Watercolour

Today i bought watercolour paints, two watercolour paper books, a watercolour pan holder and empty pans.

I decided to buy Daniel Smith watercolour paint. I don’t remember seeing this brand in the early days in the 80s when i used to watercolour. I have seen many youtube clips about watercolour paints, sets and tips and how-to’s. Daniel Smith does come recommended by many different sources. Good professional watercolours.

I bought the essential kit with six colours. Most of these i wanted to buy anyway. From three primary colours a warm and a cool colour. I also bought four other colours, in fifteen ml. Prussian Blue, Phthalo Green, Yellow Ochre and Perylene Maroon. Simply because with four colours i would get a Daniel Smith dot card for free. Ten colours to start with. No neutrals. With the extra green and ochre and maroon i can make darker colours. I did want to get Burnt Sienna, but that was out of stock. I will get more colours, but for now these are enough.

Only the New Gamboge is a two pigment colour. All the other colours are single pigments.

The best site i found is handprint.com. There is a huge section about watercolour paints, pigments, brushes and paper. I will need to read all the writings on this website again, there is so much to take in. There are also other parts of this website. Even a Wittgenstein part.

Recommended colours for a basic palette are the following:

• benzimida yellow (either PY151 or PY154)
• nickel dioxine yellow (PY153)
• cadmium scarlet (or cadmium red light) (PR108)
• -> perylene maroon (PR179)
• quinacridone magenta (PR122)
• -> ultramarine blue (PB29)
• -> phthalo blue GS (PB15:3)
• cerulean blue (PB35)
• phthalo green BS (PG7) or
• -> phthalo green YS (PG36)
• gold ochre (PY42) or
• -> yellow ochre (PY43) or
• transparent yellow oxide (PY42)
• burnt sienna (PBr7) or
• transparent red oxide (PR101)

Prussian blue is my favourite of the old days. It is also a good dark colour. There are several ways to make black with this palette, a green – red one and a blue – yellow one. Warm colours with the yellow ochre and perylene maroon works good too.

I bought a Schmincke watercolour tin. I might blend some colours eventually and put them in a separate pan. For now i don’t do that, i need time to get used to painting again.

I bought one sketchbook to take out with me. Another small block for other paintings.

For the mixing i did today i used an old watercolour block i still had. I made one with glazes. Another paper with several mixes. I will make more of these. A colour wheel. Larger mixes of all the different colours. Neutral mixes.

And of course sketches and drawings in the garden. The main reason i bought this. Yay!