How To Choose Colors And Set Up A Watercolor Palette

How To Choose Colors and Set Up A Watercolor Palette In depth guide for setting up a watercolor palette that works for you

by Krzysztof Kowalski

Thank you, T.! Forever grateful Chris

www.esperoart.com e-mail: [email protected] © Krzysztof Kowalski, Poznań 2020

Table of Contents Introduction Paint attributes Choosing colors

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Setting up a palette

Frequently asked questions

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Introduction In this short e-book you will learn how to choose colors to your watercolor palette and how you can arrange them. Please, remember that I am presenting you here the approach that works for me, it may not work for you. There is no one good way to do this. However, my hope is that this e-book will help you to make better choices and it will give you some ideas and inspiration. I started painting with watercolors in 2012. I bought a 36 pan set of White Nights watercolors. I wanted to have many colors in one place, so I thought buying a set would be a good idea. As time passed, I noticed that I had been using some colors more frequently, while others stayed untouched. I started buying new colors also from other brands and after a while my collection of paints was quite impressive. I realized that even though I had so many tubes of paint, I kept coming back to the same colors. I wanted to learn more about paints. I discovered how they are made, what were the differences between different brands, grades and even single colors. I was gaining more knowledge and at the same time I was more conscious about the paints I was using. I’ve learned that I really don’t need all available colors which stopped me from spending too much money on unnecessary paints. Instead, I was able to invest in better paper. Many beginners are confused and have many questions. I know, I’ve been there! What colors should I buy? Are pans better than tubes? Should I buy a set or single colors? Do I really have to spend money on professional grade paints? Can I use black paint? How do I set up my colors on a palette? The list goes on. Obviously, there is no one good answer to all of these questions, because we all differ. Something may work for me, but it may not work for someone else. And that’s fine! You really don’t need to use something that doesn’t work for you. We all paint in different styles, we paint different themes, we need different tools, so there can not be one simple solution for everyone. You need to experiment until you find tools that work best for you. I would like to give you some guidelines and tips. You may not agree with them and that’s totally fine! I’m going to describe my approach with the hope that it will help you to make some decisions; especially if you are at the beginning of your watercolor journey. Enjoy! :) Krzysztof Kowalski (Chris)

Yellow rose, 24 x 18 cm (9.5” x 7”)

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Paint attributes I'm not a type of person who wants to try out all new colors on the market. I have my tested and trusted set of carefully selected colors. I know them well, I know what they can do and I rarely feel the urge to try out something new. But getting to this point was long and of course along the way I spent too much money on paints which I didn't really need. I'm pretty sure you know how it is. I hope that what you're about to read in this e-book will help you to shorten your way to set up your perfect palette (and to save some money). On the other hand, please don't think that there's something wrong in trying out new paints, new colors. Absolutely not! It can be very enjoyable (hundreds of color swatches I've done is the proof) and you should never blindly follow what someone else is saying. If you don't agree, if you want to do it in a different way, that's totally fine. It must work for you. Remember, you make the decisions and you know what's best for you.

STAGES Several stages can be distinguished when choosing paints and setting up our palette. Here is a quick overview of the whole process: 1) Think about brand you have easy access to. 2) Think whether you need professional paints or you can go with student grade. 3) Consider pros and cons of tube paints and pans. Which one do you prefer? 4) Choose between a ready made set or individual colors. 5) If you decide to choose individual colors (highly recommended), you can go color by color and initially select your colors. You may ask yourself these questions: - How many pigments does it contain? - Is it lightfast? - Is it transparent? - Is it granulating? - Do I already have something similar? - Can it be mixed with other colors? 6) Think about a palette you're going to use. 7) Count how many colors you have chosen and check whether you have enough wells/enough places for all the pans to fit. Maybe you should reject some colors? 8) Prepare color swatches of the chosen colors. 9) Lay out color swatches in a way that your colors will be arranged in your palette. 10) Fill the wells/set up pans and enjoy painting!

On the next pages you will find answers to most questions that can be asked along the way. They will help you to go through the whole process. www.esperoart.com

