ROMAN SZMAL PAINTS REVIEW
If you are looking for a quality artist watercolour brand that does not break the bank, read on!
Roman Szmal Aquarius watercolours is a range of artist watercolours made in Poland. The majority of the Roman Szmal colours are single pigment paints, which ensures clean mixing.
“Each colour is made with high-quality gum arabic and glycerin, linden honey, distilled water, and pure pigments. Every pan is hand filled and labeled with watercolour paper. Colours are made in small batches that allow them to be carefully checked. Every batch is tested for performance qualities: vibrancy, flowing abilities, viscosity, colour value, transparency, granulation, undertone, tinting strength, clarity, and particle size.”
The colours are available only in pans currently and the range extends to almost 165 colours. In many ways, the colours resemble Daniel Smith – the range is large, the colours are intense and several colours are direct dupes of Daniel Smith. However, they do differ from Daniel Smith in an important aspect – they are honey-based, which means they are easy to rewet but can get gooey.
I ordered around 12 colours (mostly from Jacksons in the UK who are great in terms of service and value) and except for one, most of them are vibrant and rich, easy to use, and equal to any other professional grade paint brand. The full pans are wrapped in a hand-painted cover with colour inside and a branded wrapper – they look like bon bons! Some reviewers had problems unwrapping with the paper sticking to paint but it was not my experience.
I found the colours vibrant, smooth, and easy to rewet. They paint well with less drying shift. They are a good buy in terms of value as they are, in my opinion, comparable to marquee brands but at a considerably lower price. At present, they are available only in pans and not tubes.
I ordered a mix of my usual preferences and some new shades. Colours I ordered were as follows:
Nickel Azo Yellow
Quinacridone Scarlet (an unnamed pigment but supposed to be fairly lightfast)
Quinacridone Fuchsia
Ultramarine Finest (less granulating, intense)
Cobalt Cerulean Blue (my first cobalt colour – lovely granulation)
Hookers Green
Perylene Green (versatile, using for the first time)
Transparent Red Oxide
Cyprus Burnt Sienna
Mineral Violet (stunning)
Raw Umber
Aquarius Black (weak, probably the only disappointing colour of the lot)
I would wholeheartedly recommend these to beginner as well as seasoned painters. I think the issue with them is accessibility because they are a relatively newer brand and not available in many countries. The aforementioned Jacksons has good service and offers promotions from time to time; it is a good place to seek these paints out!
