Kuretake GANSAI TAMBI 48 colours

I absolutely love the Kuretake Gansai Tambi paints – for me, they almost sit between watercolour and gouache, which makes them really versatile. The opacity and smoothness are something else, and the colours have such a rich, vibrant finish. The glittery metallics in this set are gorgeous and add a special touch to any piece. I’ve collected all the palettes in the range because each one feels unique and inspiring. They’re professional quality paints that are simply a joy to work with.

There's a huge amount of hype around these paints, rave reviews and accolades on You Tube. I'm afraid I couldn't resist. They arrived promptly, a nice suprise as they came direct from Japan. The box is quite large 32x20cm ( approx) and a solid card box. In the lid is a chart to fill the paint colours in. It's all in Japenese, except for the numbers. This chart corresponds to the layout/ order of the paints. They are in white trays approximately 4.5x 2.5 cms, and are named in Japenese but numbered. I would definately urge you to fill this chart in, and I've also done a larger one on water colour paper, as it's hard to really see what the colours are, as many are similar in appearance or too dark to see. For example; there appear to be a great many similar reds, but in fact there is a great selection of a wide spectrum. I went for the 36 colours, as I wanted the gold. This box has a super array of colours, they are really good pigment, and a creamy consistency , more like a gouache than traditional watercolours. There is a very slight sheen in the colours, a bit like the sheen you get from coloured inks. The white is very slightly shiny, and the pearlescent white very shiny indeed. There is no silver, but a pewter type colour and a coppery gold. I've really enjoyed playing with these paints, and am glad I went for the larger set. I think they are good value for money, as they are high quality pigmented paints, that can be used as water colours with Lots of water, or a very creamy opaque paint. So a versatile addition to any artist, and a good starter set to someone who is perhaps nervous of watercolours.

Bought these as I've seen them on loads of YouTube art tutorials so thought I have to try them. They didn't disappoint they are gorgeous to use and dry really quickly. Nice opacity too. Will be buying other sets in the future. Great value for money. What I like about these palettes is that you know that all the colours will work together so saves you having to think about colours and mixing them.

On the evening of the day these paints were due to be delivered I received an email from Amazon to say they had been delivered successfully and that the package was accepted by a male resident of the household. None of this was true. No package was delivered to our home. No male resident accepted receipt of the package. We searched for the package in case it had been left in a safe place. It had not. There are many to choose from in our front garden, used successfully by other delivery personal. The following morning, our postman, Tom, discovered the package in my neighbour's porch. Knowing they were away in France, he checked for correct name and address. Realising it was addressed to me and not the residents of our neighbour's house, he passed the package to me. I would like to know who the mysterious male resident is that the Amazon delivery person passed my parcel to. This delivery person must have an amazingly long arm to reach all the way to France. So much for truthful and accurate tracking! I have searched a long time to find these Kuretaki paints in a set of 48, at a price I could just afford. Seeing them on Amazon at £50 and a few pence, with free delivery on prime, I jumped at a chance to buy them and deleted the equivalent set priced at £65 and then some for postage on my eBay site. Amazon represented great value. The box is a cool shade of olive green with a chop or cartouche of gold Japanese writing down the centre. Inside the paints are fixed in place by a neat see through plastic cover, below which is a glorious site of the most amazing range of watercolour/ gouache paints in kingsized pans. The box has the names of the colours charted out on the inside of the lid, on the base of the box and on a smaller free sheet of paper, both in Japanese characters and in English. Each pan has the Japanese colour symbols on it's base. This could be a great way to learn a little Japanese. This is a beautifully presented set of paints. I have already bought a few examples as single pans and have been impressed by the ease of wetting and release of paint from the pan. The large size allows the use of larger brushes when doing larger washes. Colour intensity is high, as is luminosity and coverage. They can be used as watercolour or gouache depending on the amount of water used with them. They are a joy to use. Really looking forward to preparing the colour swatches that have been included in the box for your convenience. I can't wait to get started.

I was'nt sure what to expect with these paints and was pleasantly suprised. They seem to be a cross between gouache and watercolour I've found them great for abstract painting and have created some lovely visual textures by letting colours blend into each other and splashing water on the wet paint, although colour run is not for everyone. The paint pans are quite large and the paint itself is very thick and creamy. The set I bought has more of the pastel shades and am looking foreward to buying more of the sets in the future as they are great quality paints.

I had previously bought the 36 colour set a few years ago, and I was so happy with it that I went on to buy a 48 colour set recently. I love the vibrancy of the colours. Excellent quality and quantity of colours provided for the price. My only complaint is that the metallic colours don't look very metallic. They don't shine as much as I would like them too.

Updated to add: I got the bigger set too. I just couldn’t resist. I am very happy with them. I’ve had these since last September and only just got around to giving them a good go. I got totally taken over by W&N and Daniel Smith and also my gorgeous Rosa watercolours. I felt a bit bad about it and they were so neglected. So out they came! I am having a lovely time playing around with them. I prefer them very watered down as I like to use lots of layers. They do this very nicely and you can achieve mixed colours through doing this. I don’t think they will replace my traditional watercolours as they do behave differently. You can drop them into a wet area and they do move, but they are different. I am sorely tempted to buy another set. Obviously I DO NOT need them at all …..

Lovely colours