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I was fortunate to unwrap the Winsor & Newton watercolour palette on Christmas morning one year. I’ll take you on a tour of the Pocket Plus palette so you know what you’re getting if you’re in the market for a little watercolour palette.
Take a tour of the Winsor & Newton Watercolour Pocket Plus on my YouTube channel.
So what do I think of the palette?
It’s tiny. It is fantastic for taking with you so you can paint almost anywhere. It could fit into an average sized pocket or pretty much any bag. I do have some minor issues getting it to open but that’s likely a plus for tossing it into a bag and knowing that it’ll stay secure.
It has a built-in holder. A rubber blue piece on the outside of the palette allows you to hold the palette one-handed. This can be useful when you’re painting en plein air and don’t have a table to set the palette down onto. This same blue piece needs to be taken off if you want to put it on a table and have it lay flat.
It comes with it’s own little paintbrush. I don’t love this paintbrush – it’s too short for my painting preferences and the brush itself is too rounded for me. If neither of those issues bother you, then it’s handy to have a brush with your palette at all time. The nice thing is that the brush is protected in the case.
It comes with multiple mixing palettes all stacked on top of each other. This is the real benefit of this palette. I think Winsor & Newton were really thoughtful when they designed this palette. The entire case is tiny but by using layers, it gives a watercolourist a ton of space to mix colours.
There are 12 cotman watercolours included. Cotman means it’s a student quality. While the paints are not as pigmented as an artist-grade watercolour, they are still very good quality. My palette came with: cadmium yellow pale hue, cadmium yellow hue, cadmium red pale hue, alizarin crimson hue, cobalt blue, ultramarine blue, viridian green, sap green, yellow ochre, burnt sienna, burnt umber, and chinese white. If you are thinking of purchasing this palette, take a look at the colours included because they may be different. In my palette, I wish there was a different version of blue included because I find ultramarine and cobalt are too similar. I also am not a fan of the white and never use it.
Ultimately, I think this palette is fantastic. It’s a great addition to my watercolour kit, and allows me to bring along a palette and paint almost anywhere. It packs a ton of options into a tiny case. The price is also quite affordable, so is a good option for beginners who are just trying out watercolours. It’s also good enough quality for more advanced watercolour artists who want a small kit to take with them when travelling.
If you’re in the market for a small watercolour palette, check out my blog post reviewing the Van Gogh Pocket Box watercolour set.
Buy your own
This specific palette may not be available any longer. Pick up a similar Winsor & Newton watercolour palette at your local art supply store or on Amazon:
Canada sketcher’s pocket box
