The Rusted Hen's Chicken Scratch

The best watercolor palette for teaching and the best sharing watercolor palette:

kathrynoneal@gmail.com (Katy Killingsworth) — Fri, 19 May 2023 18:21:11 GMT

The best sharing and teaching palette I have made yet!

I love filling new palettes and I love being able to share watercolors with others, so it is a given that I have wanted to give starter watercolor palettes to friends and family who have expressed an interest in them.

Here's the dilemma- I want new watercolor painters to start out with high-quality paints with a good mixing range and some convenience colors, but I don't want to spend a lot of money giving away paints. I also want to have a selection of paints that I can use for future teaching workshops. Too many hues and a teaching palette can get overwhelming and over-complicated.

I still recommend the set of watercolors I started with in 2016, Daniel Smith's Essential Introductory 6-tube set. I have used this set for teaching workshops and I still use them frequently. However, for a gift set of watercolors there are two drawbacks that led me to look for an alternative. First, the price has gone up almost $10 since I bought my set in 2016. Second, one of the most fun parts of sharing a set of watercolors for me is customizing it a little bit for the recipient. The Daniel Smith Essential Introductory set is a great split-primary set, but lacks personality. Part of what can excite a new watercolor painter is the huge range of fun colors- even if those colors are for convenience. Not everything must be didactic!

That last point, customizing the gift palette for the artist receiving it, explains a few of the unusual choices in what I am boldly calling the best sharing watercolor palette (that I have made). This selection was chosen for my nieces who are interested enough in watercolor to make good use of professional quality paints. LB loves a periwinkle bluish color, so I chose the Lavender for her. Opus (Vivid Pink) reminds me of the color of Homecoming dress Abbie wore and is a fun florescent color that mixes beautifully with the other colors.

Speaking of mixing, I made mixing tests with all of the colors and I'm excited to share the scans here in the weeks to come. I'll discuss my favorite mixes and give more justifications for why I have chosen these colors. I also have been thinking about what I would substitute for the Opus (Vivid Pink) and Lavender in a palette designed for a teaching workshop. Maybe a darker green? Maybe even some white gouache? Anyone have a suggestion? I may need to pick up another tube or two of paint- it's always fun to paint shop!

That brings me back around to the first reason I am calling this the best teaching and sharing watercolor palette- cost. All of these paints are made by Da Vinci, an American paint company based out of California. They make a 37ml tube that can fill an empty half pan approximately 18 times! All the colors I used are available in the 37ml tubes except the Opus (Vivid Pink) that is available in 15ml. I haven't broken down the cost per pan yet, but it is one of the most economical options to share artist grade watercolor paint. I'll run the numbers and share the costs in a future post!

Dry Gouache Palette

kathrynoneal@gmail.com (Katy Killingsworth) — Thu, 15 Jul 2021 02:23:44 GMT

Convenient and Fun

I have a couple dry gouache palettes. I find them more convenient than using fresh gouache, since I am frequently interrupted while working. Working from dry is not the same as fresh obviously, and I enjoy fresh gouache when I am able to make the time.

This is a metal tin with full pans. The pans have a magnetic strip on the back to keep them from moving too much. Most of the gouache is M. Graham, a great brand of watercolor and gouache, with a few Winsor and Newton. Paint names are listed below. I added Titanium White to each of the pans when I poured them, and mixed a tint of each hue. Dry gouache will crack, and if I don't keep this tin flat the paint will fall out of the pans.

All M. Graham except Orange Lake Deep, Flame Red, and Burnt Sienna, those are Winsor and Newton.

Azo Yellow, Gamboge, Orange Lake Deep, Flame Red

Quin. Rose, Quin. Violet, Dioxazine, Phthalo Green

Phthalo Blue, Ultramarine Blue, Cerulean Blue, Hooker's Green

Burnt Sienna, Raw Sienna, Yellow Ochre, Permanent Green Light

Burnt Umber, Raw Umber, Lamp Black, Payne's Gray

I really enjoy this palette for sketchbook practice.

These snail were so much fun to draw and paint.

I also used this palette in this video of a sunset lit cloud and field.

Studio Palette

kathrynoneal@gmail.com (Katy Killingsworth) — Wed, 07 Jul 2021 03:07:24 GMT

Mijello 24-well airtight plastic palette

This is far from a balanced palette, but I think it is interesting to see quirky palette set-ups. So here we go!

Palette : 24-well plastic Mijello with airtight lid

I think this is meant to be an acrylic palette, but I was interested in the large wells for watercolors.

Paints : I have a mixture of brands, labeled on the sketchbook page below.

This palette is not well-balanced. It works for me, but I also frequently use multiple palettes. I would not recommend this lineup to anyone, but I would recommend finding what you like. Several of these paints are on this palette so I can figure out how I like to use them. Some of these are on this palette because I have a large tube or multiple tubes and want to use up what I have in abundance.

Customization : Ceramic plates, half pans

I found two appetizer-size plates that fit nearly perfectly into the center mixing area. I prefer to mix watercolor on ceramic so I am very pleased with this addition.

One side of this palette has three giant wells. I chose to set a selection of half-pans in these spaces. I like that I can swap these in and out depending on what I need. I did not adhere them, but it hasn't been a problem for me.

Watercolor Roses with Polychromos

kathrynoneal@gmail.com (Katy Killingsworth) — Sat, 03 Jul 2021 01:09:55 GMT

Quick sketch and first YouTube upload

Wanted to try something quick to see how the YouTube upload process works.

Sketchbook is an Arteza cold press watercolor book, it came in a pack of three. Quality is so-so, but it keeps me from working the paint too much and I don't worry about messing up a "precious" sketchbook. I have some I am almost too scared to use!

Paints are KHannah handmade paints from the UK- lemon yellow, magenta, kezia blue, and rose gold.

Brush is a Grumbacher goldenedge liner, size 6, my first time using it.

Colored pencils are Faber-Castell Polychromos- Magenta, Helioblue reddish, and Black