There is something incredibly exciting about seeing a new art material evolve from an idea into a finished product, especially when you’ve potentially had the privilege of being involved right at the beginning.
When Peter and I were first shown the early samples of the new IRIS Watercolour 22ml range, we immediately loved the concept. The colours showed real promise, but one small detail stood out to us. We suggested that the metal tube was more aesthetically pleasing than the original white tubes. It was only one small piece of feedback amongst what I’m sure was a mountain of development work, but when the finished range arrived in beautiful metal tubes, we couldn’t help but smile and hope that we played a tiny part in shaping the product artists now get to enjoy.
Today, we’re proud to introduce the new Prime Art IRIS Watercolour range, featuring 45 vibrant colours in generous 22ml metal tubes.
Designed for Artists Who Want to Paint Freely
One of the first things you’ll notice is the tube size.
At 22ml, these are significantly larger than the traditional 5ml or 15ml tubes many artists are used to. For South African artists, where stretching every rand matters, this is a real advantage.
When your paint is affordable and plentiful, something changes.
You stop worrying about wasting paint.
You become more generous with your washes.
You mix larger puddles.
You try new techniques.
You make mistakes, learn from them, and keep painting.
Instead of rationing every squeeze of colour, you’re free to experiment. That freedom is often where the biggest artistic breakthroughs happen.
From a beginner building confidence to an experienced painter creating large works, having more paint available encourages a far more relaxed and enjoyable painting experience.
Premium Presentation You Don’t Usually See
Another detail we absolutely love is the packaging.
Every single colour comes individually boxed in a beautifully designed carton featuring an actual painted swatch of the colour on the outside.
This isn’t just attractive packaging.
It allows you to see how the colour appears once painted and dried, making it far easier to choose the exact shade you’re looking for. It’s a thoughtful touch that makes the range feel far more premium than its price suggests and also keeps tubes protected while stored or displayed.
Performance That Encourages Creativity
Of course, beautiful packaging means very little if the paint doesn’t perform.
After spending time painting with the range, several qualities stood out.
The colours mix beautifully, creating clean secondary and tertiary colours without becoming muddy. Some pigments produce lovely natural granulating effects as they dry, adding texture and character that watercolour artists love to discover.
The paints flow effortlessly across the paper, creating beautiful blooms and soft transitions in wet-on-wet techniques while still offering excellent control when more precision is needed.
Lifting is surprisingly good, making it easier to recover highlights or soften passages. The colours also reactivate and re-wet well once dry, giving artists flexibility during the painting process.
Perhaps most impressive is how far the pigment goes. A relatively small amount of paint creates a surprisingly rich wash, meaning each 22ml tube offers exceptional value. Time and again we found ourselves pleasantly surprised by the strength of the colour and just how little paint was needed to achieve vibrant results.
Built for South African Artists
One of the things we’re passionate about at The Deckle Edge is helping make quality art materials more accessible.
Not every artist can justify spending premium imported prices every time they need a new tube of paint. The IRIS Watercolour range fills an exciting space by offering generous tube sizes, excellent performance and remarkable value, making quality watercolour painting more achievable for students, hobbyists, professional artists and everyone in between.
It’s the kind of range that invites you to paint more often, experiment more boldly and worry less about every brushstroke.
“It’s always a fun time testing out new watercolours at work, every colour has something new to say – and wow these new IRIS can sing! “- Cat
“I was so impressed with the quality of the Iris watercolour paints. These paints have a beautiful soft texture, and the bright colours are intensely vibrant. A small amount of colour on your brush goes a long way. “- Arnella
Our Final Thoughts
The new IRIS Watercolour range has genuinely impressed us.
From the beautifully presented individual boxes and premium metal tubes to the generous 22ml size, strong pigmentation and enjoyable handling characteristics, it feels like a range that has been carefully developed with artists in mind.
Most importantly, it encourages exactly what every great art material should encourage: creativity without hesitation.
We hope artists across South Africa will enjoy painting with these colours as much as we have. And if our small suggestion helped contribute, even in the tiniest way, to the finished product sitting on artists’ palettes today, that’s something we’re incredibly proud of.
We can’t wait to see what South African artists create with them.
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Your new Iris range of watercolours look fabulous. I actually have the perfect project for them. It is a flower I already painted and started enlarging to A3 size.
I found Iris Colours, in an 18 colour box a while back.
And have been these colours for my classes since then.
That box is good value for the colours you get.
I am not sure about permanence though.
Also – the original Prime Art watercolours tended to dry-out and rattle out of the palette.
So looking at the pricing I am looking forward to giving these tubes a go.
At least I will not have to re-mortgage my house to fill my palette
(o:
SJQ