Art Supply Review: Cotman Brush Pen Travel Set

Hello All,

Welcome. Today I want to show you a new watercolor set that I really like. It is always inspiring to add a new tool to your kit, so I always keep an eye out for cool things.

For my plein aire sketching kit, I am trying to fit everything into a small hip pack. This way I can hike without being obstructed. Having a small space means you have to get creative.

Btw, this is not sponsored content. If I was a better blogger I would have probably worked out a paid deal. But to be honest money stuff goes right over my head. I’m more of a dog chasing cars than a businessman. I hope you enjoy.

Today I’m reviewing the Winsor & Newton Cotman brush pen set.

It is pocket sized, and has 12 watercolor pans. It comes with a brush pen that can be filled with water to wet down the pans.

The water-filled brush pen lets you work really fast, without worrying about dipping a brush. Brush pens don’t replace brushes, but they can be a useful tool for stroke diversity.

A few improvemts on this design: Include a sponge to wipe off the brush pen. Also, it would be nice if the pans were stuck to the bottom of the tray. As it is, pans could fall out if you dropped the set.

What I liked most was the color selection. Colors are listed by their pigments, such as ultramarine or viridian. This is better than getting generic names like dark blue or blue-green.

As an artist, you should always go back to the original pigment names and get familiar with those. Painters know the difference between Ultramarine and Pthalo Blue. These two blue pigments act completely differently when you paint with them. The more you know about the pigment, the more control you have over the result. Giving us the real pigments makes this a set worth buying.

The 12 pans it comes with are a good range of colors. You can also switch pans out if you want a different color gamut.

All in all, this is a good set and worth the $25 I paid for it. I would recommend bringing it along with your watercolor set. It won’t replace your whole kit, but it is worth having while you paint.

This was kind of an experimental post. Let me know if you like it, I can do more gear reviews if thats something that people want. Always I want to have original content first, but gear reviews might be an incentive to bring in more viewers.

Thanks for reading, and keep painting.

-SCL