24 Assorted Water Colors Travel Pocket Set- Quality Refillable Water Brush with Sponge - Easy to Blend Colors - Built in Palette - Perfect for Painting On The Go JQ-124

I am recently retired and decided I would try to paint! I do it for the fun of using a different part of my brain (Im a geek and art is alien to me!) I also got a 5”x5” watercolor paper travel book, and a small set of the same type of watercolor “pen” that comes in thus set. I was surprised how well made this watercolor set was made!1. It closes securely and travels easily2. Has a great variety of colors 22 colors plus a white and black block (total of 24 same sized paints)3. Includes a small sponge which is perfect to dampen the paper before painting; for removing color if I want a more pale color; or to streak or blend colors. It also fits inside the kit.4. The kit is made of sturdy plastic and has 2 removable blank palettes to blend colors, These palets snap into both the sides of the color tray (in sort of the same way as little tables snap on both sides of an outdoor grill LOL!). This gives me plentyvof room to blend colors before applying to my paper. Very handy!5. The kit also include a small ceramic square dish which I use to test the colors6. It includes 2 water “pens”. My first thought is these looked cheap and I would never use them. However, after one use, I was so surprised that I ordered more!! These pens easily are submerged in a glass of water, squeeze it while tip is underwater, and release. Bubbles come out as the pen releases air, then it fills up with the water from the glass. (I just use a tecycled McD cup filled with tap water). Then when I put the damp brush into a color pan, I can just squueze tge pen if I need more water These easily pick up pigment. Also they dont stain much. With 2-5 pens filled w water, I can easily paint 2 of my 5x5 papers without needing to stop and clean brushes. Simply wipe off the brush on a paper towel after Im done with that color, then squeeze the pen, and a bit of flushes the tip; wipe again; add water to pen with a quick squeeze/release in my McD cup and Im ready to use a diff color.Lastly, I downloaded the PicsArt free app on my phone. I take pics of my little paintings, then tweak the colors, add borders, abd voila, I have a group of pic painting to print or to send as e-cards. I have gotten compliments from friends and family, and Im having fun. I made a painting for earth day and sent it to my friends. You sure dont need a phone app to have fun with this kit. So play with colors, swirls, dots etc and enjoy the relaxing time with some good music.Summary: the kit is a great starter set, just add paper and imagination. Great for any age from 8 to 100 years young. And enjoyed by even a recent retired geek. (I got this kit myself and had no discount.) Thanks to all the people that took the time to write reviews! And I hope this review is useful to you!

I own many artist grade paints, but when I'm just noodling around, I prefer to use student or craft grade. Jerry Q is a very low-cost brand, and I've owned their smaller set. When my favorite craft grade watercolors went out of production, I tried a few other brands, then saw this set. I found that the paints in my smaller Jerry Q set moved on paper nicely, and while they're not as pigmented as artist or student grade paints, you can layer them or just move your brush on the paints to get more color easily enough.The set came with the wings for mixing (I removed them), a water brush (which I used for my swirls - btw, they're on cotton paper), the palette is nice and it comes with a tiny sponge and a small porcelain dish you could mix a color on or keep a little ink or water in. The water brush was nicer than expected, and nothing in this set has any odors of any kind. Just like with my smaller Jerry Q set, these move on paper nicely, as you can see from my swirls (please excuse my messy art table).One thing that is missing from this set is a color chart or a list of colors - they weren't included on the box or the sleeve that came around the box, but I was planning to make my own swatches anyway, so no big deal. Since these are craft grade paints, I don't expect them to be lightfast, but I'll put some swatches in the window and in a couple months, I'll report back.Overall I'm very satisfied with this watercolor set. The paints are as I expected, the waterbrush can make thin or thick lines easily with no shedding, and it's great for middle of the night doodling. Btw, Jerry Q makes 2 smaller sets, a 12 color and an 18 color set, for those on a serious budget. I bought the 12 color set in 2021 (according to Amazon), and I used it quite a bit for abstracts, swirls and that kind of thing. Will this replace your Daniel Smith, M. Graham or Sennelier watercolors? Of course not, but it costs less than a buck a pan, around 1/8th the cost of artist colors and less than student grade, too. And you know what? If you have realistic expectations, they're fun to paint with. And value, the accessories and the palette - and the fun I'm having painting with these paints are what I'm basing my 5 star rating on.