Daniel Smith Watercolor Mineral Set
In this article and video, I try out the Daniel Smith Watercolor Mineral Mixing Set and review the results.
We’ll also have a look at the Primatek paints under the microscope to observe granulation, color, and minerals. I don’t have any mineralogical experience, but I thought it’d be a cool addition to the video.
I go through swatches of each of the 6 paints and walk you through a landscape tutorial/demonstration at the end. I wasn’t paid to do this review and bought these paints myself. What do you think of this set? Have you tried it yourself or would you like to?
I have also reviewed the Daniel Smith Primary and Secondary set too.
I found all of these paints lifted very well and the only paint that didn’t granulate was Rhodonite. It reminds me of Opera Pink, but more subdued.
I really liked the granulation of Hematite, and the uneven look it has when dried – you can see in the swatch that it clumps up in areas. When trying to smudge or agitate the dried swatch, I was unable to lift any paint with my fingers which is a good sign, however, once water is added, it lifts quite easily as expected with granulating paint.
I found that all of the colors, with the exception of Hematite and Rhodonite, had excellent tonal range, allowing me to paint both light and dark areas in my landscape.
Although Hematite appears black, the particles tend to disperse rather unevenly, and even when using it straight from the tube, I found I was not able to achieve the level of darkness as the other colors.
I found the colors mix well together, and all of them are fairly muted so they don’t require any mixing with neutral tint, etc, to reduce vibrancy.
Here I was trying out some lifting techniques with Amethyst Genuine by painting a couple of mangosteens. There is an interesting sparkle to the paint, and it is clearly visible under a light, where you can observe shimmering on the paint itself – even in lighter areas.
Amethyst Genuine is a deep and muted purple, which I quite like, as I have a more vibrant purple, Daniel Smith’s Imperial Purple which I found to separate out slightly into blue and red. This often happens when one pigment is ‘heavier’ that the other, and sits on top of the other.
I hope you found this article on the Daniel Smith Watercolor Mineral Mixing Set helpful and remember to check out the video for a more in-depth demonstration and guide on how to use this set.
