I just completed a thorough test drive with QoR Modern Watercolors (pronounced “core”), so I thought it would be a good time for a detailed review.
I really debated whether or not to write a full review of these paints. There are already some great QoR reviews out there, but I’ve been asked several times about my opinion of this brand. I also felt that there were additional things that I could share about QoR watercolors that might help others as they explore this paint.
Since there’s already a wealth of information on QoR, I decided to not concentrate on publishing a mixing chart or my opinion of each of the various colors that I tested, but instead to focus on QoR’s performance when painting with it in everyday situations.
Did I still test QoR in swatches and on various papers and in mixes? You can bet your palette I did! If you’ve followed me for a while, you know I’m nothing if not thorough.
Pictured above is a small sample of the numerous QoR watercolor tests that I completed. If I discovered anything that affects the performance or reliability of these paints, I’ll certainly mention it in my review.
Note: Every sketch in this post was painted solely with QoR watercolors.
About QoR Watercolors
QoR Modern Watercolor is the official name, and QoR currently offers 83 colors that include three iridescents, two whites, two blacks, and three grays. If my count is correct, 59 of the colors are single pigment.
QoR is produced by Golden Artist Colors, a paint company started back in 1980. According to Golden’s website, the company was begun by 67-year-old Sam Golden in a 900 square foot cow barn in the countryside of New Berlin, NY. So yeah, Golden paints were literally born in a barn. Being a country girl myself, I totally love that!
Though Sam passed away in 1997 and the old barn has been replaced with a much larger facility, there is still a lot of good, hometown spunk in this company. Golden is majority owned by its employees, and their products are still created on the grounds of the original site in New Berlin.
From what I understand, Golden is known for its acrylic paints, but they make a number of products including oils, mediums, and more. After much research, Golden released QoR watercolors back in 2014, so compared to most watercolors, QoR is the new kid on the block. Only time will tell if QoR watercolors will hold their place among the watercolor paint classics.
So without further ado, below is my complete review of QoR watercolors. Let’s begin with the good stuff!
What I Like About QoR Watercolors
QoR’s Customer Support
I rarely have a manufacturer reach out to me. Instead, my communication normally goes something like this…
“Um hello, I’m this random art blogger and mediocre artist that you’ve never heard of but I really like your stuff. I’d like to share more of it with my readers but I’m broke* so can you find any goodness and mercy in your heart to send out some sample products?”
“Sure thing! We’ll be happy to send you one 5ml tube of our paint and we hope you’ll like it and write a full review and spread the word on social media and let us know what you think in a 2000 word essay…”
Okay, that bit above may be slightly exaggerated. Often I just hear crickets chirping, though sometimes a company can be an absolute dream to work with—like QoR.
An employee at Golden follows me on social media and reached out to me to offer 6 full size tubes to sample. And then she promptly shipped them with a handwritten note.
Cheers for Golden!
Because of their kindness, Golden is a company I could get behind. Really. When I noticed some interesting things happening with their watercolors (more on this below) and emailed them to ask a few questions, I received an immediate response requesting detailed information. I got the distinct impression that they care a lot about my personal experience with their product.
Cheers for Golden!
QoR’s One-Coat Performance
In masstone (above swatches), QoR is seriously bold watercolor. When I was making this video, I mistakenly described QoR’s Quin Violet as “violent.” Maybe I should have stuck with that description. Many of QoR’s colors have eye-splitting, headache-inducing vibrancy.
Though I like bold watercolors, some of QoR’s colors can be a bit much. However, QoR’s powerful punch can be fun in certain cases.
I believe QoR would work well for abstract painters and folks who like vivid, one stroke coverage, maybe because I got the best results with QoR when I didn’t meddle with or highly dilute these paints. More on this below.
The Overall Quality
I haven’t tested QoR paints’ lightfastness or longevity, but I trust that Golden has and this information is readily available on their website. Golden put a lot of research and care into developing QoR, and they are very transparent about their ratings and information.
I really enjoyed using several of QoR's colors, and you’ll be seeing more of QoR in upcoming color/brand comparisons here at the blog. Of the colors that I tested (more than a dozen), I found only one that I wouldn’t recommend. (See “cloudiness” below.)
I think most of QoR’s colors are fine watercolor paints, and if they suit your painting style, I would encourage you to use them.
What I Don’t Like About QoR Watercolors
QoR’s Cloudiness
Some of QoR's colors displayed cloudiness, but this was an odd phenomenon that I never could consistently reproduce except with one color—Permanent Scarlet (PR168). Sediment rose to the surface of this color in nearly every sample on every paper. This made me hesitant to use Permanent Scarlet in a painting. So I didn't.
Other colors often displayed cloudiness but the cloudiness wasn't a constant companion, so I painted with these colors. Possibly because I paint in thin layers, I didn't notice this cloudiness happening when I used QoR watercolors in paintings.
I reached out to QoR regarding this issue, and here's a portion of our email conversation...
Me: "I've been testing and using the QoR watercolors that you sent, and I'm not having great success with them. Though there are a few colors that I enjoy, overall the paints display a lot of fading and cloudiness when dry... my first guess was that this cloudiness is simply an overabundance of brighteners and additives that separates out during drying."
