The Cotman Sketchers' Pocket Box

The Winsor & Newton Cotman Sketchers' Pocket Box is their entry-level offering in an extensive range of watercolour half-pan sets. Although it has some faults, it is surprisingly good value for money and is an excellent starting point for someone who wishes to explore watercolour painting on a budget.

As supplied, the set comes in a small cardboard box with an enclosed leaflet listing the complete range of Cotman watercolour paints.  The pocket box itself is well-made in a hard plastic that has a quality feel to it. Inside, there are 12 half-pans of watercolour paint, and a smallish (size 4?) travelling brush which fits in the narrow compartment when the lid is closed. The inside of the lid can be used as a mixing palette. The half-pans simply rely on friction and gravity to retain them in their compartments -- so take care not to tilt the box too much!

The selection of paints appears to have been made with some thought: all my examples contained Lemon Yellow, Cadmium Yellow Hue, Cadmium Red Pale Hue, Alizarin Crimson Hue, Ultramarine, Intense Blue, Viridian Hue, Sap Green, Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber and Chinese White. This looks to be an example of a Split Primary Palette, with an additional pair of greens and three common earth colours.  (The only bizarre choice is the Chinese White!) Moreover, of the 12 paints, seven of them are single-pigment colours, three are two-pigment, and one (Sap Green) is three-pigment.

Any of the half-pans can easily be substituted with W & N Artists'/Professional half-pans, as well as half-pans from the Daler-Rowney ranges. Although a little larger, empty half-pans from Ken Bromley will also fit if you prefer to fill your pans from tube colours. (At least one person has removed the half-pans altogether and filled the compartments directly with tube colours.)

Although designed as a compact paintbox for quick watercolour sketches in the field, the Sketchers' Pocket Box is equally useful for larger paintings.  It will lie flat on a table, and a size 10 round brush is a good fit for the half-pans. It would be sensible to use an external mixing palette though, as the interior of the lid only has three modest-sized compartments. Several people have recommended that the Chinese White half-pan be replaced by Payne's Gray to provide a more useful paint. A small blob of Blu Tac or silcone sealer will help fix the half-pans in the compartments and prevent their damage or loss in case of an accident.

In summary, good points are the price, selection of paints, compactness and build-quality. Bad points are the lack of a fixing for the half-pans, and the tiny brush. I wish I had one of these years ago!