Any artist will confirm: to create a real masterpiece, it is extremely important not only to have talent, but also to be able to select the right tools and consumables. In this case, it is necessary to take into account a variety of nuances. Good paints are already half the battle, because the brightness of colors and shades, color accuracy and the play of light and shadow depend on them. If the artist is aiming at the latter, it is better to choose watercolors, but they are not always of sufficient quality.
Professionals in Russia are often forced to use imported products, however, domestic manufacturers also offer good options - a set of watercolors "White Nights" can be a source of pride.
Who releases?
Watercolors for beginners and experienced artists under this brand belong to the products of the Nevskaya Palitra art paints plant. This plant, located in St. Petersburg, dates back to the distant 1900. However, in its current form (with a focus on artists), the company was founded only in 1934.
Success came quickly to the products of this plant. It turned out that in a large country deprived of access to the world's best examples of art goods, no one else produces paints of the same quality. In this regard, for several generations of people close to art, "Nevskaya Palitra" has been perceived as professional watercolors. However, not everything is so simple: some series of this manufacturer are designed for students and young artists.
At the same time, the statement that there are no higher quality domestic paints still remains true - such materials are highly appreciated by both beginners and professionals.
About the series: features and benefits
Since Nevskaya Palitra is oriented not only towards professionals, each of its series has its own characteristics. If we talk about watercolors (this manufacturer also produces other paints), then professionals should definitely pay attention to White Nights. The company itself recommends just such a product for creating timeless pieces of art.
The composition of paints is selected in such a way as to fully convey the idea of the artist - many prefer such materials for this reason... The manufacturer uses exclusively finely dispersed pigments, which allows achieving significant color saturation even when the paint is diluted with a large amount of water. The binder is natural gum arabic, which makes paints more expensive, but better applied.
The White Nights recipe doesn't involve any fillers - there is nothing superfluous, only pigments and a binder... The list of advantages of the composition will not be complete if you do not remember the high lightfastness characteristic of most colors. It should be noted that the manufacturer labels all tubes and cuvettes so that the consumer knows immediately how good the result will be when using this particular shade.
Lightfastness is indicated by the number of stars on a tube or cuvette, where three stars are high lightfastness, two are medium, and one is low.
The variety of available shades is large enough - there are 66 colors to choose from for professional artists. At the same time, the plant is equipped with a workshop for the production of its own pigments.
The manufacturer based 46 shades from the entire palette on one pigment at once, and only 20 are produced by mixing two or more dyes.
Range
"White Nights" is divided into several smaller brands, among which, for example, "Leningrad" and "St. Petersburg". However, such marking is no longer concerned with the paints themselves, but with sets made up of 12, 16, 24 or 36 colors. You can also purchase a gift set (up to 48 colors), which additionally includes brushes. A feature of this product is the packaging made from natural wood. Each cuvette in the set is 2.5 ml.
Some boxes are larger than necessary for the corresponding number of shades. This is very practical, since the plant also produces individual cuvettes of not the most popular shades. This configuration allows you to purchase a certain standard set of shades, which can be further supplemented by the artist at his discretion - without compromising the convenience of transportation.
However, the review of the bonuses provided by White Nights does not end there either. Often, sets are also completed with a palette, and reviews indicate that such a solution in practice shows itself even better than many inexpensive palettes purchased separately.
The manufacturer also puts in the packaging a template for painting, divided into sectors, allowing the master to immediately see how this or that shade will look when applied to the paper. Experienced artists claim that Before starting work with a new, unfamiliar set of paint, such a coloring is mandatory for familiarization with the properties of the composition. Given the specifics of the watercolor technique, it is recommended that when painting a template, not only apply strokes, but also blur them from one side.
The more colors in the set, the more logical it would be to sign the name of each shade on the template.
The main part of the White Nights watercolors is produced in cuvettes, but the manufacturer also produces such paints in 10 ml tubes. Finding a set made up of tubes is almost impossible, but you can assemble it yourself.
