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Look at these huge pans! A review of Tonic Watercolor

Oct 15, 2024
2 min read

Hi friends! If you like lots of high-quality watercolor in novel packaging, I have the product for you! These large ceramic pans of Tonic watercolor from Federal Watercolor, available from St. Louis Art Supply, are made in the USA and 7x larger than a standard half pan. Learn more in today’s in-depth review:

Today we are looking at the 6-color Core Mixing set of Tonic Watercolors by Federal Color available at St. Louis Art Supply: *use the coupon code THEFRUGALCRAFTER to get $5 off your order, this is a one-time use coupon per customer. They also offer a dot card of the 6 colors in the mixing set for $6. *Affiliate links used, Products were given to me for review.

Pros:

  • Well-thought-out split primary mixing set

  • Generous ceramic pans filled with paint (equivalent to 7 half pans)

  • All single pigment colors

  • All lightfast colors

  • High transparency

  • Affordably priced compared to other professional watercolors

  • Professional quality Reusable ceramic pans

  • Set includes one empty pan

  • Made in the USA

Cons:

  • There is no case or palette made for these paints as of yet (But St Louis Art Supply is planning to release one)

  • There are only 10 colors available at the moment (the 6 colors in the set plus a pg7 green, PBk7 black, PB 27 blue, and PW6 white)

But… This is a very new product, only a month old when I received them and they are looking to offer 35 colors by the end of next year, empty pans, and a storage case. The closest pans I was able to find were these mini ramekins. I also found tiny ceramic bowls meant for feeding pet spiders. I hope they offer the empty pans soon because I really love the format of the large pans!

The bottom line on the Tonic Mixing Set is that you get a lot of paint for $95 ($90 if you use the coupon code THEFRUGALCRAFTER to get $5 off your order) in reusable ceramic pans. The colors are basic, useful colors that almost any artist would use up. the novelty of the format makes it a beautiful and luxurious gift for any watercolor painter. I think they are a great buy and I can’t wait to see what colors they come out with next!

Happy crafting!

 
 
 

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