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BRAND AND GRADE When I choose colors, I take into consideration 4 main characteristics: pigment, transparency, lightfastness and granulation. Before I discuss them, I must emphasize one important thing - brand. A particular brand does not matter to me. What matters is the particular color, its characteristics and that it is a professional grade. Professional grade (also called artists quality) paints are all very good. I can’t say that Winsor&Newton (W&N) is better than Daniel Smith (DS), or Schmincke Horadam (SH) is better than another brand. They are all excellent as long as they are professional grade. The only reason I tend to stick with one brand is very mundane: I just have easy access to my favorite brand, the price is reasonable and I already know my colors very well. There are many excellent brands of watercolors on the market. Among them the most popular ones are Daniel Smith, Winsor&Newton, Schmincke Horadam, Mijello, QoR, Holbein, White Nights, Sennelier, Van Gogh, Grumbacher, M. Graham or Rembrandt. Some brands offer paints in two grades: professional (artist quality) and student quality. For example: 1. Winsor&Newton Professional Watercolours (professional grade) - Cotman (student grade) 2. Schmincke Horadam (professional grade) - Schmincke Akademie (student grade) 3. Sennelier (professional grade) - Sennelier La Petite (student grade) 4. Grumbacher Finest (professional grade) - Grumbacher Academy (student grade) 5. Royal Talens Rembrandt (professional grade) - Royal Talens Van Gogh (student grade) 6. White Nights (professional grade) - Sonnet (student grade) 7. Daler Rowney Professional (professional grade) - Daler Rowney Simply (student grade) Other brands offer one grade which is generally considered as either professional or student grade. For example Daniel Smith, Mijello Mission Gold, QoR, Holbein, M. Graham, Aquarius are professional grade paints while Kurateke, Reeves, Art Creation, Sakura Koi, Crayola are student grade paints. I use mostly Winsor&Newton Professional Grade paints.

Winsor&Newton Professional Watercolours in tubes (professional grade) www.esperoart.com

Winsor&Newton Cotman in pans (student grade)

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PROFESSIONAL OR STUDENT GRADE? The biggest problem is always the price. Artist quality paints are more expensive than student grade paints. The reason is that artist quality paints contain much more high quality pigment. Student quality paints contain less pigment and more fillers, hence the difference in price. Student watercolors have working characteristics similar to professional watercolors, but with lower concentrations of pigment and a smaller range of colors. More expensive pigments are generally replicated by hues. Here are the differences between the two grades:

Professional grade paints

Student grade paints

are more expensive

are less expensive

have more pigment and less fillers

have less pigment and more fillers

are more vibrant and intense

are less vibrant and less intense

appear smooth and more transparent

may appear chalky and opaque

last much longer

run out pretty quickly

have cleaner colors and mix better

can go muddy quickly

are easier to rewet

are harder to rewet

If you can afford buying professional paints then I would definitely go for it. Choose several colors, you really don’t need a whole set, and buy good paints. There is nothing wrong in painting with student quality paints either; as long as you are happy with them. You can buy a tube of professional paint once in a while and gradually grow your collection. It also depends on the purpose of your painting. If you are using watercolors only in your sketchbook, you are not painting professionally, you are not going to sell your paintings, you just want to see how it is to paint with watercolors - then student grade paints are totally fine. But if you are planning to paint professionally, then it’s really worth investing in professional paints. You will struggle to get intense colors with student grade paints. It is possible, but you will have to go back to the pan/well to pick up more paint repeatedly until you get the desired intensity.

If you are taking art classes or follow instructions of any art teacher and she/he is using professional paints, there is a high probability that you will not get the same results if you are using student quality paints (another reason may be that you are using different paper). The most common complain about student quality paints is that the colors are not as vibrant and intense as professional paints.

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TUBES OR PANS? It’s a very common dilemma: should I use tubes or pans? It’s a personal preference. If you like to travel, paint on location, you paint on small sizes, use small brushes or you like to change your colors often, then probably pans would be a better choice. You can easily replace colors in your palette: you simply take out a pan and replace it with a new color. That’s a big advantage. I personally use tubes, because of several reasons: 1) There is a wider range of palettes designed for watercolor paints in tubes. That’s one of the main reasons why I use tubes. I have tested and seen many palettes and the ones I really like happen to be designed for tube paint; 2) I think tubes are more versatile. You can squeeze them into wells in a palette, but you can also squeeze the paint to empty pans if you wish to and treat them as watercolors in pans; 3) It’s much easier to mix large batches of paint. You can just squeeze the paint to a container or on your mixing area, add water and you can quickly mix a good amount of mixture, for example to paint the sky on a big size sheet; 4) Palette wells are usually bigger than pans and it’s easier to use bigger brushes.

Judy Treman in her book "Building Brilliant Watercolors" writes: "Dried pan paints are meant to be reconstituted with water; liquid tube paints are a different formulation and are not meant to be reconstituted after they dry." I strongly disagree with this. Dried paint (no matter if it’s in a pan or from tube dried in a well) is very easy to reactivate by just adding some water. I usually spray my paints with clean water before I start to paint and they are ready to go. Some colors are indeed a bit more difficult to reactivate, because they dry very hard (for example Cobalt Violet), but it can be done. Watercolors are reusable. You don’t have to throw away dried paint. That would be such a waste! Watercolor pans in a metal box

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Watercolor tube paint in palette wells

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WATERCOLOR PALETTES There are many more various sizes and shapes of palettes designed for tube paints. A good example is this big porcelain palette. It is a very big studio palette, it’s made of porcelain so it’s pretty heavy. There are 30 big wells where you can put your paints. There are two big mixing areas so plenty of room for mixing your colors. The wells are big, it’s easy to use big brushes.

