mind for anyone planning dense applications or layering. Where these paints really shine is as mixing tools. They are excellent for lightening and brightening other watercolors without introducing chalkiness the way white gouache can. Adding a small amount to traditional pigments creates a noticeable boost in luminosity, which makes them surprisingly useful beyond novelty effects. I brought this set to a watercolor class, and the response was immediate. The instructor purchased a set after trying them, and several students bought them as well. They are simply fun to use — bright, playful, and inspiring experimentation — which is sometimes exactly what a painter needs. Overall, these function best as specialty colors — excellent for brightness, accents, mixing luminosity into other pigments, and adding unique texture characteristics that make them more interesting than other watercolor sets.

First off I am not sponcered, and I am not a professional artist. Professional equating to making a living at art. I'm intermediate at best. I spent a year doing research on supplies. Watching YouTube sponsored and unsponsored reviews, read articles, etc... This is a product that really does earn it's reputation. Not to mention, this may sound weird but in this case, you can trust Chinese made, or Asian on its affinity for watercolor and calligraphy. You can tell this company takes pride in it's work. I was really excited for these and had been waiting a while to get them. Then the 48 debuted and I switched my wishlist for the 48. I liked the range of colors and the slight differences in the mica powder used per similar colors. Super cool! I strongly recommend buying this product because after just comparing my crappy $13.00 watercolor chalky paints... Lol I could list off a large list of why you should buy this product but I'll keep the list concise instead of going on too much longer. 1. Activation Time Shortened 2. Less water needed. 3. More pigment pickup, only need to wet a small area. A little goes a long way. 4. Vibrance, Saturation, and Quality 5. Better control over amount of paint used and how. 6. Easy to use. 7. Quality case, snaps, and removability. 8. Wonderful color palette. 9. Bonus on the special presentation, boxing, packaging, etc.. It made me cry to open it. It was like a dream. It felt very... Designer but not lame cheap designer. The cloth was a massive bonus too! 10. Fast shipping even without Amazon Prime. 11. The test swatch card. Huge deal for me. 12. Can be used in junction with the solid watercolors for a more opaque feel. 13. Transparent on its own. "Sheerness" Also so you are not caught off guard the actual pans are about the size of a dime/penny. Half pans. It might seem like a little, but I have a feeling judging based on how little you need to use that it will last a long time, and that the price is fair. I don't know if this was a fault of my own, or how it was advertised. (Edit: My bad!! I went back and checked details. The image is shown in a layered affect. So it's entirelyy fault.) I could have missed something. But was a bit underwhelmed by the glitter paint as a stand alone. While it looks great sheer and transparent, I some how got it into my head that it was a really opaque paint by the advertisement images. This can be fixed, just use the basics injunction and you will get the opacity you desire. (Disregard.) My only complaint is C40 feels muddy to me on its own, it seems to dry okay looking. It's definitely better paired over the top of another color. I think they were either going for a purple grape or plum color. (Edit: This color worked well layered! Very pretty. On its own I'm a bit disappointed but it redeems itself layered!) You will not go wrong on this brand. It is well made. Thank you Paul Rubens!

I got these and dried them into pans to put into a little travel palette. They dried very nicely, absolutely no cracking whatsoever (just like all my other Paul Ruben’s tubes and Meilang tubes I’ve dried into pans). The colors are bright and vibrant on white cellulose 140lb paper. I used only these to paint this loose floral piece. You can mix the colors together to darken things like the green or yellow. They are a little watery right out of the tube, but there was no binder separation which was great. The paints are nice and perfect for sketchbooks despite the lack of lightfastness. I wish the tubes came in a larger 12ml size like other P.R. Tubes do.

UPDATE 2/8/24 Still LOVING these colors. Perfect for that added pop in paintings. Perfect color therapy for endless gray winter days. I bought quite a few sets of these so I always have them handy. ---------- ORIGINAL REVIEW I have been doing watercolor for a while, but I have honestly been frustrated not having neons, which is one of my favorite palettes to incorporate into paintings. I was not expecting much with these. BOY was I surprised. INTENSITY These are way more intense than I was expecting. They are not as highly concentrated as say M Graham, or Sennelier or other professional paints might be, but they are really good and build up nicely. SHEER These can be used for a wash on watercolor paper. They look really nice. LAYERING I layered them on the edges of my painting that I posted for you. They layer well. LIFTING These paints lift nicely if needed but they do also stay on the paper well like other watercolors without lifting too much. COLORS All but a few of the colors in this set are what I call NEON. There are a couple of what I would call bright, but most of them are neon level intensity and they work well with other paints to set them off. MIXING I have used other paints to mix with these to temper them and also change their appearance. They work out pretty well. I like how they blend. THE BOTTOM LINE I really love these paints. They are rich and true watercolor paints with a good brilliant neon level to them. They are the best of the neon watercolors I have used. MY RATING FIVE STARS. I love these paints so much I bought SEVERAL sets. I use them a lot and am thrilled every time I try another brand which turns out to be disappointing. These are always my go to for watercolors when I want to perk up my paintings.

Great little neon set! I’ve been using this set for several months, it is pigmented well and the colors are so fun!

I just love the pigment in these watercolors their so beautiful and they mix so effortlessly their well worth it

I don’t usually write reviews but I just busted these watercolors open and I have never seen colors like this in my 30+ years of painting in watercolor. I have always looked for the brightest colors possible because I do a lot of whimsical art of children’s rooms. These colors are literally fluorescent and they hold their color after dry. I can’t wait to do some florals with them. They are truly amazing!

I love the colors, but the rose and the peach are exactly the same color. They are both rose.