As I’d mentioned in a previous post, I was nearly out of my set of Art Whale tube watercolor paints. I ordered another set from Amazon, 40 bucks, 24 colors, 15 ml tubes. These paints are a wonderful bargain and are my favorite inexpensive watercolors.
This second set arrived and I immediately put them into a large palette purchased specifically for them. There was binder separation in nearly every tube. I contacted the company to let them know, as beginners might not know what to do about separation should their set do the same.
Art Whale/Amazon refunded my purchase price and I received a lovely note from the Art Whale company. I replied, assuring the Art Whale correspondent there was no need to refund my money, as I had remixed the paints and most were fine. The few which didn’t respond well to remixing, I’ve corrected by using various binders I have on hand. In short, the paints are absolutely fine. The separation was likely caused by sitting for a lengthy period of time in a warehouse or temperature fluctuation during transport. Neither of which has anything to do with the quality of the product or is something the company is responsible for.
Surprisingly, I received another lovely response from Art Whale’s CMO, Mariia. In it she thanked me for my continued customer support and she asked my advice on improving their product, possible additions of products to their sets, etc. This, my friends, shows a genuine interest and concern for the customers needs and preferences. I’m very impressed Mariia took the time to ask me questions and seek my opinion.
After some thought, I wrote a fairly lengthy response. I was trying to cover the needs of an artist, a teacher and a beginner watercolorist. I doubt I’ll receive a response to my comments and suggestions, but I tried to give carefully thought out advice which would work for those three categories of customer.
Having already given a glowing review of the Art Whale 24 set of watercolors, I wanted to give my readers this additional insight into the level of customer service provided, the focus on customer satisfaction, the request for feedback and suggestions for improvement.
I’ve been very clear, my favorite “student grade” paint is VanGogh. I, however, don’t really consider VanGogh student grade. It’s much closer to professional grade, so let’s call it semi-pro watercolors. Of all the reasonably priced (student grade) watercolor sets available today, Art Whale is the very best-in my opinion. I cannot recommend them highly enough. This is a perfect set for both intermediate and beginner watercolorists, watercolor teachers and professionals who prefer using less expensive paints for art journals, sketchbooks, practice paintings, Plein Air, travel kits and design work.
If you’re in need of an outstanding set of watercolor paints, please consider the Art Whale set for use in your artistic endeavors. (This is my own opinion. I do not receive free products for review or am in any way associated with the companies of the products I review. Everything I review has been purchased by me.)
Purple Whimsie 