American Journey Porcelain Palette

John Pike Palette

Of course you don’t need a palette like this, especially if you are a beginner, but I just wanted to show you some examples to give you an idea. Another example is the John Pike plastic palette. It’s also big, it has 20 wells and one huge mixing area. It’s made of a special kind of very durable plastic. It has a lid which also can be used as a mixing area. These are the examples of big studio palettes. Below you can see an example of a smaller palette. It’s Mijello Fusion with 18 wells. There are also other sizes with a higher number of wells. It’s a very nice palette, there are two smaller mixing areas and one big on a removable tray. Mijello Fusion 18 These palettes are designed to hold paint from tubes. Some of them have wells deep enough to hold pans as well, but in order to keep pans in place you would have to attach them somehow (for example using double sided tape or at least a piece of a kneaded eraser). This is very cumbersome. There are special boxes designed to hold watercolor pans and it’s a much better option. On the next page you can find two examples.

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Palettes for watercolor pans can be made of plastic, metal or wood. Metal boxes are most popular. They can hold up to 48 half pans (or 24 full pans). Special design of these boxes prevents pans from falling out, but they can easily be taken out and replaced with a new pan if needed. A lid of this kind of palettes is usually used as a mixing area. On the left you can see a small, plastic Winsor&Newton Sketcher Box. It’s a very small palette used often as a travel palette by urban sketchers. It’s very lightweight, and holds 12 pans and a small brush. The lid is used as a mixing area. It can be folded and hid even in a pocket. The design of this palette doesn’t allow the insert of full pans. The palette in the photo below is the Schmincke Horadam metal box for pans. It’s a very popular model of a metal box for watercolor pans. It is designed to hold 24 half pans or 12 full pans. But as you can see, I keep 26 pans and could fit a few more

Winsor&Newton Sketcher Box

in the gap between the two rows. It can also be a place to keep a brush. This palette also has an additional mixing area.

Schmincke Horadam metal box for pans

The biggest advantage of watercolors in pans is that you can easily replace colors with new

ones

and

rearrange

everything within a minute. You can also buy empty pans and fill them with paint from a tube. Pans are compact, easy to store and transport.

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My favorite palette is Mijello Fusion with 33 slanted wells. It has enough wells to keep all my basic and additional colors, so I always have them at hand. It also has a big mixing area, although I don’t really use it. I use square porcelain plates for mixing my colors. The mixing area is a removable tray, so if it becomes very dirty I can take it out and clean it easily. The tray that contains the wells is also removable. It can be placed as it is in the photo, or reversed depending on what’s best for you.

I absolutely love this palette. It’s not too big, not too small. It’s lightweight, so I can take it with me if I want to travel with my paints. I use my palette only for keeping my paints. I mix my colors on porcelain plates. Porcelain is the best surface to mix your paints. You don’t need anything fancy. Think about plates from your kitchen, saucers, egg plates etc. I use two square plates which were sold as candle stands.

My favorite set: Mijello palette + porcelain plates for mixing colors.

Some colors stain white mixing areas of plastic and even metal palettes. I've found that Mr. Clean’s Magic Eraser removes all stains like magic. Try it!

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SET OR INDIVIDUAL COLORS? For me the answer is obvious now: individual colors. But I know it now after testing many colors and I know that I don’t need them all. In the beginning I thought I needed all colors, because I didn’t know anything about mixing. Sets are very convinient. You don’t have to think about colors and their properties. You have all those wonderful colors in one place and you can just use all of them. There is nothing wrong in this approach! Not everyone likes to dig deeper and learn more about paints. But I personally think it’s worth it. Not only because it’s interesting, but it can also help to reduce the number of colors and save money in the long run. Sets are beautiful. They tempt us with many beautiful colors, but the problem is that almost always there are colors in a set that you won’t use or you will use very rarely. The road to your perfect set of colors is long and exciting. I’m pretty sure that it’s a never-ending story. Even now, when I’m sure about my must-have colors, I’m still testing new ones, because who knows, maybe I need them? Or maybe not. I’ll find out after a while. If you are impatient, go for a set. You will see how watercolor paints work. You won’t have to worry about individual colors and you’ll avoid the whole process of choosing colors. But if you decide to select colors for your own perfect set, then be patient and continue reading. It’s just the beginning of a wonderful journey!

