Choosing the ‘right’ colours for your watercolour palette is a huge subject. The simple answer is that it is a never-ending journey of exploration and everyone’s selection of colours is unique.
My Current Palette:
Click here for the latest (documented) version of my palette. I make tweaks all the time but the basic selections remain the same. Note. It might be slightly different from the ones shown in the above images.
Paint Tin:
- I use a small Schmincke metal tin that has a fold out mixing area and a three sectioned lid but they are expensive. So I also use a tin by Art Basics (Australian brand) with two wells in the lid.
- I have removed the metal clips (correction: my dad removes the metal clips for me) and then secured the pans of paint with blu-tac.
Dad’s description of the process: To remove the steel clips from paint trays, place tray in vice (or clamp down) and drill out the four punched fixings from the clip side. Use an electric/battery operated drill with a twist drill bit slightly larger than the punched fixing area, then use a file to remove any burrs around the hole on the reverse side of the tray.
Detailed description of setting up my paint tin is here.
Recommended 12 colour palette:
Refer to this article for details of my standard palette of 12 colours that I use for my sketching classes and workshops. But it’s just a suggestion!
Recommended minimal 4 (or 6) colour palette:
I have also developed a minimum palette of 4-6 colours (Daniel Smith preferred but with W&N and Schmincke alternatives. More details here
How I store my paints:
My amazing dad made this incredible wall unit for me to store my paint tubes. Read the full details here.
