Derwent Art Materials Review
Reviewed by Amanda Hayes
Whether you are looking for a gift for an enthusiastic amateur, professional artist or creative child I can highly recommend taking a look at the extensive range of art materials from Derwent.
When you hear the brand name Derwent you automatically think quality art products, and with a heritage dating back to 1832, it’s no surprise that they have become a household name. It’s fair to say then I was extremely pleased to be sent two different items from their range to try out, the first being a set of watercolour pencils (RRP: £20.96).
The pencils came in a professional looking tin with twelve colours so it was a great starting point to test my creativity. There are however, a total of 72 colours in the range so for the more adventurous artist you will easily find the right colour for your painting. They can be used in two different ways, dry followed by adding a little water with a brush to blend or on wet paper using a brush to move around the paper like paints. I tried both options and they came out differently, the wet paper slightly brighter and the dry easier to get a fine line, they both gave great results so it’s just down to personal preference to get the look you want. On drying you can re-wet to move around and change your creation if you are not happy with it. These are a great set of pencils and far less messy than a set of paints with similar results. They would make a lovely present put together with a pad of Derwent watercolour paper.
The second product I was sent to try out was a set of Graphik Line painter pens (RRP: £17.15) which came in a beautifully illustrated hand sized pouch designed by artist Carne Griffiths. I was sent the No. 2 palette which contained five colours from the range, there are twenty bright colours in total together with outliners such as black and sepia. The colours in palette 2 are Clockwork; a mustard orange, Brilliant; a lovely royal blue, High; a light blue, Envy; a lime green, and Bricklane; a reddish brown. The pens move easily across the paper and with a fine nib size of 0.5 they suit colourful line work with the highly pigmented, water based paint making a great statement on the page. Just shake before you start, press down to go and press down to stop the flow, I found it really easy and I’m no Van Gogh! I particularly liked the pouch, with its fold over top secured by a popper not only does it keeps the pens in place it makes a perfect gift presentation pack. Derwent do special paper to go with the pens, the Graphik Inspire Me pad, which will add to the Graphik pens for a great gift idea.
When you are searching for inspiration for this year’s Christmas list take a look on the Derwent website where you will find further details of not only the two products I was lucky to try out but an huge amount of varied items to suit everyone from professional artists to young children. Highly recommended as a fabulous gift idea.
Rating: 5/5
For more information or to buy visit www.derwentart.com.
