Choosing Six Colours for a Limited Watercolour Palette: Daniel Smith & Sennelier
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- Опубліковано 22 бер 2023
- It was hard enough putting together a 14 colour watercolour palette a couple of weeks ago, for my art travel bag, but the idea of being a bit more minimal with my supplies (on occasion!) has grown on me, so I set myself the challenge of coming up with only a 6 colour palette!
This is the very condensed version of my process!
EDIT: The 6 colours are not all single pigment colours!!
Phthalo Turquoise is PB15:3 and PG7
Quinacridone Deep Gold is PO48 and PY150
Warm Sepia is PBr7 and PBK7
The 14 colour palette, and colour mixing basics video:
• Basic Colour Mixing & ...
Watercolour paints from Jackson's Art.
Daniel Smith:
www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinm...
Sennelier:
www.jacksonsart.com/sennelier...
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INSTAGRAM: helen_cryer_art
/ helen_cryer_art
WEBSITE: Helen Cryer Art
www.helencryerart.co.uk/
BLOG: The Dining Room Drawers
diningroomdrawers.blogspot.com
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I never get bored of watching artists putting a limited palette espacially when mixing is involved 👏🏼
It was so interesting listening to everyone talk about their choices!!
Making a limited palette is so much fun. I thought the phthalo turquoise was an unusual choice but your range of colors is quite impressive!
There might have been some emotional choosing going on (just because I like turquoise!) but I'm quite happy with it!
I absolutely LOVE this palette. And your final swatch looks like the most wonderful solar system! 😍
Thanks! When it came to filling a new 6 colour palette, I made slight changes for logistical reasons, but am still loving it!
Like you, I once compiled a list of palettes of different UA-cam artists to help me determine "the best" palette. I later realized this doesn't make a lot of sense because each artist's choice in colors will come down to personal preference, subject matter, and style. In the end, and as you found, the best palette is the one you actually paint with and not one that leaves us in a state of analysis paralysis. If a color doesn't suite, try something else until it feels right.
This is a great example of the range of colors that can be achieved with just a few colors. Convenience colors can quickly become an overwhelming and costly temptation, leaving you with a 48+ color palette. 😅
Very wise observations, thanks!
I love colour mixing, and am still learning a lot about it, though I also love convenience colours too, and have a huge palette! That's less about painting though, and more about collecting pretty colours!
Lovely choice of colours! You are so lucky to still have some genuine Quin Gold! 😍 I have only ever tried the newer 2 pigment replacement, which is supposed to be quite close to the original. I have made up a few tiny 6 palettes in Barkleys liquorice tins, the pans fit perfectly, love taking them out as they are so dinky and fit in my handbag. My most used tin so far, is one containing: Azo yellow, Quin Red, Phathlo Blue (Red shade), Monte Amiata Natural Sienna, Transparent Red Oxide and Lunar Blue. (All Daniel Smith colours) Looking forward seeing your new palette and what you paint with it. :)
I have some of those tins on my Amazon Wish List at the moment! I love the sound of your favourite palette, and I like the idea of rotating a few mini palettes around!
Wow, isn't color extremely interesting and fascinating? Thanks for the video!
Yep, it's a wonderful play medium!!
That’s a lovely palette, it’s so surprising to see how many colours can be made from so few. I really need to study colour theory. I’ve got the books, I just need to sit down and play x
I love colour theory so much! I think you'll really enjoy it!
Wow! That is an amazing pallette! You kept me hanging on for my greens but colour me impressed, from the top of my head I wouldn't have guessed you could make such an array. Colour theory and pigment knowledge FTW. Great video! 😊
Hahaha!! You can make sooooo many greens from that palette - there are all the different ratios of colours to play with too in each mix, plus mixing different blues and yellows too in the first place. I love colour mixing!! I've still got loads to learn, mind you, and I also like collecting all the pre-mixed tubes too 😁😬
This video made me jump to my art desk (dining table) and experiment, thank you! I would choose a quin rose, gold ochre, lemon yellow, phthalo turquoise, phthalo blue (red shade) and a burnt umber and then I think I could make my florals, landscapes and cake/biscuit/tea paintings. It was a fun exercise in mixing!