QoR: "QoR does not contain brighteners or fillers, although some pigments when used in concentration can appear chalky (such as PV15, not one of the paints you tested). The sizing on a paper may impact how vibrant color appears when dry..."
I must state again that I really appreciate QoR's care and responsiveness. They asked many questions about my experiences and said they'll attempt to duplicate my results in their labs. Kudos to QoR for caring!
However, I need to mention something regarding QoR's response. "Filler" is often used as a derogatory term because there are some really poor quality fillers used in paints, so I should have been more clear in my email. But there's a very important truth that every painter (and paint manufacturer) should know:
Every paint contains fillers.
Paint can't be comprised of pure pigment. It wouldn't... paint. And talk about chalky! (Ha! Get it? Okay, enough with the bad jokes.) "Filler" is nothing more than a broad term that can refer to any or all of the additives in a paint besides pigment, e.g. water, plasticizers, dispersants, preservatives, etc. And these fillers, or to be politically correct let's say ingredients, in a high quality brand are usually high quality ingredients.
What I was trying to ask QoR really was, "Is there a filler/ingredient/additive that could be causing this?" Because something is separating and rising to the surface of these paints. It's obvious. So I did my own test...
Low and behold, will you look at that! And check out that Permanent Scarlet. Something is definitely in some of these paints. If you're interested, you can learn more about common watercolor ingredients and how to perform this test yourself over at Handprint.
Again, all watercolor paints contain ingredients, and many have brighteners added to them. This doesn't make them bad paints. But if the ingredients struggle to remain cohesive and the separation messes up your paintings, well then, feel free to get mad about it.
QoR’s Drying Shift
At first, I thought QoR was fading dramatically when drying, but after more experience with them, I realized QoR’s colors weren’t fading so much as they were… flattening? I don’t know a better or more official word to describe it, but this comes to mind when I look at these paints: Flat.
One of the things I love about watercolors is their luminosity. I tend to paint in layers, and I prefer paints and pigments with a transparent, multifaceted appearance.
Often I noticed that a QoR color looked fine when wet, but after drying, the colors display no depth of character. Instead, QoR begins to look rather dull, opaque, and chalky. Washes “flatten” and lose their gentle transitions, and colors can appear streaky.
You can see examples of this in the comparisons above. These are the same pigments (Phthalo Blue & Ultramarine, and yes, QoR ultra is really that color) of different brands painted on the same paper with the same brush using the same technique at the same time of day, etc. The QoR washes looked just fine until they dried.
The more water I added, the greater the drying shift. I had the best results with QoR when I diluted the paints just enough for application, but the problem is that I usually don’t paint that way, so I constantly struggled with these paints to gain the look that I was trying to achieve.
(If you're accustomed to my regular painting style, you'll notice that nearly every artwork example in this post appears rather dull and faded. I promise that it's not my fault! In the flower painting, I finally broke from norm and painted very quickly with little water. Voila! It worked!!!)
I really didn’t understand why I was observing this drying shift, just that I was, until I ran across a comment posted by Harold Roth back in 2014 on Wet Canvas. I reached out to Harold, and he gave me permission to share his words here.
“I think if [QoR watercolors] are indeed 5x stronger, it is because the pigment particles are milled very fine… because (IMO) the pigments are so finely milled, they lack that character that is so (also IMO) lovable about watercolor—that texture. And I even don't use granulated colors much; I prefer transparents… But even looking at the samples, I see the homogeneity of the particles which results in a patch of color that does not have much depth.”
Big thanks to Harold for putting into a words a possible reason for what I was observing!
QoR’s Price
Even if QoR paints performed exceptionally well for me, their prices would most likely be a deal breaker. In my watercolor cost comparison chart (see the download at this post), QoR priced out the most expensive brand nearly every single time.
I hope that Golden is able to address their pricing in the future, but that may not be possible. It could be their unique binder or some other attribute or ingredient that is jacking the prices up beyond Golden’s control.
In the meantime, unfortunately for Golden, there are plenty of exceptional brands to choose from that cost less, and some are much less.
Video Demo of QoR Watercolors
Sometimes it really helps to see various paints in action, so below is a short video demonstration using QoR watercolors. You are welcome to watch as I paint the landscape for the lead photo of this post. I hope this helps you choose the best paints for you!
Overall Review of QoR Watercolors
No matter what I tried, I couldn't make magic with QoR watercolors. But some artist can (have you seen John Salminen's review?!) so if you want to try a few QoR colors, go for it!
Some of the colors are quite fun, and they mix well with other paints. However, I’d be hesitant about filling a palette with QoR, mainly because of the price.
Overview of QoR:
- Artist grade quality
- A possibility for watercolorist who want bold, quick coverage
- One of the most expensive watercolors on the market
- Works well on a variety of papers
- When diluted, displays a large drying shift toward dullness
If you're interested in trying QoR watercolors, the best value seems to be introductory sets. Click here to see current U.S. prices on Amazon. [affiliate]
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Regardless of whether or not a company shares samples or offers a product discount, I’m committed to presenting my unbiased opinion—if I present one at all. I work only for myself and my readers.
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