Hi, friends! I bought The Witching Hour box from Let’s Make Art and it comes with 6 tubes of Holbein gouache. These contain 5ml each and retail for US$21.95 on letsmakeart.com as a set. I never did a full painting with gouache at all, so I bought the box hoping to test it out. Please read on if you want a review of Holbein gouache, and I compared it with a budget brand called Mont Marte so you can see the difference.
Swatches
The 6 shades are yellow ochre, brilliant orange, violet, turquoise blue, ivory black and permanent white. Like all Holbein paints, these are made in Japan.
Holbein Gouache Performance
Gouache has a matte and opaque finish and the Holbein gouache is exactly that.
I did the first two projects with Holbein gouache, not quite used to painting with the medium yet. While it is like opaque watercolour, layering is completely different from using watercolour!
The Holbein gouache felt very creamy coming out of the tube, and is opaque and vibrant. However, it can be thinned out with water and used like watercolour as well.
For the third painting, “Dancing Ghosts”, I decided to do one with Holbein gouache, and one with Mont Marte gouache to see whether the two are substantially different. For the one with Holbein (above), I thinned the paint out a bit more.
After, I painted the same project with Mont Marte gouache. I did not feel there is a substantial difference in feel of the paints or the finish.
Believe it or not, the price I paid for the Mont Marte gouache set of 12 (12ml per tube) is still less than the price of one Holbein 5ml tube!
Pretty crazy, right? 😛
To be fair, Holbein in Japan is not expensive like it is here. We are paying a lot more than what you would pay in Japan. Nonetheless, as a beginner in gouache, I would not spend that much on each tube.
Overall Holbein Gouache Review
Holbein gouache feels creamy, looks opaque and vibrant with a matte finish. I enjoyed painting with it, as well as its finish.
By the way, compared to watercolour, I find that gouache photographs very well. However, if you are a beginner in gouache, I do suggest buying a cheaper set to see if you like the medium first before splurging on Holbein. All in all, Holbein gouache is great quality and I would recommend it if you have it in your budget to purchase it.
