John Singer Sargent Watercolors and Yarka Watercolors Review

 John Singer Sargent, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Recently I went to see the John Singer Sargent Watercolors show at the MFA in Boston.  I can honestly say this was one of my favorite shows that I have seen.  Being an oil painter myself, I favor oil paintings.  This show changed that for me.  What I discovered were lush, energy filled watercolors that had an intoxicating range of colors.  I was in love! These watercolors had the boldness and confidence of oil paint.  They were dynamic and really captured the expressive energy and fleeting light of the location. 

Yarka St Petersburg Watercolors Sequal Set

Inspired by the sketchbook quality of the Sargent paintings, I decided I wanted to have more opportunities to paint daily.  What I needed was a great set of portable watercolor paints.  I love painting in my studio, but to be honest, I can't always get there and painting in oils isn't always practical(set up/clean up requires a good chunk of time).  I did some research and finally decided on Yarka St Petersburg Watercolors.  There were three sets to choose from (Additional Set, Original Set, Sequel Set)and after some consideration, settled on the Sequel Set.  I decided it was really worth doing a color chart of my own versus using the pre-printed one that came with the paints. These watercolors are amazingly potent!!  I realized quickly that I will have to use caution as my first attempts had me trying to dilute the paints because I took too much on my first pass with my brush. I am definitely very happy with this set, though am wishing I had ultramarine blue and yellow ochre.  I definitely think another set of colors will be on my immediate wish list! Oil paints will continue to be my focus, but these watercolors will make it easier for me to be creative at any time and in any place which will serve as great practice when I'm not in my studio.

Trying out my new Yarka St Petersburg watercolor paints