If you decide to buy a set, make sure it contains at least 6 primary colors: a warm and a cool yellow, a warm and a cool red, a warm and a cool blue.

Early Spring, 34 x 26 cm (13” x 10”)

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PIGMENTS In choosing any paint, pigment is the most important characteristic for me. Knowing which pigment is contained in the paint allows you to judge whether or not you need another red because... you may already have it. A generic color name may not help you. Here is an example: Winsor&Newton's Perylene Maroon is exactly the same color as Schmincke Horadam’s Deep Red. Although their names are different, the colors are the same. How do we know it? Because both of them have pigment PR179, which is written on the label. However, this method doesn’t always work. For example: paints with pigment PV19 have dozens of different hues, but it’s still worth checking the pigments just in case. Another reason I check pigments is that I think the less pigments, the better. Single pigment = single color. Imagine, for example, Hooker's Green by Schmincke Horadam. It contains 3 pigments: PB15:3, PG7, PY42. That means it is a mix of 3 colors. If you would like to mix it with Sepia Brown Tone by Schmincke Horadam, which contains 3 pigments as well (PR166, PBr7 and PBk9) - you are actually mixing 6 different colors! Mixing 6 colors will not give you a beautiful, clear, vivid color. It would be much better to mix just two colors, right? So I tend to buy paints with only 1 pigment if possible. For example, I preferred (until it was discontinued) Daniel Smith's Quinacridone Gold rather than Winsor&Newton's because DS's had one pigment, PO49, and W&N's has three pigments PR206, PV19, PY150 (now DS’s paint contains two pigments: PO48 and PY150). Notice this: if you already have PY150 pigment on your palette (DS Nickel Azo Yellow) and PO48 (DS Quinacridone Burnt Orange) you can mix your own Quinacridone Gold (so you don’t have to buy another tube, unless you want to have it). Don’t get me wrong - it doesn't mean that there's something wrong in buying paints with more than one pigment, but if there was an equivalent with fewer pigments, I would go for it. Speaking about the pigments, this is the code: PW - pigment white

PR - pigment red

PG - pigment green

PY - pigment yellow

PV - pigment violet

PBr - pigment brown

PO - pigment orange

PB - pigment blue

PBk - pigment black

Pigment codes can be found on tube or pan labels and in color charts provided by producers. If I can’t find any information about pigments, I don’t buy those paints, because I don’t want to buy a pig in a poke.

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How to Choose Colors and Set Up A Watercolor Palette

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Daniel Smith’s watercolor chart.

Winsor&Newton’s tube.

Ultramarine Red contains pigment PV15.

Quinacridone Magenta contains pigment PR122.

TRANSPARENCY I like transparent or semi-transparent paints. I like to work with glazes, build up shapes, forms and colors with layers. Working this way with opaque paints is just impossible. Sometimes there are exceptions: Naples Yellow Deep is opaque and I have to live with it. Luckily, I use this color very, very rarely. If I have a choice, I always choose transparent paints. Even opaque paints can be transparent if you dilute them well, but even when they are watered down to me they feel a bit chalky. Transparency/opacity indicators can be found on labels and in color charts. You may find letter codes or symbols (squares or circles). Here is the most common way to indicate transparency/opacity of a paint: T - transparent ST - semi-transparent

STAINING

SO - semi-opaque

You can also find a different code on the labels indicating strength of

O - opaque

staining for the particular color. Usually it is indicated by letters, numbers or triangles. Here’s the code: non-staining (NS)

1 - non-staining

semi-staining

2 - low staining

staining (S)

3 - medium staining 4 - staining

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LIGHTFASTNESS

GRANULATION

The more lightfast the paint, the better. You probably know Aureolin Yellow PY40. I remember a craze for this color, but many lightfast tests (whether or not a color holds up when exposed to light) have shown that this color fades in a wash and goes gray and dull

Some

watercolor

granulating.

paints

The

are

pigments

separate from the binder and settle into the “valleys” of the paper. As it dries in the “valleys”

in mass-tone. It’s definitely a color to avoid.

it leaves a grainy texture. These

Lightfastness is usually indicated with roman

the color is granulating:

letters indicate whether or not

numerals or stars. Here's the code: extremely lightfast I - excellent

good lightfastness

II - very good

lightfast

III - fair

limited lightfastness

IV - fugitive

less lightfast - not lightfast

G - granulating color Y - stands for Yes (granulating) N - stands for non granulating

Examples of granulating colors: Viridian, Cerulean Blue, Raw Umber, Cobalt Violet.