(truly I was mixing like a crazed scientistic with paper flying everywhere! it was really fun!)
Haha! I'm so glad - that made me really happy to read!
I think those colours are pretty similar to mine!
I'd say you picked six wonderful colors that play very well together! 😍
Thanks!!
Great video! I have the DS essential mixing set but wanted to add a couple extras. Your demonstration was extremely helpful.
I'm really glad - thank you!
I have tried SO many times to come up with my “optimal 6” and I struggle! There’s always an extra convenience colour I think I need or something I can’t mix. I’d love to spend a day sometimes and focus on figuring it out… without work or people interrupting me, or having to stop and get food ready for people (or have to look for something). The dream 😂.
Love the selection you’ve chosen! You can really mix some gorgeous colours with that set of 6 ❤.
I can't believe how seriously I was taking it! So funny really!
I've had an optimal week in some ways for this type of thing - I reacted badly to a hip injection on Monday, so haven't been able to walk very well or do housework this week - had to rest it, plus my husband was away for work, and I only have one kid left at home, and he was out a lot too, sooooo.... silver linings!!
@@helencryer I hope you’re feeling better now! I always feel guilty for enjoying my alone time when my husband and son are off doing something else for a day or two. It’s just so nice to get to immerse yourself in something without interruption! (Sent you a message on your instagram account 😊.)
I think it's good and healthy to carve out time for ourselves - I'm doing it with less guilt the older I get.
Fantastic tutorial. Love these choices
Thank you!!
I have a limited set of 5 Winsor & Newton Designers gouache that I’m really happy with and find I can make just about any colour I need. It includes Pthalo Blue, Spectrum Yellow, Alizarin Crimson, Burnt Sienna, and Titanium White. It’s perfect for plein air paintings!
Five! Argh!!!! Even harder!
Thank you so much! I'm rather new to color mixing. Watching you something sort of clicked. Yay! I'm off to experiment with more colors 😊
That's so good to hear, thank you!!
Helen, I have been spending time getting back to basics with my watercolour palette. I lost my mojo due to my illness and it's coming back! I have been desperately searching for an uncomplicated palette that would suit British land and seascapes so I want to say I appreciate all the hard work you put into this beautiful palette 🤩
I'm really glad you're feeling more up to stuff again!! Hope you pick out a palette that really inspires you!
I use gouache so it's not quite the same, but I have a similar palette. I got permanent red, lemon yellow, burnt sienna, pthalo cyan, ultramarine (all fromTurner artist's gouache), and white from Winsor n Newton. It meets all my needs so I don't think I'll be changing for a long time
That sounds a lovely set up!!
I haven’t really mixed colors that much, and in my homemade mini palettes I’ve got plenty of room for many colors. But this really inspires me to limit myself and do the mixing. The colors you got here make’s really beautiful mixes and apart from the warm sepia I think I’ve got all those colors to try and limit myself. Thank you for the inspiration. New subscriber here.
I'm so glad you want to do some colour mixing yourself - it's very satisfying! Payne's Grey, Burnt Sienna or Perylene Violet would all be good alternative options for a 6th, I think.
Thanks ever so much!
I'm loving your choices. I would add a dark and a green - I find it really annoying trying to mix greens and browns from bright colours outside, especially as I keep messing up the yellow. And maybe a lighter turquoise/ teal just because I love it so much.
Is it some kind of challenge to have only six colours? I think these credit card size palettes are small enough and you can have quite a few more colours. I was coveting the Art Toolkit one for a long time, but it's such high shipping from the US, and then recently found the Nomadic Artist one on Amazon UK, and couldn't resist.
Also thanks for showing the "mess". I always tie myself into knots when choosing colours and make a mess. And on youtube everyone seems to have this pristine process...
