4 Watercolor Paints I Can't Live Without! + My Palette Explained

[@learntopaintwatercolor]

▶︎Free Video Lesson: 7 Secrets of Fresh, Powerful Painting www.learntopaintwatercolor.com/7secrets

[@crystalross7943]

You're four recommendations fit the Greek pallette. Instead of the common triad of yellow, red, and blue the Greek pallette includes green.

[@ntanasescu76]

As always, love your style of explaining things. So calm and thorough. Thank you

[@mbtvalli]

One day at a time. Thanks Matthew.

[@KeithBloss-r6w]

Thanks Matt for the palette demo. I am a self taught watercolorist who is improving each and every day. I like Andy Evansen's style and recently met him in Door County Plein air Festival. I am focusing on color theory and mixing watercolors which I am finding out is very important in order to move to the next level. Thanks again, Keith

[@learntopaintwatercolor]

That’s great! Andy is fantastic. Glad you are enjoying the videos.

[@berolinastrassmann]

This was super useful! It would be the perfect mix for a mini portable palette to take everywhere. I prefer painting with single pigments and mix, so this combo is perfect. Thanks also for the details about your palette. I am always putting palettes together and find myself choosing similar colours as those you mentioned. I was pleasantly surprised by your use of Cobalt turquoise -as I have a tube but never considered it for things other than water. Will definitely try this!

[@phillipstroll7385]

Not just that but it makes great blues as well. I don't use cobalt turquoise but instead cobalt teal. Because of that I get a great variety of blues, greens and darks. The more one knows the less they need.

[@stefannorinder2892]

Great as always. ❤

[@gailthomas2631]

Really enjoy your videos. I'm a true beginner and you're videos are a great help.

[@learntopaintwatercolor]

So glad to hear that!

[@horaciomartinez1694]

Thank you! Great video! Of course I take note of this information!

[@jonlizsam]

Great video! I would have loved to see you swatch and blend your four faves. My fab 4 picks: nickel quinacradone yellow, quinacradone rose, cobalt teal, ultramarine blue. All Daniel Smith. However I will be purchasing Windsor newton Windsor blue green shade. It is non granulating and perfect for sky wash, at least as my friend has done it.

[@lefthandstory1280]

Great work nice friend😃keep sharing a good work👍.

[@gingeranderson9701]

Thank you!

[@elletuppen4844]

Thank you for this great colour instruction. LOVE the muted water colour in the background. Perhaps a class in using just those colours please?

[@hediewiebe2128]

A lot of helpful info. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I enjoy listening except I find the music too loud and distracting. Thanks again and God bless!

[@amexjam55]

Hi. New subscriber here. I'm a newbie at watercolor and I find your channel very helpful. Thanks.

[@learntopaintwatercolor]

Welcome!

[@uRwEiRd_BeStIe]

Very useful video - thank you!!!! LOVE your palette too - just what I need - but does it have room to write the colours on the edge or the side of each well? I find that so useful when I am reaching quicky for a certain colour!!!! (Im 82)

[@marybethfee2777]

Great video!

[@Lindaw1811]

Great video, as usual. Question: it's my understanding thst Opera Pink is a fugitive color. Aren't you concerned about that? I have avoided Opera Pink for that reason and instead I use Quinacridone Magenta for my pinks. I would love to get your thoughts on the lightfastness issue and Opera Pink.

[@learntopaintwatercolor]

Good question. I just use that color for a small highlight of color. So it doesn't bother me.

[@yvonnewagner5322]

Your bright pop of color will be a brown blob down the road. Sorry to any customer that buys it.

[@everartokelli]

​@@yvonnewagner5322 Actually, only the fluorescent part of Opera Pink is fugitive, the PR122 part is very lightfast, so it would change to a bright magenta color from the very, very bright pink. Alizarin Crimson (usually PR83, PR81 sometimes PR48) can turn brown from extended light exposure though.

[@yvonnewagner5322]

Thnank you everart for the clarification. PR 122 is offered by Daniel Smith as Quin. Magenta and is a beautiful lightfast pigment I would consider buying.

[@yvonnewagner5322]

...and an internet search suggests quin pink or quin rose as lightfast alternatives to opera; sorry should have added that.

[@Gigiridgway]

Love ur videos

[@carolynrobinson9502]

Love your videos! I don’t know how you pack so much into the time you get us. I’ve been trying to paint a sunset with coral pink clouds alternating with blue. What makes it difficult is that each cloud is surrounded by another color, pink or blue and mine in a debt being very choppy. They’re not all one line in a wash. I tried doing the individual blue clouds. In a wet on wet situation leaving blanks. And when dry I did a wet on wet with the coral pink. It still ended up looking not natural, and a bit choppy. Can you help?