Another fugitive color is Alizarin Crimson PR83 (lightfast versions of this color are available, for example Winsor&Newton’s Permanent Alizarin Crimson PR206, PV19). Luckily most paints are very lightfast so there's no need to worry. I would only avoid those which are fugitive (i.e. fade with time and/or light exposure). When it comes to granulation - that’s just a matter of effect you want to achieve. Granulation can be really beautiful. Some people love it, some hate it, you need to experiment and see whether you like this effect or not. I tend to buy non-granulating colors. Daniel Smith’s Cerulean Blue label

Color name

(image source: http://www.jjcindustries.com/watercolor/)

Color swatch Lightfastness Series number (the higher the number the higher the price)

Granulation and transparency are indicated in the manufacturer’s color chart:

Pigment number

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Choosing colors When it comes to choosing particular colors, I always start with 6 basic colors: a warm and a cool yellow, a warm and a cool blue, a warm and a cool red. Then I add earth tones: one slightly yellowish, one slightly reddish and one dark brown. My next step is adding colors I use frequently and which often come in handy. The last stage is adding colors which I just like and maybe they will come in handy one day. So in general, I can say that I don’t have one and only one palette. My palette changes over time because I test new colors once in a while. But I can distinguish some stages of selecting my colors. For some of you stage 2 may be the final stage. That would be a limited palette for me. For others it’s not enough, so they would add more colors. That’s, again, a personal preference. STEP 1 - choosing six basic colors STEP 2 - adding the earth tones

Winter Cardinal 16 x 21 cm (6.3” x 8.3”)

STEP 3 - adding useful colors, used frequently STEP 4 - additional „moving” colors

If I had to limit my palette to the colors I use most frequently I would have 18 colors. I could live with it, that’s enough for me, but I like to have some additional colors on my palette, even though I don’t use them often. You may want to limit your palette however you like. I know people who have 8 colors and they are happy with it. It really doesn’t matter how many colors you have on your palette. What matters is how you use them. In my mind a limited palette is the number of colors I use in one painting to keep the color harmony (usually from 3 to 10).

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STEP 1 - SIX BASIC COLORS Start with choosing six basic colors. They create a split primary palette and if you want to extremely limit your palette, this could be your basic set. Split primary palette consists of two yellows, two blues and two reds (each warm and cool). There are many equivalents for each of these colors in other brands (and even within the same brand). I will mention just a few examples. This is a matter of personal choice, so it’s good to do your own research. Most of my colors are Winsor&Newton (W&N), and the other brands are indicated as follows: DS stands for Daniel Smith and SH stands for Schmincke Horadam. Cool yellow - Winsor Yellow PY154 Yellows (other colors too, actually) can be divided into cool, medium and warm tones. Yellow tones that are really cool are closer to green. I like to use medium yellow as my cool yellow and I leave cooler yellows for special occasions. Winsor Yellow PY154 is a wonderful cool (middle) yellow. Another good example is Hansa Yellow Medium PY97 (DS), which is also a medium tone, but I treat it as a cool yellow. If you like something really cool then you should look for something like Winsor Lemon PY175 (W&N), Bismuth Yellow PY184 (W&N) or Hansa Yellow Light PY3 (DS). Warm yellow - Winsor Yellow Deep PY65 My favourite warm yellow has always been New Gamboge made by Winsor&Newton with a single pigment PY153. Unfortunately, this pigment is not used anymore and the new New Gamboge now consists of two pigments. I was forced to look for an alternative and now my warm yellow is Winsor Yellow Deep PY65 (W&N) (DS’s Hansa Yellow Deep uses the same pigment). There is also a beautiful Indian Yellow by W&N, consisting of two pigments PO62 and PY139. Cool red - Quinacridone Magenta PR122 It’s not really red, it’s a magenta. Some could say it’s pink, and it is. It’s always been my basic cool

red.

Purple

Magenta

PR122

by

Schmincke Horadam is the equivalent. Permanent Rose PV19 or Permanent Alizarin Crimson PR206, PV19 also can be treated as cool reds. Warm red - Winsor Red PR254 Pigment PR254 is a wonderful red. DS’s Pyrrol Red and SH’s Scarlet Red are the same pigment PR254. Scarlet Lake PR188 (W&N) is warmer, more orangy alternative. Quinacridone

Red PR209 (W&N) is more pinkish (DS’s

Quinacridone Coral uses the same pigment). They all can work as a warm red. The Big Brother Lily and Swallowtail (caterpillar and adult) 41 x 31 cm (16” x 12”)

