A. Gallo Handmade Watercolor Review

Today we are taking a closer look at A. Gallo handmade, honey-based watercolors. I will still need more time to fully explore this brand, but I hope my initial experiences provide helpful information!

10% Off Coupon: LIQUIDCOLOR10 (not an affiliate code)

A. Gallo kindly let me put together a custom palette for this video so that I could try them out and share them with all of you, but this video is not sponsored, nor am I an affiliate with them.

* Supplies *
Tintoretto 1327 Size 6
White Gouache

Favorite Paper: Arches Cold Pressed Watercolor paper

Favorite Sketchbook: Etchr Perfect Sketchbook

Favorite Brush: Silver Black Velvet Size 8 Round

I have created watercolor palettes in collaboration with Da Vinci Paint Co. Your purchase of these palettes and other purchases made with the affiliate links below helps to support two small businesses and this channel:

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Jackson's Art links are also affiliate links in which a small percentage of the sale supports this channel without costing you more. Thank you for your support!

* Timestamps *
0:00 Introduction
3:49 Handmade Watercolor Comparison
10:29 Color Mixing and Granulation
12:14 Painting Demonstration

* Support & Shop *

* Follow *

* Music *
Separation by ANBR
Memory and Forgetting by Spearfish

[DianeAntoneStudio]

I live in Europe and it’s wonderful that this talented artist and her creative husband have worked together to produce such a beautiful range of colors ideal for our landscapes and available to us in the Eurozone. I use my set of A. Gallo paints when I want to create a subtle, nuanced landscape or floral painting. Relatively expensive, but they are after all handmade and beautifully presented. Ten out of ten from me 😊

[pupawupagus]

Lindsay (the frugal crafter) had lots of wonderful things to say about you on her Sat Chat. i agree 🥰

[marmalade]

A. Gallo's "Harbor Blue" is one of my top favorites of all my watercolors.

[Lauraisabelgonzalezart]

What a lovely way to spend my Sunday morning while sipping my coffee and saying "ohhh" and when that brush dances across the page with those beautiful colors Denise... So glad you're back again....

[briwidmerart]

I have the A. Gallo Signature 2 palette and just bought Morellone from Jackson's. I find the Chromite Brown to be quite transparent and lift-y (which is why I wanted more convenience brown options) but the rest of the paints work great for me on etchr paper with lots of layers. YinMn Blue is so absurdly pricey on its own, but it's an absolute star for me, along with the Medici Red, which made me fall in love with warm reds. Her Quin Gold is also spectacular. This palette is my current favorite. It's just so unique and granulating (and smells delightful to boot).

I had been using Princeton Neptune and Trekell Onyx brushes with them, but just received a Tintoretto mop that I'm super excited about trying. My palette came with the mop brush instead and I loved it, but I don't want to wear out the more expensive travel version before I actually travel again.

[awatercolourist]

They just released a new set. I love the creativity and inspiration behind the paint choices.

[Mirrigold]

I adore mine, they're so easy to rewet and flow beautifully on Saunders Waterford CP or rough textured paper, as well as on Arches. I'm mainly a landscape or loose floral painter, so I find them absolutely perfect for working wet on wet in washes and then finer concentrated details on top.
As I'm in the UK, they're definitely worth the money to me for a handmade quality highly pigmented paint over some of the mass produced highly pigmented paints which can cost us more to get here in Europe. I also very much appreciate that they're going for a "traditional" colour range, influenced by the old masters, and not the overly bright pigmented colours that can be found in other ranges.
They are expensive yes, but they're expensive because every step of the process is done by hand and I very much appreciate all the care and consideration that goes into the production of these paints, from the products themselves through to the packaging and the finer details that come with them, including the hand painted paint wrappers, the Arches paper they use for swatches in the box, the marble paper which they're wrapped in etc.

