Hi Conor and many thanks for such a considered response! I’ve done a great deal of umming and ahhing over this, and here’s where my thoughts are now! I agree that new paints won’t make me a better painter. What they might do, however, is make my paintings better! I realise this may sound like I’m splitting hairs, but I think there may be a subtle distinction here! Without wanting to create a spoiler for my next post – I have taken the plunge! I did consider just going for a single tube to compare (and had earmarked ultramarine as I use it a lot), but as I’d just sold a painting a little bit out of the blue, I thought I’d try a few of my staple colours as one of the things I’m keen to see how they mix. I’ll reveal which in my next post!

I have, on occasion tried to introduce a different colour (and I did dabble with brown madder) but I still tend to up gravitating back to my favourites. I think this is because even though I’ve been using the same palette of colours for some years now, I still feel like I’m just scratching the surface of what I can do with them! Whenever I try a new colour, I think it takes me back a step or two but I should probably be a little more adventurous! I think that we might be in similar situations with boxes of unused paints! I’m already in a dilemma about what to do with all of the Winsor and Newton paints I have, some of which are colours that 0I do use, but some are colours that I’ve very unlikely to dabble with! I feel the pressure on these new paints is now greater than ever!

One thing I can say for almost certain is that your paintings won’t improve with the acquisition of new paints, regardless of how well they are marketed. Is there something you feel your current choice of paints is not providing? I can’t comment on MH specifically, however, one thing a new brand could do is make the painting process somewhat more enjoyable. One thing about W&N I did not like was how hard some of their paints dry on the palette. This is also a problem with certain Daniel Smith colours like Viridian and Cobalt Violet. I found when painting from dried paints, using another brand has made a difference for me and has made the process more enjoyable.

From reading your blog for a while, it seems like you have a very definite set of colours that you like to stick to. I think it would be a good idea to try one tube of MH paint of your most commonly used colour and compare it with your W&N standard. I think French Ultramarine would be a good choice because it is in every palate and it is one of those colours that can vary between brands quite a bit. It is also the kind of paint that has a bit of life to it as it granulates and behaves in differently in each brand. If this proves to be preferable, when the W&N colour runs out, you can replace it with a MH colour.

If you are feeling restless, I think you might actually benefit more from adding some new colours to your palette, rather than the same colours in a different brand. For instance, instead of Burnt Sienna and Yellow Ochre, try some of the more vibrant Quinacridone colours like Quinacridone Burnt Scarlet or Orange and Quinacridone Gold. Quinacridone Burnt Scarlet is called Brown Madder in the W&N range. Unfortunately, W&N does not have a Quinacridone Burnt Orange. This may add more variety to your palette and 5ml tubes of each would not be very expensive.

On the other hand, adding new equipment, while exciting, can often slow the painting process down and make the whole activity of watercolour painting, which is already challenging enough, even more difficult.

Best of luck and I look forward to reading what you decide.

Aha, Barbara, I see we find ourselves in very similar situations! I’m half tempted to email MH to see if they might be able to characterise what sets their watercolours apart from Winsor and Newton! I think I’m going to wait a few more days while I mull it over but I think I might start off with a little order of my core colours. Who knows, if I like them… and with Christmas just around the corner, they’d make perfect presents (for me of course!) I’ll let you know how I get on!