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Cool blue - Winsor Blue (Green Shade) PB15:3 There is a little issue with blues. People see colors differently. That’s nothing new. There are those who say that Winsor Blue (Green Shade) is warm, not cool, while the cool one is Ultramarine Blue. This seems to be a personal point of view. For me, Winsor Blue (Green Shade) is cool. DS’s Phthalo Blue (Green Shade) and SH’s Helio Cerulean are the same colors. Warm blue - French Ultramarine PB29 This is a very popular color, a favourite of many people. Its equivalents are: DS’s Ultramarine Blue and SH’s Ultramarine Finest. Winsor Blue (Red Shade) PB15:6 may also be treated as a warm blue. Worth remembering: Each color has its own temperature, but it’s relative. In fact each color can be warm and cool at the same time. In my school I have a full lesson on Color Theory.

cool

warm

cool

warm

cool

warm

yellow

yellow

red

red

blue

blue

Winsor

Winsor

Quinacridone

Winsor

Winsor

Ultramarine

Yellow

Yellow Deep

Magenta

Red

Blue GS

Blue

PY154

PY65

PR122

PR254

PB15:3

PB29

STEP 2 - THE EARTH TONES A good idea is to add some browns to your palette. On my palette I like to have one yellowish earth tone (Yellow Ochre), one reddish (Burnt Sienna) and one really dark brown (Burnt Umber). These 9 colors listed here make up my essential palette. If I had to limit my palette, I would limit it to these nine colors. But, as I mentioned earlier, I don’t have a limited yellowish

reddish

dark

palette and there are many other colors

earth tone

earth tone

brown

I couldn’t live without (especially greens!).

Yellow

Burnt

Burnt

So here comes STEP 3 - adding useful

Ochre PY43

Sienna PR101

Umber PBr7

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colors which are used frequently.

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STEP 3 - ADDING FREQUENTLY USED COLORS I like this step because I can pick out more colors and create a wide variety of colors on my palette. I like to think this way: I have two yellows now. Is there any other yellow that I need? Is there a yellow different from the ones I already have? Do I use it frequently? Then I go to reds and blues and do the same. Later I consider other colors like violets, greens and oranges. Here is the list of colors which I usually add to my 9 basic colors from the previous step. All of these make up my extended essential palette. Cobalt Blue is a beautiful light blue. I use it to paint the sky, light blue petals or to mix delicate violets or greens. Indanthrone Blue is a dark blue useful to create dark gray tones (mixed with browns), dark greens or to darken other blues. Winsor Violet is my Cobalt

Indanthrone

Winsor

basic violet. It can be mixed with blues and magenta

Blue PB28

Blue PB60

Violet PV23

or reds. I like having a ready-made violet on my palette. Green Gold is a wonderful warm, light green. I use it often to warm up and brighten my greens. Hooker's Green is my basic, ready-made green which I usually alter by adding Green Gold, oranges, blues, reds or any other color depending on the shade I want to achieve. Perylene Green is my must have. I

Green

Hooker’s Green

Perylene

Gold PY129

PG36, PY110

Green PBk31

use it almost always to darken my greens and also to create black. Quinacridone Gold is a very versatile color. It makes beautiful rich greens with blues. It's also great for glazing. Permanent Rose is my basic pink color. It's somewhere between cool Magenta and warmer Winsor Red. Winsor Red Deep is a beautiful dark, blood-like, dark red which I use to darken other reds and to create black.

Quin. Gold

Permanent

Winsor Red

PR209, PV19, PY150

Rose PV19

Deep PR264

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According to my list so far, my palette consists of these 18 colors:

Winsor

Winsor

Quinacridone

Yellow

Burnt

Burnt

Yellow

Yellow Deep

Gold

Ochre

Sienna

Umber

PY154

PY65

PR209, PV19, PY150

PY43

PR101

PBr7

Indanthrone

Winsor

Quinacridone

Permanent

Winsor

Winsor

Blue

Violet

Magenta

Rose

Red

Red Deep

PB60

PV23

PR122

PV19

PR254

PR264

Ultramarine

Winsor

Cobalt

Green

Hooker’s

Perylene

Blue

Blue GS

Blue

Gold

Green

Green

PB29

PB15:3

PB28

PY129

PG36, PY110

PBk31

This is my extended essential palette. These are the colors I use the most and will always have them on my palette. My experience and subject of my paintings allowed me to select these colors. I personalized it for my needs. In your case, it may be different. For example, if you are more into landscape painting, you may not need so many reds. Instead you would probably choose more blues, greens and browns. For me this set of colors works best. It’s versatile, and I can paint every subject I can dream of. Most of my colors are single-pigmented, all of them are lightfast and transparent or semi-transparent.

