A Well Rounded Watercolor Palette

THE COLORS ON MY PALETTE

Here is a list of the watercolors that always seem to be on my palette.  I often have other colors that I call my “guest colors” that come and go but the ones listed below are my favorite. 

COLOR	BRAND	NOTES	SUBSTITUTE COLOR
Lemon Yellow	D.S.	Good cool yellow	Hansa Yellow Med.
Phthalo Yellow Green	D.S.	Bright spring green	Cadmium Green Pale
Rich Green Gold	D.S.	Mix with blues and yellows for greenery
Phthalo Green YS	D.S.
Phthalo Turquoise	D.S.	Great for making darks
Cobalt Blue Teal	D.S.	Good “Pop” color
Cerulean	D.S. or W.N.	Manganese Blue/ good for skies & foliage
Cobalt Blue	W.N. or D.S.	Good for skies
Phthalo Blue RS	D.S.	Great for making darks and adding to foliage
French Ultramarine	D.S. or W.N.	The warmest blue
Carbazole Violet	D.S.	Good for adding to shadows	Cobalt Violet Deep
Quinacridone Violet	D.S. or W.N.	Good shadow color	Permanent Magenta
Permanent Rose	W.N.	Quinacridone Rose/ good for flowers
Permanent Red	D.S. or W.N.	True red	Winsor Red
Permanent Orange	D.S.	Good for flowers
Quinacridone Burnt Orange	D.S.	Good earth tone
Quinacridone Gold	D.S.	Stone wall, mixes well to make greens
New Gamboge	D.S.		Indian Yellow
D.S. = Daniel Smith; W.N. = Winsor Newton

Artists Stocking Stuffer Ideas

Here is another new addition to my watercolor palette.  Quinacridone Violet!


It is a rich, transparent color that mixes well with blues and reds or can be used on its own.  

Artists Stocking Stuffer Ideas

A new color on my palette is Schmincke Horadam Aquarell Translucent Orange.  I absolutely love this color!  It mixes well with yellows and reds and is beutiful on it's gorgeous on it's own.


Translucent Orange is considered a transparent color and has excellent lightfastnest meaning that it doesn't fade over time.  It is a great color for painting flowers!

Artist Stocking Stuffer Ideas

Since the holiday season is upon us, I thought it would be fun to share a few of my watercolor paints that I have recently added to my palette.  Any one of these colors would make a great stocking stuffer for the watercolor artist.  You can drop a hint to Santa by sharing this post!
Today's color idea is:  FRENCH VERMILION by Sennelier. 




"The word vermilion came from the Old French word vermeillon, which was derived from vermeil, from the Latin vermiculus, the diminutive of the Latin word vermis, or worm.  The name originated because it had a similar color to the natural red dye made from an insect, the Kermes vermilio, which was widely used in Europe. The term cinnabar was used interchangeably with vermilion until the 17th century, when vermilion became the more common name. By the late 18th century 'cinnabar' applied to the unground natural mineral only."