Wednesday, April 9, 2008

MY WATERCOLOR PALETTE

Linda asked about the pigments I use in my watercolors. When I first began I used Winsor Newton paints, and because of my comfort with them have continued to use them almost exclusively. I am far from being a purist and will select any color that I think will work, often mixing them on the fly as I paint. Over the years the following palette has evolved, and I continue to use it, with only occasional variations.

Not shown here are Indian Red (for brick work), Blue-black, and Indigo which I will add to a mixture when I feel it is needed.

I will frequently mix green directly on the paper, adding indigo or blue black for the very dark greens.

For architectural work I will often highlight and/or define edges with colored or pastel pencils.


Buck's County Playhouse

And to answer the person who asked if I ever paint anything besidesw buildings.......

3 comments:

dog face girls said...

OMG! Bill, how did you know I was a Poppy/Peony fan.. So where is this one hanging??

Vee

Linda said...

Yay! You answered -- but I don't see the palette ... ?is it my browser?
I also like Winsor Newton, but occasionally have a secret thing going on with Maimeriblu's Sap Green or Sennelier's Olive Green that I don't admit to to just everybody. I've been working with a very strict palette for the past few years, while taking this ongoing watercolor class, but am really feeling the need to explore with some different pigments, especially some of the dark blues (like the indigo you mentioned) and some of the more intense oranges that are coming out.
So it's good to know that you use the Indigo without any muddiness or bad results -- still, I'd like to see the rest!
:-)
Thank you so much!

Helen Read said...

Wow! I really like your new architectural paintings! Great use of perspective and color! :)
Thanks for your visit to Brushstrokes, etc. The feather painting you asked about is small - about 4 x 6".