We got this question in the comments on an earlier post and I thought the answer might be useful to other painters. So I am putting it on as a post:

2010/01/14
Hi Julie,
I want to give someone some acrylics as a birthday present – they’ve been painting for a year or so, so I don’t want to give cheap student grade and insult them, but I don’t want to over-do it with top quality – any suggestions?
art(ist)lover

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Hello art(ist)lover.
I think the ideal solution is our own make of acrylic: Jackson’s Artists’ Acrylic Colour. They might be just what you are after.

We are really pleased with the quality and the price is excellent, so they really are the best of both worlds. You get artist grade paint at student grade prices. With the highest quality lightfast pigments at a concentrated strength and premium acrylic resin I am sure your gift recipient would be happy to receive these.

If you are not a painter yourself picking a set might be confusing and I would like to recommend a selection of colours for a good starter set. If you have these 7 basic colours: a warm and cool blue, a warm and cool yellow, a warm and cool red and a white you can mix most anything you need. You can add earth tones, greens, violet and any specialist colours is you like, but you will probably want to at least start with these colours.

Phthalo Blue (Green Shade)
French Ultramarine Blue
Lemon Yellow
Cadmium Yellow Genuine
Alizarin Crimson Hue
Cadmium Red Genuine
Titanium White

I am sure your gift will be a great success and I hope the birthday boy or girl has a wonderful time painting!
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I will be looking more deeply at selecting the colours for your palette and at colour mixing in future posts, so anyone interested should check back.