I was definitely sad to miss off teal! I'll have to see how I get on with my mixing out in real life!
I just did this as a fun exercise for myself, and also because I fell in love with the Portable Painter Micro! BUT I did actually order the Nomadic palette this week too! I couldn't find the Pocket Palette to buy anywhere in the UK, plus they're pretty pricey. I'm just going through a 'collecting' phase at the moment with regards to travel palettes.
Oh, and my process is very not pristine...
Great to see you swatch and mix and follow your reasoning! It's so difficult to limit onself to only six colours (I never managed to go with less then 12 😬), and your choices are excellent. For some more turquoisy mixes you could swap PB 15:3 for PB16 (Schmincke Helio Turqouise or W&N Phthalo Turquoise) if that was more convenient. The purples would be a bit moodier with this combination but you'd get bright purples from the Ultramarine/Quin.Rose mixes anyway so that might not be a downside.
Ooo, I think I have the W&N one, so will try it!
I like the choices in DANIEL SMITH Extra Fine Essentials Introductory Watercolor, 6 Tubes. However it was fun to see your take! 😁
Yeah, I think they're a good solid choice! I wouldn't mind trying more Daniel Smith yellows when my current other ones run out.
really nice seeing what you came up with and what mixes you can create.
if i was to put together a 6colors palette i think it would be rather boring, just choosing a warm and cold primary each to go with the basics
You can't really go wrong with that!!
Fun palette. Very versatile. However, I'm pretty sure that the DS quit gold deep has 2 pigments:PO48 and PY 150. Either way, it's a great choice.
Hi, yes - you're correct! I put an edit note for this video, in the video description, and I spotted another couple of errors I made too fairly early on (also in the description). Not my finest video for accuracy, I'm afraid!!
@@helencryer no worries. Love your channel. Always look forward to your posts.
I would choose the exact same colours and may make my own. I new to buy the gold and turquoise but have the rest
I ended up using a Burnt Sienna instead of the Quin Gold Deep, but think either would work well. I've used my limited palette a lot now, and am really happy with the choices!
Oh, interesting. How did it change your mixes?
I have Q. Gold, Q. Rose, Ultramarine and B Sienna in my teeny tiny palette. It’s a bit limiting for where I’m at, but ok as a lives-in the jacket-pocket kit in Australia.
It's easier to produce more muted colours with the Burnt Sienna than the Quin Deep Gold, which is OK, as our landscape colours can be more muted.
I'm away from home right now, but will be interested to try out your limited palette when I have all my paints again!
I what a great color combo! I love the way you did this video, so clear. Thank you. Now I'm inspired to make a mini set; Daniel smith trans. red oxide and Monte amiata sienna just arrived and I am totally enamored with the way Liz Steel mixes them with Schmincke's French ultramarine for a range of ethereal, granulating greys. Now must discover what works best with them. Woo-hoo! BTW, Jackson's is having a big watercolor sale, in case you need to replace those flattened tubes. Good to know I'm not alone in squashing out every last molecule after the crimper is done. Do you also get the last iota out of the tube neck with a little wire?
Thanks so much! I need to go and look up Liz Steel now, but I don't want to like those colours TOO much!!
Good idea for the tube neck, thanks! Unfortunately Jackson's watercolour sale doesn't include Daniel Smiths 😭
It's a really nice and versatile 🎨. I like to play with colors and create different palettes as well but guess what ... there's no ideal palette for me😂...I like to change my palette a lot and when I paint I need a blue, a red and a yellow plus some earth tones and that's it. The more I think about color mixing and color palettes the less I paint....that's why I decided to use what I have. When I finish one tube or pan I put another in that place and so on...and this works quite well😃
Playing with art materials is a whole different hobby to using them - I could occupy myself for ages without even painting anything! If I'm honest I'm just doing this because I fell in love with some cute little palettes!
@@helencryer I understand😃
I didn't expect sepia to be so useful. Is it necessary that the paints are single pigment? I think Sennelier paints are usually multiple-pigments.
