Brusho Crystal Colours 15ml Pots

This had made me quite forget watercolours - a terrible thing for me to say for it's my first love. That is not to say these are anything like WC, they are not, for they're inks, though can be used in a 'WC way' once heavily diluted. They do not granulate, they can be glazed but always over a dry layer, they can be used wet-in-wet, they don't cause blooms but if you get water on your drying layer and remove it, it will remove the colour leaving a lifted spot with a ring/water mark, very much like a pale wash of WC. Like WC, the colour should rarely used heavily, for the wash looks dead. You'll notice very quickly they act like inks for the colour/tone you see is what you'll get once dry. So err on the pale side; this is quite a mindset to get used to initially.

Super vibrant and permanent, they cannot be re-worked or lifted with water once dry. Since all colours are a mix of colours, even the primaries, nothing ever really looks foreign or 'out of place' once the colour's down, so essentially you could use as many colours as you like, whatever the self-nominated art 'authorities' tell you about rules. Some are easier to activate than others (turquoise, purple, crimson need a bit of coaxing), some dominate (again turquoise, purple are quite uncontrollable!), all mine are transparent (even the yellow ochre and dark brown). The effects differ if you pre-wet or work on dry paper. One must get dirty and experiment, as one did as a child with abandon for the pure joy of throwing some paint down. There's so much fun to be had for water-media artists, they've really made my painting a joy having hit a slump with WC's. One could easily mix Brusho and WC, in fact, charcoal, pastels, gouache, etc.

I use it everyday now, and these small pots would definitely not last me a lifetime. At first, since I fell in love with the medium, I started spraying my clothes into works of art, and much to my annoyance they all washed away in a 60 degree wash. I was not impressed, I was hoping these would be as staining as reputed, but they're not clothes dyes in any sense though only the turquoise remained leaving a whisper of its presence.

On the point of bleach as a medium, I don't use this technique (yet) since I rely on student paper. Not only is student paper quite pathetic and inferior, bleach removes all sizing and damages the surface to such an extent that colours sink in a blink of an eye and bleed all over the place. I've yet to use it on Bockingford or 100% rag paper, but I suspect these robust surfaces will perform better. But in general, one must consider what bleach will do to your sized surface and how this affects the longevity of your work. Like turps and spirits in oil painting, imagine what that would do to an unprimed canvas. It's quite horrific throwing bleach on one's support.

Embarrassingly, I've nearly bought the entire collection. Some colours are better than others, let's not pretend all will delight. The prussian blue leaves me quite cold (think blackened blue), the olive green is horrid and not 'earthy' at all but blue-ish and grey, the yellow ochre is quite orange, etc. But most colours are 'true'.

Honestly, go for it. Even if it's one pot to try out for an interesting background wash. It's such a small spend for what could be an entire new way of painting. I doubted this would 'do it' for me, but it does it for me in all manner of ways!

I could spend all day eulogising about these pots but I won't for I'll lose my breath. I still go to my WC for comfort, but this is like her sister, bolder, more exciting and out of control. There's space for both.

The clumps do not disperse as I would like and if I try to disperse them with more water or a brush and less water, I find the colours then muddy. Perhaps I am using them wrong. A decent Youtube clip or recommended use of these is nowhere i could find.

I am a rubber stamper and I bought these to make cards with and the color is amazing and they are very fun and kind of exciting to see each background come out so different then the last one. I have been watching you tube to find out different ideas and ways to create with these and it seems never ending. And for the tiny little bit you use to get the color is amazing!!! I'm glad that these were introduced into the world of stamping!!!