[loveandlife]

Interesting. With the A. Gallo paints that I own I have not noticed any lifting. I only know that they are in a different category than big brand paints ~ because they are handmade. They are easily rewettable and are soft beautiful colors. You don’t get the huge dark pigment loads like other paint. You get soft beautiful colors that produce stunning paintings. I watched closely as you said they lifted the paint ~ I watched you paint and could see absolutely no lifting as your brush layered more color. Could you please do a demonstration using different papers to show us how it lifts from color to color? I’d like to know what you’re talking about. I haven’t had any problems with lifting. The only thing I have noticed is that when layering I need to use sometimes more than two layers because the paint is so beautifully soft.
I love it and will be ordering more. They are a very beautiful line of paint that we are blessed with.

[CBWebb]

I appreciate this review-- I have a set of these from a while back before they started getting more popular, and after seeing so many extremely glowing reviews, assumed my reaction to the set was just because their formulas hadn't been refined yet. They were beautiful paints, but they lifted far too much for me regardless of paper used (a personal preference, not a negative), and I also had quite a few paints where the pigments did not seem fully bound in their binder, or had heavy flocculation (not granulation) that indicated they needed more mulling time, as well as a good number that were very difficult to rewet, though the ones that *did* rewet well were absolutely dreamy. I still think they're very precious and keep my set in my collection, and I love the dedication to color stories around historical pigments, but at the same time it's nice to finally see a review that hits on a few of the qualities that I noticed with mine and wished I had known before purchasing.

[petiteflower]

The pink and light blue granulating mix is really lovely, the way the colors separate :)

[LostTimeLady]

Insightful review as always.
I recently treated myself to the 24 colour Naturale set because, frankly, I've never been more inspired by a pallette than when I saw that one. It was pricy (for me), and I am still in the "precious-precious" phase with them but I need to take the time to enjoy something very special. That stunning velvety purple-red PR101 Morellone, the green earth and copper blue are just amazing. And I was also excited by the inclusion of the "novelty" pigments of genuine rose madder and indigo.

[ganderian]

It's fascinating to see how different artists respond differently to different paints - I love a watercolor with a mind of its own (but then I started with QoR). On the other hand, I would have had no idea that you were struggling with the paint's properties - the cassowary came out beautiful! Thanks as always for the thoughtful review.

[AllanJayQuesada]

I bought my 1st set in 2018 directly at the website. The only shipping option was through the expensive DHL. But it was quick. Now, I'm happy to see AGallo is already available at Jacksons. Morelone is also my favorite! I told about this to Alina on my review. On my 2nd purchase, she gave another morelone pan as a gift. 🎨

[tlembro]

Have quite a few of these paints…..they are first class that is for sure! Brilliant colors and handle extremely well!

[Makachopping]

Absolutely stunning as usual. I'm always so fascinated by your paint choices. They're ones I would never choose for myself but your eye for interesting palettes is incredible.

These paints are so pretty, but the number of pigments in them is usually too many for what I like. I understand they're doing it to not use the heavy metal paints but not what I'd like personally. Someday I might grab the dot cards and mess around and see if there are any I really like. Thanks so much for your honest review. Love to see whenever you post! Hope you're well.

[SusanCat]

I have ruby red and morellone. I love them! I paint landscapes, florals and desserts - and not many layers.

[awatercolourist]

Their shop just went live this very moment. Excellent timing, Denise!

[madelinegrudens]

I just purchased a basic kit today and I had two extra colors in my cart and one sold out just before I could checkout! They really do sellout within hours. Sign up if you want to be notified, know what you want ahead of time and set an alarm the day before! I'm looking forward to testing them out. Thanks for sharing and your painting is absolutely stunning 😍

[nanschifris]

You can also buy them from Soho Art Materials in NYC, USA. Harbor Blue, Arancione, Morellone and Ruby are some of my favorite colors.

[catherinebrown]

I LOVE A. Gallo. I use this brand and Roman Szmal. The Natural colors are my favorite. If I had to pick one color I gravitate toward it would be Copper Blue. Beautiful for Seascapes.