[@majeddraws5104]

Thank yo very much for all your eforts here in YT. I'm really interesed in Human portrait and detailed human figure. are you intereste in these areas too? if not, could you help me and tell to whom I can go for these here in KZbin? thank you agian!

[@keithdmaust1854]

For god sakes - put a premium frame and mat around the painting on the wall in the background. That cheesy yard sale frame and mat are an insult to the beautiful painting. BTW your video got me really fired up to get back into watercolors - thanks! + subscribed.

[@WatchingYoutube737]

bait and switch

[@edskodevries]

Thank you for the video. You videos always feel part meditation part education, and I appreciate that! :) Would love to see a video _how_ you would use your "4 essentials", how you would mix them, how one might discover what mixing works, that sort of thing.

[@cornishfudge39]

Great videos! Very helpful, just starting to paint and I am going through your videos as I am a complete novice. So I have found them so helpful ✨

[@learntopaintwatercolor]

Great! Best of luck in your painting!

[@sylviaroan9696]

Thank you for your most helpful, clear , and specific instructions on the water color painting pigments.

[@shirleygibbons8775]

Your excellent art presentation has helped me today. I am 93 years old...life long artist but there is always more to learn thank you , s. GIBBONS

[@kathleengarness1660]

that's a really interesting basic palette! Mine is hansa yellow lemon, quinacridone rose, manganese blue (hue is okay), and a permanent violet (such as DaVinci or WN)

[@MsBonsai2010]

🎉🎉 Yay! I finally found another artist that loves some Quin Gold. It's such a beautiful sunshine yello, so versatile 🎨

[@learntopaintwatercolor]

Yes! And so powerful. It adds quite a punch of warmth.

[@1mulekicker]

I got 4 paints.... and all the variations! lol Thanks for sharing. I'm in good company.

[@pedrocarloslaufferneto4189]

Matt..you showing your color palette, I think I understood the difference between your watercolors in relation to others who also show their work... you have a very pleasant feature.

[@morgenmachen2400]

Just started watching but wanted to mention that I LOVE your cobalt turquoise/ raw Sienna mix. Just used it yesterday, because I'd remembered it from your videos.

[@learntopaintwatercolor]

I'm so glad!

[@dianemcgregor6171]

Yes I think I'm going to get this colour too.

[@Zxfi01]

Yes!!! Yes!! I love this. For some reason I never think of turquoise as a mixing color.

[@zzdoodzz]

Questions for you, regarding your John Pike palette, do you leave your paints in the wells over time? I see it has a cover, do they stay somewhat fresh when covered and not in use, do they only stay fresh if you're using them several times a day, or can they live in there for few days. Can you please elaborate about using paints in this palette, your process for using paints in them, adding to them, how when you pull from them you're not worried about having a totally clean brush, etc. If you already have a video on this please point me in the direction. Thanks again so much, you are fantastic both as a painter and instructor. Cheers.

[@CynthiaGalant-z9d]

Love your videos matthew. Youre such a good teacher.😊

[@deborahthomas1617]

I wish you’d show examples of all of these palate colors you are discussing.

[@normamiller2316]

Thanks for another helpful video. More on color mixing is great, but would appreciate your input on painting in dry climates, humidity in 20 to 30’s where paper dries quickly.

[@DS40764]

My base pallet is divided by warm and cool colors ,of each primary color ( you can make your own greens, oranges and purples). I also have earth colors: Burnt Sienna, Raw umber and Yellow ocher. Blues: cobalt, cerulean and ultra marine. Reds: Venetian red, aliziran crimson and Yellows: Lemon yellow and any "warmer "yellow . I love neutral tint too which makes your colors more neutral(natural) ,or grayed down. You can make your own paynes grey from black and blue watered down. I use this formula because colors can be the same, but be labeled by a different name ,by brand and it kind of helps to learn warm versus cool shades. I enjoyed your selection of colors and love your work.

[@antonelagioscio7454]

I've got the same John Pike palette which I've recently acquired and it has been a total game changer for me when it comes to painting large pieces thanks to having so much mixing space. Access to the wells is superb, too. Anyway, I'm curious about your choice of Opera Pink, since it's a quite fugitive colour in the brands I know. How do you deal with that?

[@learntopaintwatercolor]

Good question. I just use that color for a small highlight of color. So it doesn't bother me.

[@jsavideoproductions]

Hi Matthew, thanks for sharing your colour choices and your four most used colours. Do you work with freshly squeezed paint in your pallets every time you begin a new painting?

[@pvl256]

Do you pay attention to the transparency of pigments, as well as how much they granulate? And - some pigments say "permanent" - did that mean that these are harder to lift if you need to do that?

