Selected by experienced artists, Jackson’s Curated Sets are made up of hand-picked, finest quality materials from brands they love. Beautifully boxed, and wrapped in eco-friendly paper, ready to give as a gift. Here, Laura Hope tests Jackson’s Studio Sketching Curated Set, and Owain Hunt tests Jackson’s Oil Painting Curated Set, and both artists share their thoughts on the quality of the materials, and the experience of using them in their practice.
Above image: A page from Laura Hope’s sketchbook
Laura Hope Tests Jackson’s Studio Sketching Curated Set
My first impressions of Jackson’s Curated Studio Sketching Set were great. The set arrived beautifully (and sustainably) packaged in a lovely black box with gorgeous black and white illustrated paper wrapping the products, and a card explaining about the products. The packaging made the set feel luxurious and the box is an added bonus as it could be used to store materials in the future.
The set contains:
- Jackson’s Round Soft Eraser
- Makers Cabinet Brass Hovel Pencil Plane
- Palomino Blackwing Soft Graphite Pencil Single
- Palomino Blackwing Pearl Balanced Graphite Pencil Single
- Rhodia Sketchbook
- Jackson’s Paper Guide
As all of the products are fairly high priced individually, with the added gift wrapping the set feels pretty well priced. The Jackson’s Paper Guide is beautifully put together and something that’s perfect to pour over during a studio coffee break!
To start off with the Hovel Pencil Plane needs a little bit of setting up. It comes with ten replacement blades wrapped in their own little box. Much like the set itself, the Hovel Pencil Plane is also lovingly and sustainably packaged. The instructions are clear for adding a blade to the Plane and there are plenty of videos online if you get stuck. The first thing I loved about the Hovel Pencil Plane was how durable it felt – it’s made of solid brass and said to last a lifetime which I definitely believe.
I usually sharpen my pencils with disposable scalpels so the Pencil Plane felt like such a treat. Sharpening my pencils is sort of a ritualistic part of my practice and I tend to keep my pencil shavings so using this was perfect for me. I think it will take a little bit of practice to get used to using it as I’ve become so familiar with my scalpels but I’m looking forward to perfecting my Hovel technique! It does make quite a bit of mess with all the shavings (much like using a scalpel) so if you’re not used to this way of sharpening then I can imagine it might be frustrating.
Once the Blackwing Pencils were sharpened I used the first page of the sketchbook to test out some mark making and the eraser. The pencils come with their own little erasers too which can be replaced, making them feel more special than usual sketching pencils. They are well balanced and glide across paper beautifully. The paper in the sketchbook was smoother than the paper I normally use, but paired well with the pencils. Personally, I found it hard to tell the difference between the two pencils even after a little bit of research online. They both seemed similar hardness and I would have liked a clear difference between the two.
The Jackson’s Eraser was great, it’s a lovely shape to hold and removes pencil well. I created two sketches just using the Blackwing Pencils, and then one using the Blackwing Pencils and a red pencil, as I’m not very used to sketching without colour these days! For this last one I played around a bit more with the Blackwing Erasers which were fun to ‘cut’ back into the sketch with.
In conclusion, I really enjoyed creating some sketches using the Jackson’s Studio Sketching Curated Set. The products are wonderful quality and feel thoughtfully selected. The real star of the show is the Hovel Pencil Plane, and if you’re going to gift that to someone then you might as well pay a little more and treat them to the set!
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About Laura Hope
Laura Hope is a figurative artist based in Oxfordshire. She obtained a first-class honours degree in illustration at Cardiff School of Art and Design before going on to work as a memorial artist, hand etching portraits onto gravestones. Laura’s work has been exhibited across the UK and is included in private collections. In the last two years her work has been shortlisted for the Jackson’s Painting Prize, won the de Laszlo Foundation Award at the Royal Society of Portrait Painters Exhibition and awarded the NG Art Creative Residency Prize at Wells Art Contemporary. Her illustrations have been commissioned by clients including Folio Society, Stylist magazine, and Clive Christian Perfume.
Owain Hunt Tests Jackson’s Oil Painting Curated Set
The set contains:
- Michael Harding Oil Paint Modern Master Set 6 x 40 ml tubes
- Chelsea Classical Studio Clarified Extra Pale Cold Pressed Linseed Oil 8 oz
- Belle Arti Canvas Panel Cotton, 3.2 mm MDF, 18 x 24 cm x 2
- Jackson’s Extra Offset Crank Painting Knife No. 2
- Jackson’s Black Hog Bristle Brush Round No. 2 and No. 12
- Jackson’s Black Hog Bristle Brush Flat No. 4
- Jackson’s Black Hog Bristle Brush Filbert No. 8
- Jackson’s Paper Guide
The most important technical component of any oil painting is the soundness of the support/non-absorbency of the ground. I therefore started by investigating the Belle Arti Canvas Boards. These are not supports I’d usually work with, and I was a little disappointed with their stability and ground. Over time their absorbency would result in sunken-in oil paint, and a finish lacking in vibrancy. It would also limit the effectiveness of certain oil painting techniques such as glazing. Despite this, they could still act as a useful alternative for some quicker alla prima studies. Regardless, I set about applying some basic primer from Michael Harding to limit the board’s absorbency. This way I could retain the vibrancy in the paints.
The brushes and palette knife were excellent. They manipulated and carried the paint well and appeared to be exceptionally durable. In fact, I’m likely to purchase Jackson’s Hog Bristle Brushes again.
The set included a Linseed Oil Medium from Chelsea Classical Studio. Again, this appeared to be an excellent commercial medium with care taken to avoid some of the processes that make commercial mediums unreliable. However, given I’m not a chemist I can only vouch for how it handled! It certainly showed no signs of yellowing (although was only tested in a short period) or altering mixes beyond adjusting viscosity and flow. I also liked how fatter layers could be used on top of leaner layers with little disturbance of the underlayers (owing to good drying time).
The Michael Harding Oil Paint Modern Master Set was everything you’d expect from one of the best quality commercial paint makers available on the market. The set itself had a good balance of pigments and constituted a well designed palette (including transparent, semi-transparent and opaque pigments, allowing for a range of oil-painting techniques.
Overall, I’d happily recommend the Jackson’s Oil Painting Curated Set; its excellent value for money and the quality of materials is high. To maximise the potential of the materials, particularly the richness in the Michael Harding Oil Paint, I’d advocate for the inclusion of a more reliable support, or maybe a small pot of non-absorbent primer. It seems silly to provided excellent quality paints and materials with a support that limits their use. Despite this, this is an excellent curation of materials that would serve any serious artist well.
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About Owain Hunt
Owain Hunt (1994) is a British painter based in the United Kingdom. Hunt’s practice concerns the human condition; contemplates the transience of memory and the brevity of life itself. Working from direct observation, his work emerges from a shared, fleeting existence with his sitters. His sitters are carefully selected, to include members of his family (Hunt was born to a family of ten children), old friends and strangers. Processed through paint and contorted by fragile memories, these sitting experiences evoke reflective, often melancholic artworks.
Hunt’s work belongs to private collections in The United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Australia and the United States.
Further Reading
Gifts for Artists: Top Picks From the Jackson’s Team
Peg and Awl Sendak Artist Roll Review
Jackson’s Curated Sets for Botanical Watercolour, Lino Printmaking and Oil Painting
Sarah Dyer Curates Sets of Jackson’s Handmade Soft Pastels
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