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STEP 4 - ADDITIONAL COLORS Other colors are just additional. I keep them on my palette, because I have 33 wells to fill, so I can do this. I use these colors sparingly. Some of them I have used maybe once or twice for a particular painting. Others were helpful for creating particular colors. I will list some of them below. These are my moving colors. They are on my palette today, but tomorrow they may be replaced with something new.

Scarlet

Naples

Winsor

Transparent

Raw

Translucent

Yellow Deep

Lemon

Yellow

Umber

Orange (SH)

PBr24

PY175

PY150

PBr7

PO71

PR188

Winsor

Winsor

Cobalt

Cobalt

Quinacridone

Perylene

Green YS

Green BS

Tourquoise Light

Violet

Purple (DS)

Maroon

PG36

PB7

PG50

PV14

PV55

PR179

Lake

I used Naples Yellow Deep to paint the butterfly wings on page 17. It can also be useful to paint a morning or evening sky, or walls of ancient cities. If I need a really cool yellow I use Winsor Lemon. Transparent Yellow is the most transparent from all yellows. It creates gorgeous greens with blues. Raw Umber may be useful for landscapes, birds, and tree trunks. It's more natural and neutral than Yellow Ochre. Translucent Orange is the only orange I have on my palette. Oranges are very easy to mix from yellows and reds, but I like the vibrancy and transparency of this orange. Scarlet Lake a warm color of poppies. Winsor Green Yellow Shade and Winsor Green Blue Shade look too artificial on their own, but they can be easily altered by adding other colors. Winsor Green BS mixed with Winsor Blue GS make wonderful tourquoise. Cobalt Turquoise Light is a unique color. It may be used, for example, to paint water. I sometimes use this color for leaves or on butterflies wings. Cobalt Violet is a very bright, light, granulating violet. It may be used on some flower petals or in reflected light areas, for example, on some fruit. Quinacridone Purple is a wonderful, very deep purple. Perylene Maroon is a reddish-brown color. It can be used in landscapes, floral paintings or even portraits.

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Setting up a palette Before you squeeze your paint to your palette or arrange your pans, I highly recommend that you make color swatches. They don’t have to be very detailed, you can just take a piece of paper, cut it into pieces (the same number as the number of colors you have selected) and swatch each color. If you like, you can make more detailed swatches. I like to do them to keep track of all colors I have ever had a chance to use. My swatches allow me to compare colors with each other. The main reason why I suggest making swatches, is that you can lay them out in order according to how you would like to place them in your palette. Below you can see an example swatch. I make them on Arches paper, because I usually use this paper for my paintings. This way I can see how a color will look on the same paper.

Brand name

Pigment number

Transparency

(WN - Winsor&Newton)

Color name

Wet on dry

Transparency test

(black line painted with ink; opaque paints will partially cover it)

(I start painting the swatch wet on dry until the paint meets wet area)

Wet on wet

Lifting out/staining test

(I wet the lower half of the swatch to see how the paint behaves wet on wet)

(when paint is dry I lift out the paint to see whether it’s easy to lift out or not)

Additional stripe

(to see how the color looks in the second layer)

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How to Choose Colors and Set Up A Watercolor Palette

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Now, if you have your swatches, you can lay them out and arrange them in a way that suits you best. I always lay out my colors in color families and in a rainbow order. I take out all my yellows, then oranges, browns, reds, violets, blues and greens. Depending on how my palette is designed, I may split them into groups or just lay them out in one long row. Here is an example:

You can do the same with pans of course. Pans are easier to rearrange. If you decide to change the place of your colors, you just switch the pans. On the contrary, if you squeeze paint from a tube to a well, it’s just there. It’s hard to change its place, and that’s why it’s a good idea to consider in advance how you would like your colors arranged.

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I set up my colors in three rows: 1 - yellows and browns, 2 - reds, pinks, violets, 3 - greens and blues.

Naples Yellow Deep PBr24

Winsor Lemon PY175

Winsor Yellow PY154

Transparent Winsor Quin. Gold Translucent Yellow Yellow Deep PR209, Orange PY150 PY65 PV19, PY150 PO71

Yellow Ochre PY43

Raw Umber PBr7

Burnt Sienna PR101

Burnt Umber PBr7

Quinacridone Purple PV55

Winsor Violet PV23

Cobalt Violet PV14

Quinacridone Permanent Quinacridone Permenent Magenta Rose Red Carmine PR122 PV19 PR209 PV19