Yes, it's a nice one! It's not necessary to use single pigments at all, but it's easier to get cleaner, less muddy mixes, the fewer pigments that are involved.
I had a look at the colour chart for the whole range of Sennelier's l'Aquarelle watercolours, and around 55 out of 98 of them are single pigment paints.
Cut the bottom of the tube off and scrape a palette knife along the inside of the tube or a stiff brush and there’s more paint🎉❤😊
Brilliant, thank you! I will!
hi helen! can i ask when using these smaller tins would you mind demoing or share any advice on how you pickup paint from the half pans that doesn’t end up damaging the tips of the brush? i’m having a hard time with this scrubbing a bit too much with the tips 🙈
I've never given it much thought really - it hasn't seemed to be much of an issue if I'm honest. I usually pick up paint pulling the brush backwards in small strokes, or kind of rolling it over - never scrubbing or going in circles. Almost all the paints I have re-wet very easily, and the ones that don't, I try and pre-wet them. My very first brushes from a few years ago (Silver Black Velvets) are still going strong.
@@helencryerthank you :) i have to learn to be a bit more patient and gentle lolll im so accustomed to acrylics i guess i have to relearn some good brush habits 😳
If it helps, I would use a cheap synthetic brush to pick up the paints or mini palette knife, which I think is relatively common in gouache and oil pastel.
I think the Sennelier Phthalo Turquoise has a PG7 together with the PB15:3.
You are correct - great spot, thank you! I've changed the title to '6 colours' rather than '6 pigments'! I looked at my tube of paint, and surprise surprise, there was a splodge covering the PG7! 😬
@@helencryer Never came across this splodge excuse before 😂. We’ve all done that mistake. I don’t so much forget pigments, I’m more into mislabelling swatches. My speciality is confusing PB36 with PG36 😂
@@awatercolourist I don't have them memorised in the first place - head like sieve. I can't use the splodge excuse for the other two I got wrong though!
I think I might have found my optimal 6 in the past few days, but I am not entirely sure.
Spill the beans then?! You can reserve the right to change the 6 if you tell us!
@@helencryer 😂 I haven’t played with them enough to figure out whether they suit me. I actually started with three and then I added a fourth colour which I found was easier to mix with. I then added two others that I think might be useful to me, but I’ll have to wait and see. I might expand them to eight colours. I’m actually thinking of sharing them on my Instagram when I’m ready to do so. My limited palette does not have a red or a magenta, though.
Fair enough. Found you on Instagram
@@helencryer Oh, thanks! 🙂
Aaaaaah, not to put to find a point on it, but I think you also missed PY150 in the Quin Deep Gold 😅. I wasn’t so sure at first, but I happen to be watching a video by Toby Urban sketch at the moment, and his swatch of Quin Deep Gold is PO48+PY150.
AND, guess what?! Warm Sepia is also two pigments! Have corrected them all in the description, but don't know what the heck I was on, making that video!?!?!
But anyway, please can you be my editor now...
@@helencryer Sure! I go for £10,000 a day 🤣. That’s you paying me, not me paying you… just to be clear 🤣🤣
I’m more than happy to discuss and make corrections in the chat. That way, you get more comments and boost your standing with the all-important algorithm. 🙂👍🏼
Ahaha!! I don't know about algorithms and whatnot, I mainly just like talking about paint with people who aren't bored to death by it, but I can split my 23p takings with you!
First comment!
😂 Do you live on UA-cam?!?!
I never thought about it that way, but I suppose there is some truth to that statement. 😂😂
OK, yours wasn’t a statement, it was a question; but perhaps we should change it to a statement: You DO live on UA-cam! 😂😂
I'm not judging!!! You just made me laugh!
Since I started making UA-cam videos in January, I've definitely spent more than my fair share of time on here! So many people who love colour as much as me though, to be geeky with!!!
@@helencryer I know! It’s such a beautiful environment and community here. 😃