watercolor palette for purer colors

COLORS Many colors have trotted through my palette. There are no musts only options. Critical is considering options and making selections based on your distinct vision.
Very important to me are pure, brilliant colors. Because of this 'vision' I religiously do the following:
1. Constantly change water containers. Using clean water is an absolute necessity if one wants clean color. For example if I am painting orange with blues, if any blue is mixed with the orange the color dulls. While painting one piece of a sunset I had 10 pots of water going at once to keep the pigments pure.
2. Knowing the pigment content of the colors I choose. For example, Alizarin Crimson has blue in it. This color, therefore, will not make a pure orange.
3. Working with pure hues, means laying the palette out in a specific way. There are separate spots of yellow and reds beside the blues which are used solely for making greens. There have been times I have actually had three spots of Aureolin and Winsor Yellows one for making greens, one for making oranges and one to keep pure for yellow itself.
4. Know temperature of colors. Being sensitive to the temperature of the colors one is using helps perceiving the color content. If a yellow is cooler it will more likely have a blue in it.

Here are the colors constantly on my palette and why. If you are working from a more modest budget, the first 8 colors make a good beginning palette. I have done paintings with just the first 3 colors.
COBALT BLUE- This blue is neither cool nor warm. It is transparent as well as non staining. This means it can be lifted easily.
AUREOLIN YELLOW- A cool yellow non staining and transparent
ROSE MADDER GENUINE- A cool pink again non staining and transparent
OPERA- A warm pink makes better oranges than Aurelolin yellow which has a bluish cast

VIRIDIAN GREEN- A transparent green which makes rich darks.
WINSOR YELLOW- A warm yellow
LIGHT RED- A warm red
ALIZARIN CRIMSON- A cool red stronger than Rose Madder good for making strong darks.

More colors to add
FRENCH ULTRAMARINE - A dark staining color, it is a good warm blue.
CADMIUM RED - A staining more opague color but good for flesh tones as well as warm browns
INDIAN RED- A dark color good for warming greens
ANTWERP BLUE- A cooler blue good for greens
INDIGO- The darkest pigments on my palette good for rich greys, pine forest greens

Other additions
WINSOR GREEN- A dark dark color for all kinds of uses
NEW GAMBOGE- An orange yellow
WINSOR VIOLET DIOXAZINE- A beautiful purple which can be also mixed from OPERA and COBALT though the cast is somewhat different.
CERULEAN BLUE- A light granulated blue typically used in skies

Infrequently used colors :
Winsor Blue Green
Winson Blue Red
Maganese Blue
Cad Scarlet (this is a good color for skin tones)

Colors are organized on the palette by hues together and moving from warm to cool. In going in a circle they are ordered like this:
INDIGO
ANTWERP
WINSOR BLUE GREEN
COBALT
FRENCH ULTRAMARINE
WINSOR BLUE RED
CERULEAN
WINSOR PURPLE
INDIAN RED
LIGHT RED
ALIZ CRIMSON
ROSE MADDER
OPERA
CAD RED
WINSOR RED
NEW GAMBOGE
WINSOR YELLOW
AUR YELLOW
VIRIDIAN
WINSOR GREEN

Singing Medium

Wednesday August 5th, 2009 HELPING A MEDIUM SING This summer more folks are asking me why I paint in so many different mediums. This pointed question has made me articulate an intuited tendency. Just as with my children, I work to bring out the best qualities and characteristics in a medium.This means learning and exploring what is unique about a given medium and helping it achieve its greatest potential. The past several weeks I have returned to watercolor which for a while, I must confess, has bored me. But giving up control and becoming the guide of the water has released unimaginable potential.

While drawing, composing and knowledge of color nuances of the pigments create a foundation, letting go and allowing the water engender organic movement is a thrill! The water is capable of moving the pigment in a way the human hand and brain just can not do. SOMETHING TO TRY: Beginning with 3 basic colors, Rose Madder, Cobalt Blue and Aurelion Yellow try mixing beautiful grays.

These colors - in watercolor- are transparent and non staining. Also from them one can make any color except a luminous orange. Since Rose Madder and Aureolin yellow both have a bluish cast which is the complement of orange, using these pigments create a grayed orange instead of a shining one. These colors are also perfect for painting mist because they do not occlude the paper. While playing with these colors, be sure to try starting with one color then adding another.

Try, for example, starting with Cobalt Blue, add Rose Madder. Then try beginning with Rose Madder and adding Cobalt Blue! The colors are different. Now create white places which break the page up into interesting shapes (this usually means shapes which are not geometric, do not fit into a geometric area and are interlocking). Keep these areas dry for where there is no water no color will go! Use mask if you want to be able to be truly free with water. Pour on color and watch what the water does to the pigment. Mix colors on the palette and pour that mixture or pour each color.

Tilt your paper in all directions watch whether the colors mix or tend to move over each other. If you try this, e mail me your pictures or post them on the forum on my web site www.whopaints.com. I would very much like to see what you create!