Perylene Maroon PR179

Winsor Red Deep PR264

Winsor Red PR254

Scarlet Lake PR188

Prussian

Indanthrone

Winsor

Ultramarine

Cobalt

Cobalt

Green

Hooker’s

Winsor

Winsor

Perylene

Blue PB27

Blue PB60

Blue GS PB15:3

Blue PB29

Blue PB28

Tourquoise Light PG50

Gold PY129

Green PG36, PY110

Green YS PG36

Green BS PG7

Green PBk31

It’s also a good idea to make a color chart of colors you have chosen for your palette. A color chart allows you to see what and where you have paints on your palette. Later on, when you run out of paint, you will know exactly what color it was. Here is what my color chart looks like:

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How to Choose Colors and Set Up A Watercolor Palette

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Frequently asked questions 1. My colors go dull and muddy. Why? How do you achieve such vibrant colors? Here are some tips. • Artist grade paints are more vibrant and pure because of the higher pigment content. Whereas student grade paints contain fillers like kaolin and have less pigment. • Try to use single pigmented colors to avoid mud. One pigment = one color Two pigments = two colors When you mix two colors and both of them have 2 pigments, then you are actually mixing four colors, which may end up looking like mud. • Try to mix only 3 single pigmented colors. The more colors you mix, the muddier and duller the final color will become. • If possible try to use good quality paints that are either transparent and semi-transparent and try to avoid the opaque ones, which will also dull your paintings. • Clean your brush always in clear water whenever you change colors. Also keep two clear containers of water next to your painting. One container to rinse off your brushes, and the other container to apply clean water to your paint. 2. Should I use white paint? You can, however in watercolors white paint is used usually only for special purposes. It’s not used the same way as in oil painting where you mix white paint with another color to make a lighter tone. To lighten watercolor we only need to add more water and our white paint is the whiteness of the paper. I use white gouache. I only use it to paint the tiny white plant hairs or furry anatomy bits of the butterfly or bee. White is an opaque pigment and I never use it when mixing my other colors either. I also prefer to keep the actual white of the paper for any highlights in the painting. However, if it’s very detailed piece, I will use masking fluid if I need to keep certain areas white, rather than painting over them with white paint, which will look very opaque and loose the beautiful glowing look of transparency. 3. Should I use black paint? I never buy black paint as I find the actual pigment too dull. I prefer to mix a lively black using the combination of two complementary colours or any other mix that goes well with the particular painting. My favorite combination is probably Perylene Green PBk31 with either Winsor Red Deep or Pyrrol Crimson PR264. You could also add blue to the mix to liven it up to your taste. There are several other complimentary color versions. Try them and see what works for you. If you mix your own darks they will have more life.

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4. Do I need to keep the palette closed? It is advisable to keep your paints covered when not in use. Otherwise unwanted dust particles settle on the paint and eventually end up on your paper. Having darker dust particles on your paper is very, very annoying. 5. Did your colors crack after drying? Yes, some of the colors do crack after they have dried, but this is normal. Cobalt Green Turquoise PG50 is one of them. I’ve heard that adding 2-3 drops of vegetable glycerin to the paint before it dries in the wells helps. You can also use honey in the same quantity. Using cracked paint will not streak your paintings either, as you will be mixing the color evenly before you apply it to the paper. 6. Should I buy a set of paints or particular colors? In my opinion it is better to carefully choose particular colors that you like, than accept a fixed set of colors, some of which you will rarely ever use. The other disadvantage of buying a set of paints is that you will also have to pay for all the colors, regardless if you use them or not. When you take the time to choose the colors you want and need, you will be putting something of yourself into your paintings, and in the long run it will make you a more confident painter as well as saving you money. 7. Do you have to let the paint in the palette dry before using it? Watercolor paints can be used straight from the tube, so there is no need to dry them out before using them. The only difference is that freshly squeezed out paint is softer to use, whereas dried out paint needs more water to activate the pigment. I personally don’t like freshly squeezed paint, because it’s gooey and I always pick up too much. I like when the paint is dry. I spray it with clear water and they are ready to go. 8. “Is it a normal practice to let your tube watercolors dry on a palette?”, “I wouldn’t mind putting my tube colors into a palette (would be so much easier to manage) but the paint is expensive and I am a little afraid that I’d ruin them by letting them dry”, “I don’t quite understand though, why make a palette if it’s going to dry out??” It is normal practise to squeeze out watercolor paint from a tube to a palette, as all dried out watercolor pigments are reusable. Oil paints, on the other hand, are completely non usable, when dried out. Watercolor paints are very easy to activate when either left out to dry overnight or even several years later. All that is needed is just a drop of water and they are instantly ready to use again. That’s the beauty of watercolors.

If you have any questions, suggestions, comments or you would like to share your thoughts with me you can find me through my website www.esperoart.com or you can e-mail me at: [email protected]. Happy Painting! Chris www.esperoart.com

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