The plant "Nevskaya Palitra" offers fans of watercolor techniques one more product, which will greatly help in creating truly bright and unique masterpieces. We are talking about the so-called medium, an aqueous solution of gum arabic, designed specifically for diluting the watercolors of this series. Since it contains the original binder used in the watercolor itself, this medium can be used to increase the brightness of the shades and the medium spreadability of the watercolor.
Can also speed up drying, which is very important for working in the "alla prima" technique, when a picture is painted in one session. This substance is also often used to give dried paintings a more noticeable shine.
How to choose?
It may seem that different sets differ from each other only in the number of colors - there is only one series. However, the manufacturer knowingly made several sets of the same number of shades, there is still a difference between them. Many consumers who consciously choose White Nights may consider themselves professionals. Most often, masters clearly understand why this particular series, and not any other - experienced artists always notice important nuances.
If we talk about the number of colors, then the choice here is not so obvious. It may seem that it is enough to choose a large set of 36 or even 48 colors - and you're done. However, it is best to consider the following: if earlier there was no experience in using watercolors of this series, it is quite possible that you should not immediately purchase such a large package. The fact is that in terms of cost it will be quite expensive, and many of the shades present in the set are simply not useful (or they can be prepared by hand by mixing the primary colors).
If you are choosing between kits that contain a palette and a template, and those kits that do not, then the choice is best made in favor of the complete set. Although the "additions" to the sets of paints cause only a sarcastic grin in the majority of artists, the orientation of the series to professional needs suggests that such a palette is very useful for artists.
Even if you already have your own palette, you should not definitely refuse to buy the second in the set, unless the first, the main one is a high-quality specimen made of natural wood.
The template can be made independently, from an ordinary piece of paper or cardboard, but as a bonus, this option is very attractive. It is especially needed in cases where there are a lot of colors in the set (or if the artist additionally purchased shades that were not originally included in the set).
Such a template is also good in that it allows you not to confuse shades if there are a lot of them.
As for the brushes included in some sets, then it should be noted that they only come across in gift sets. Many consider such bonuses unnecessary, believing that any artist already has everything they need, and in any case, they only put something very standard in the set. This is true, but an additional bonus will come in handy for any master. Do not forget that even outstanding artists paint not only with some special brushes, but also with quite ordinary ones, just of good quality.
The plant "Nevskaya Palitra" has not in vain acquired the fame of one of the best in the post-Soviet space. Far from the worst brushes are put in their sets here. The argument that a professional already has everything is not entirely appropriate. A real artist, constantly doing what he loves, probably regularly encounters the problem of abrasion of the bristle of brushes. The additional tool is unlikely to be a disappointment for him.
Reviews
The manufacturer himself on the official website claims that his paints are known far beyond the post-Soviet space, hinting at the highest quality of their products. It is not easy to check this fact, but there is really nothing comparable among Russian manufacturers, and this statement is confirmed by almost all comments from artists who use such materials.
For many beginners, the first vivid impression of White Nights is the unusual packaging, when each cuvette from the set is wrapped in individual foil and paper wrapper. This already testifies to the manufacturer's concern for consumers.... It should be as convenient to draw as from a regular cuvette, but the storage conditions should be like in an airtight jar... Consumers also note the highest brightness of the pigments used, although they indicate that the material is collected from cuvettes rather sparingly. To obtain the maximum depth of tone of the paint, you must first sprinkle a little water, but this procedure does not bother anyone, since it takes a minimum amount of time.
Nevskaya Palitra is often praised for a wide variety of watercolor textures. The sets contain both sufficiently saturated and transparent shades, which allows using the glazing technique - applying a translucent upper layer of paints on a darker lower layer.
Another example of variability is pronounced graininess and mottling. In grainy paints, the pigment is large enough to be seen with the naked eye. This can be used for your own purposes - for example, to simulate natural textures.
Stained inks are characterized by their ability to bite into the surface of the paper, so they are great for washing out (lightening) the picture.
In the next video, you will find an overview of the White Nights watercolor set from the Nevskaya Palitra artistic paints plant.
