05 October 2021

A Quick Look At The Craft Wave Aqua Fan

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This is a great design for a portable watercolor set.

Today I decided I was worthy of an art supply treat, and I've seen this on offer for quite a while. Figured it was time to take one home. This is the Aqua Fan, by Craft Wave, and it looks like this:


The whole thing, collapsed, measures just eight inches by two, and is a little less than two inches thick; this does not count the clip on the side that holds the accompanying water-brush. This is a little deck built to travel, and looks as though it would be good for quick watercolor sketches at the drop of a hat. This would be a good kit for urban sketchers, for example.

The colors, which are identified by number, are highly-compacted cakes in shallow plastic 'pans', arranged in leaves: The top one has 3 colors, 4 in the second, 5 in the third, 6 in the fourth, 7 in the fifth, 8 in the sixth, and 9 in the seventh, for a total of 42 colors in all. A small rectangular mixing area is in the top of the case. 

The price of this kit was about $40. There was also an 18-color assortment for about half as much. As far as quality, I've not wetted the colors yet so I do not know, but they seem quite vibrant in the dry state and they seem pretty finished to the touch. I expect workable paints, perhaps about the quality of Cotman but just a little less than that, but much higher than, say, a set of Prang school-kid colors. Perfectly suited to painting on-the-go. 

But, really, it's the cool design that packs a whole lot of paint into a tiny little case that sold me. Most impressive

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