This month's SketchBox, features a number of items related to watercolour and comes with a half pan of Sennelier Forest Green, a Marabu Graphix Aqua Ink in dark violet, a Winsor & Newton watercolour marker in pale rose, a Daniel Smith dot card with 18 colours, a Princeton Neptune script brush (size 1), a pad of 10 sheets of Legion Stonehenge 140lb cold press, and a Pentel Fiber-tipped Sign Pen.
Again, nice to have a SketchBox that was basically self-complete. I did use a couple of other tools when testing the box, but you could test it all with what is in the set if you so chose.
Sennelier is always a great brand. I find it easy to get their tube paints, but not so much with the half pans. Realistically, only Winsor & Newton has been readily available in half pans in Canada. Nevertheless, highly recommend the Sennelier brand.
The Marabu ink was really vibrant, I could see that being fun to use with a dip pen as well. It feels like this colour would be great for tone studies, it seems like it would have great range with dilution.
The Stonehenge pad is nice, 5" x 7" is a good size. It was only gummed on two sides, so not fully blocked in. I didn't do any washes on it, but I think it would hold up well even without being bound down on all sides. Not sure I see it replacing Arches, but seems to be a distinct cut above some cheaper brands like Bee.
The Pentel sign pen feels nice, but definitely use after you finish with any wet media as it will lift and run into your work otherwise. It's not waterproof after drying. The Princeton brush is good, as they generally are in the Neptune line, I have several of their brushes and like them.
Anyways, did a bit of a doodle and tested out the swatches from Daniel Smith.
Of interest to me in the dot card was the new Daniel Smith Quinacridone Gold. As some may know, the original single pigment version was discontinued as Daniel Smith finally ran out of their massive supply. It's good, but it's not the same.
Anyhow, a fun box for December.