[@parleymanderson7527]

I think "permanent " refers to their lightfastness. For example permanent alizarin crimson by winsor and newton is their alizarin crimson hue that's supposed to be more lightfast. Though, I would judge their permanence base on their pigment info and artists' lightfast tests

[@ABBAnMJ]

Thanks!

[@JEBavido]

I hadn’t considered lavender and didn’t even know about the gold. Thanks so much!

[@olgal9619]

Very interesting, thanks a lot. Did you ever consider to replace cadmium based pigments ? It's not so good for nature, it's poisonous. I try to avoid cadmium pigments in my paintings.

[@ekaterinapazukhina9487]

You are wonderful, thank you!!

[@imp822]

It was really helpful to learn what colors you mix together!

[@sbyerley]

Please fix this on your website: I signed up to get a download, instead I got (No download) a newsletter, which may or maybNot have the doc i wanted. Thx!

[@brucemckenziefraser139]

I adore quin gold! It brings sunshine onto the paper 🌞 I also love cobalt teal blue, as it blends so beautifully into everything 💙

[@jadedenthusiasms]

I love when artists do this, because, like you did, I also love to see what others love in their palettes and seeing their work and then getting a few basics. right now I have a bunch of colors, but most are W&N regular line, not professional...a few are Daniel Smith, which i love...and a couple random. I do have 1 W&N prof color and my goal is that as I use these up, just getting one professional tube at a time to keep expenses down. so its fun to see what different artists use as basics because its surprisingly different then I'd have thought back when I began teaching myself to paint..only a handful of years ago, already an old lady :) but after painting a while and seeing others, I'd definitely not be going the 3 primary route..well, as in the bright primary ones, but, more like this...a bit different, but similar. fun to see so thanks for sharing :)

[@carolehague]

Thank you Matthew, wishing I could sen you some of my skies here in Taos, New Mexico.

[@michaelleaver9625]

how do I keep my dipping into my colors from making the original color contaminated?

[@marilynbenkler7110]

What do you mean when you refer to paint being ‘saturated’?

[@kellyhalligan1328]

Yea!!!!!

[@longwaytotipperary]

Really enjoyed this!

[@learntopaintwatercolor]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@emmamariamakes]

Love turquoise! I have a Schmincke Helio Turquoise pan but in my main palette I squeezed a really old Rembrandt Blue as my greenish blue :) Is Raw Sienna a must over Yellow Ochre?

[@learntopaintwatercolor]

I think either one works fine.

[@WalkerFrankeArt]

Great video! I normally avoid plastic palettes because they stain. How do you avoid this with yours?

[@emmahaslam1905]

You may be able to remove the stain with an eraser.

[@DavidMiltonJones]

Great video, Matt. Thanks a lot. I've been running scared of watercolour now for over two months and even regressed to pastel! Clawing my way back.

[@learntopaintwatercolor]

You're a fantastic painter David. I hope you come back to when you're ready.

[@DavidMiltonJones]

Nice one, Matt. I was wondering what that pic on the wall behind you is. Look like a JZ.

[@learntopaintwatercolor]

Yes! I picked that up at a workshop of his few years ago.

[@柯禮安G]

😆

[@nerdcave0]

This was really helpful, thanks. Any insight as to whether it's a bad idea to mix different brands of paint?

[@learntopaintwatercolor]

I say go for it. You might come up with a mix you really like.

[@donnagoode6923]

Great video. What exactly does permanent mean in the name of a color? Seems to imply the others are temporary

[@jonlizsam]

Some pigments, like alizarin crimson and rose madder, are fugitive in their original form. A newer formula was created to make them fade resistant, thus permanent was added to their name.

[@evangreitzer6259]

So it usually means that it’s a mixture of lightfast pigments that approximate a historic fugitive pigment. In this case, Rose Madder Permanent is a lightfast mixture that imitates Rose Madder Genuine, which is very fugitive. Another good example of this is Alizarin Crimson Permanent.

[@crystalross7943]

Rose madder and Alizarin Crimson are known for being fugitive, the fade or change color when exposed to sunlight. Permanent means that they made a color dupe that won't fade as badly.

[@armandosrd.l9610]

Thank you for the video ! Very useful 😀☺️

[@learntopaintwatercolor]

Glad it was helpful!

[@Surai00]

Thanks for the explanation! I usually use M Graham paints, I really like the smoothness and how long they stay squishy on the pallette. A bit of an odd question, but I'm curious what you think? Why is it that I never see Chinese White on a watercolorist pallette? I've used it to lighten up colors, make pinks and skin tones, but I feel like I never see any professionals doing that. I have my trusty gouache for final details, but some time I want to just pale out a color without relying on transparency. Any thoughts on this?

