It’s been a year and a half since I made my bijou travel palettes. Today, I updated them based on how my paintings have evolved. I have two metal bijou palettes that hold 12 colors each, so I swapped out a handful and mixed up a few custom colors to better fit my current watercolor aesthetic. Plus, playing with palettes and refreshing color selections always offer a boost to my watercolor practice. It’s just fun.
Primary Palette
Paints Included
- Helios Purple – Sennelier
- Quinacridone Rose – Daniel smith
- French Vermillion & Quinacridone Gold – (mix–I don’t remember the brands, both might be by Jackson’s. I had this mix left over from before, but I found a premixed replacement that I like from Da Vinci called Vermillion Hue.)
- Transparent Orange – Winsor & Newton
- Primary Yellow – Sennelier
- Moss Green – Michael Harding
- Sap Green – Michael Harding
- Phthalo. Green (Blue Shade) – Daniel Smith
- Ultramarine Turquoise – Daniel Smith
- Phthalo. Blue (Red Shade) – Roman Szmal
- Delft Blue – Schmincke
- Cobalt Blue Violet – Daniel Smith
Secondary Palette
Paints Included
- Sun Gold – Case For Making (CFM)
- Pietra Rosa – A. Gallo
- Napthamide Maroon – Daniel Smith
- Mahogany – (mix–a mix of Warm Sepia by Jackson’s and Helios Purple by Sennelier)
- Mink – (mix–a mixture of Sepia by Daniel Smith and Quinacridone Purple Violet by Van Gogh)
- Quinacridone Burnt Sienna – Daniel Smith
- Copper – (mix–a mix of Raw Umber by Holbein and Helios Purple by Sennelier)
- Raw Sienna – Winsor & Newton
- Chromium Oxide Green – Schmincke
- Perylene Green – Daniel Smith
- Forest Green – Michael Harding
- Moon Dust – (mix–a take on the popular Moonglow, Artemis, and similar mixes but with lightfast paints, Cobalt Turquoise Light and Quin. Rose)
Sample Work
Here are some examples of my recent abstract landscape watercolors to showcase what colors I use and how I use them.
