New WC palette

I already have two watercolor kits for the field – one is a Sennelier 14-color travel set and one is a 3-color Daniel Smith primary set I made from a repurposed eye shadow container. I’ve enjoyed using the Sennelier colors, but since they came as a set I wasn’t always happy with the color choices (are we ever?). I always planned to use them up and refill them with colors I use most often. The primary set I use for times when I lighten my load and carry just the basics. Part of me always wanted to have access to some of the colors on my larger palette – some have wonderful properties that I wanted to use in the field or just anywhere.

So I’ve been browsing for some time through art catalogs and online, searching for an empty palette that I could travel with, wouldn’t cost much, and wouldn’t leak (one of my complaints about my other kits). Wow! One can spend a lot of money on EMPTY palette containers. You may remember from an earlier post that I am at heart a frugal artist. Since I recently had a pleasant experience buying Kimberly watercolor pencils on eBay, I felt comfortable taking a chance there. I found this 18-color empty plastic travel palette at a reasonable cost, and with more of a complete description than I found in my catalogs. Shipping costs were minimal, and it arrived in the original box.

I filled them with the Daniel Smith paints that I felt I would use most often, trying for a balance between warm and cool versions of hues. I sketched and painted my layout as an aid for the future: not only does it help to see how the colors look on paper, but when it’s time to refill them I’ll select the right color! Then I also wrote down some of the properties from my Daniel Smith catalog. Knowing certain properties can really help me as I paint, especially the transparency and staining attributes, since sometimes I like to glaze or lift colors. There were some surprises in store; this exercise taught me a bit more about my materials that I’d either forgotten or had never realized.

So far, it’s worked out well! It has a hinged lid with a fold-over latch. The seal is indeed leak-proof, and I appreciate the ample mixing wells. A clear plastic lift-out tray fits into the top lid for mixing colors. The entire closed box measures 5-1/4 wide by 10-5/8 long by 1 inch tall. It’s larger than my other palettes but it works; it’s nearly the same size as my sketchbooks. I made a 2-inch wide elastic large strap with a Velcro closure that I use to bundle my sketchbook, palette, and waterbrush box together, and it works better with that set-up than my other palettes.

If you click on the bottom image you can see them larger on my Flickr photostream.

Royal Palm and new mini-palette

Royal palm, originally uploaded by Elizabeth Smith.

Florida is home to many types of palm trees, but none quite so impressive as the Royal palm. The trunk seems solid as a concrete pole, and the long, majestic fronds have a thick and sturdy midrib surrounded by fluttering green blades. It was a very breezy day, so it was a challenge to squint upwards into the sunny sky and try to draw the constantly changing crown.

I drew the palm on site and added the watercolor washes afterwards, trying out a new mini-palette of high value primary colors. I was inspired to create a smaller watercolor set by  Laure Ferlita's post on stealth sketch kits on her blog, Painted Thoughts. Thank you, Laure,  for a creative way to keep the art supplies minimal!

I used an eye shadow container (cleaned thoroughly and degreased  with rubbing alcohol), and one thing I especially like is the top lid with the clear plastic bubbles – they make great mixing spots. I also like the compact size: 1 ½ by 4 inches; I can take it just about anywhere.  I’m still waiting to see just how watertight it is…until then it’s going to stay in a zippered plastic bag.  It worked quite well with my Niji waterbrushes, the portable brush that carries water right in the handle.

You can see the swatch of Daniel Smith colors I chose for the primary set in the lower left corner of the top photo:
Red = Quinacridone Pink
Yellow = Quinacridone Gold
Blue = Prussian Blue

I read about this combination of colors somewhere and it sounded intriguing. I’ve used a similar triad in the past: Hansa Yellow, Quinacridone Pink, and Manganese Blue, but I had trouble making deep darks. This new set of primaries make some great dark colors!

You can click on the top  image above to view larger on my Flickr photostream.