[@slvva]

There is one artist I follow who use gouache and Chinese white mixed with other colours. He prefers to work with higher opacity. His cityscapes are moody and dynamic. Search for Niaz Hannah if you'd like to see his channel.

[@thebuttermilkyway687]

The greatest master of watercolor, John Singer Sargent, used opaque white abundantly not only to lighten hues, but also to paint white and light highlights on top of transparent under-colors. So, learn from the greats!

[@tmsouth1]

White is not traditionally used by watercolor artists. I think the main reason is because if you ever want to enter a painting in a art competition using white color is not allowed. With watercolors most the time you can just lighten a color by adding more water.

[@thebuttermilkyway687]

That’s just not accurate. First, watercolor competitions and shows all have their own rules and many allow the use of white, or other opaque pigments while also emphasizing transparent watercolor. You have to check the rules for the show you are entering. Second, if you are speaking of traditional watercolors there is NO MORE TRADITIONAL watercolor artist than John Singer Sargent and he used opaque colors including white and tinted colors made opaque with white. It’s all in how you use it. Of course it would be inappropriate to use it as a cheap trick but many watercolor artists do use white, while also being experts at using the white of the paper.

[@peggymcmillin660]

Thanks for the video. I’m planning to take your ‘Watercolor Essentials ‘ course, and was glad to learn that your choice of paint is Daniel Smith. That’s what I’ve been learning with (Jane Blundell’s ‘Mastering Watercolor’). I’ve learned a lot from her, and now I want to focus more on painting scenes, which seems to be your forte.

[@monsoon_magic2874]

Is your Quinacridone Gold the original PO49?

[@berkaysen2246]

Hi Matthew White, could you make a video about where did you grow up and how that environment affected your artistic development. This is not something that I'm struggling with, I just wondering.😊 And all your videos are so helpful, thanks for that.

[@Arlene.288]

Love the way you teach Matthew your work is marvelous and your one of the few gentlemen that I follow Im expading my horizons! Ty so much.

[@Jaime9138]

Matthew, sorry but no way to get your video on "7 secrets..."; not in my mail box, neither in the Spam. Please, give another way to get that information. And thanks a lot.

[@davidmolloy126]

Thanks very much Matthew for a look into your palette which is an intensely personal thing. I found it interesting that you didn't class the Raw Sienna as an earth colour. How long have you been painting in watercolour please? Take care and stay safe and well.

hi. The biggest problem I have is figuring out how to mix a color. for example, the color of the building ;)

[@dixiedrost4783]

Thanks Matthew.....very interesting.

[@annevickers3307]

This was very helpful. Thank you.

[@yvonnewagner5322]

Great content as usual, except for the misstep on the fugitive opera rose.

[@elsagrace3893]

M. Graham colors I like a lot. They are so strong and cheaper than some others for us in the USA.

[@phillisvance243]

Do you build you pallet with tube paints

[@gabrielbruce1977]

Huh. Not what I expected for a "take anywhere to paint anything" palette but it might be worth a try!

[@ΘΕΟΔΩΡΑΓΕΩΡΓΙΑΔΟΥ-υ2ζ]

Thanks a lot! This video is very helpful!

[@miriamrivera3742]

Thanks for sharing this with us! 🌻

[@agold1702]

That was great. Thanks!

[@scott-xg1il]

hey thats good one!

[@Queenie-the-genie]

You really only need the 3 colors that make up all the colors on the wheel. Buying the pigments for the three is best.

[@jonlizsam]

If only this were true! It’s impossible to mix some colors from the 3 primaries. Opera pink. Any quinacradone. Cobalt turquoise. Cobalt teal blue. The second issue is granulation, different pigments will create beautiful granulation effects. Other pigments are transparent and create their own beautiful effects. You don’t need a hundred, but more than 3 will serve you well.

[@Cchouette]

Yes, it takes time to choose watercolor colors well 😅 Your choices are still surprising 🤔 Cadmiums are opaque and toxic, madders are ultra sensitive to light, cobalts are also toxic and grainy ! Let's not mention that some of these colors are not mono pigment !!

[@angelicamartacahyaningtyas9083]

His madder says 'permanent', so it must be a hue/imitation not the genuine madder. I'm sure it contains quinacridones. I myself would replace cadmiums with azos, hansas, and pyrrols.

[@jwalzer]

Great video - would love to see a video on mixing colors - thx

[@learntopaintwatercolor]

Noted!

[@jwalzer]

@@learntopaintwatercolor TYVM!

[@morrisonwatercolors]

Very nice look at your studio palette! I was about to ask what brand of watercolors you are using but toward the end of the video you answered my question (Daniel Smith). Great job! :)

[@grahamwelsh4258]

Excellent as usual. Thanks