The other day I went to Blaine’s Art supply in Anchorage with my daughter. She had gotten a first and second place ribbon for some of her photography at the Alaska State Fair and received 2 Blaine’s gift certificates for her winning entries. I can’t pass up an opportunity to go to the art store, so I willingly accepted her invitation to go.

I went in not necessarily wanting to buy anything, but wanting to look for a smaller travel paint set. I had seen several from different brands in the past, and was ready to buy one if I found one I liked.

Da Vinci had several different kinds. Theirs tend to be more specific, like a floral set, a landscape set, a portrait set, etc. Da Vinci is also one of the more expensive paint companies, both in the individual tubes as well as the sets. They were still beyond my price point right now, but one day I’ll try one.

There were a couple of other sets, but not in brands that I like, and the actual case wasn’t really what I was looking for either. Then I found the Niji set. It was the display one and last one they had, but everything was intact.

The case is metal, which is what I was looking for. The lid folds out and up and lays flat, containing 2 mixing areas. There’s an inner flap that folds down with 4 smaller mixing areas It came with 12 colors, most of which I use regularly (that’s the problem with some of the others, they have a lot of colors I don’t use). On the back side there is a metal ring to slide your finger through if you’re holding the case while painting. You can find the set online anywhere from $20-$30, I think I paid just over $30 because it was local and Alaska.

The box folded up is about 4 1/2 inches long, 2 1/2 inches wide, and 3/4 inch tall. Fully open it is about 4 1/2 inches by 8 inches by 3/4 inch tall. I was actually pleasantly surprised by the amount of mixing space in such a small area.

The colors included are as follows: Alizarin Crimson Hue (303), Burnt Sienna (684), Burnt Umber (687), Gamboge Hue (218), Indigo (422), Payne’s Gray (797), Permanent Rose (602), Phthalo Blue (450), Purple Lake (439), Sap Green (568), Ultramarine (443), and Viridian Hue (560).

I cannot find the light fastness rating, consequently I think it’s probably a student or starter grade paint. But for what I wanted it for – traveling and markets, it is just fine. I can always buy a higher quality paint when I need to refill if I find it to be a problem overall. The paintings I do traveling and at markets are usually practice pieces and stay in the journal they are painted in, so they rarely see the light of day anyway.

I have painted several pictures in small journals with these paints. They mix up well, they have good pigment to them, and the mixing areas clean up easily when I’m finished. Not knowing anything about the company, I do think they are a good paint for practice pieces and quick sketches. I think my only complaint with the set is that the rails that hold the paint pans doesn’t hold them super tight, so if the case gets jostled around sometimes they fall out. Not a big deal, but I might figure out a way to squeeze the top of the rails a little closer together.

When I bought this set, I didn’t know anything about the paint company, and honestly, at that point, didn’t care how good the paints were as the case is what I was really looking for. I have a plein air painting setup and the easel I use has some magnets around the edges on the bottom that will keep a metal paint case from easily falling or getting bumped off. The compact size doesn’t take up hardly any space. The case is perfect for what I wanted, and the paints are working pretty well as well.

Lastly, here’s a few of the pictures I have painted with this set: