M.Graham Palette Update; I Finally Filled it! Adding In Payne's Gray, Cleaning, Swatching & Painting

My M.Graham watercolor palette was in such a disorganized mess, due to colours being added over time, and the palette had them all in the wrong order. I added in one last paint (Payne's Gray) to fill the whole tin, and then I cleaned it all up, rearranged the half pans, painted out new swatches, and even managed to do a painting! It is so much better now, and I am very happy with my updated paint palette.
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As always, thank you so much for subscribing, watching and supporting my channel!
Becky x

[@MDCampbell]

I get so excited just hearing the words, "M. Graham," because I adore them so much. Love how dedicated you are to swatching and refreshing the palette.The penguins came out fabulous and so fun to see this all come together. Cheers, Becky! ~ Mark

[@BeckyTregear]

Palette re-swatching was well overdue! I'm very happy to have them back in a coherent order; it makes it so much easier to see which colours are actually in there. M.Graham paints are so beautiful, with all of their intensely saturated colours. Thank you so much! 😊❤

[@donnaslayter4360]

Thankyou,Becky. Love from San diego.

[@Horsewoman-pt2ku]

My fav is your watercolor paintings

[@BeckyTregear]

Thank you 😊

[@pennypop408]

I love my M Graham's as well. I always lay them flat for travel.

[@BeckyTregear]

Haha yes they definitely need to be flat and not upright! 😂

[@stacys447]

I love their Neutral Tint. It dries down enough in a halfway filled half pan to travel with. I saw a bunch of other beautiful suggestions in the other comments too. Thank you for sharing. Beautiful penguins!

[@BeckyTregear]

Neutral Tint is always a super useful paint! Maybe if I use up my half pan of lamp black I will consider switching to Neutral. 😊

[@cheryl6716]

I love how your Penguin painting turned out, it's so awesome! You have an infinite amount of Green colors that you can create, with all of the Yellow and Blue paints that you have! 😱 Unfortunately, I don't have any M. Graham paints, but I do love the colors that you have in your pallette, especially that Rust color. I also like a good Payne's Gray. I like mixing of the following Daniel Smith paints for a stormy or spooky sky; Payne's Blue Gray, Lunar Black and Indanthrone Blue. The Payne's Blue Gray already has Indanthrone Blue in it, but I like to add more to it. You should do a mixing chart for Greens and see how many you can come up with that you like.

[@BeckyTregear]

I bet a mixing chart would make a whole lot of greens! 😂 I like the sound of the Daniel Smith mix too, I might need to try that. I love their Indanthrone Blue!

[@MrsBarnabas]

Thanks, Becky! Those penguins are a wonderful way to show off the Paynes Grey! I'm glad you were able to sort the box the way you want it. I understand the need - my tidy mind gets into in a real zizz when my stuff is muddled up.

[@BeckyTregear]

I am feeling much happier with the palette order, and it is a lot easier to see the colours in their groups, rather than in random places, haha. That was one of many things which needs organising, lol.

[@lozantoninocreations]

While I'm not a water colour painter, Paynes Grey is one of my favourite oil paint colours. I use it a lot, alone with titanium white, to create a full painting. It's black enough for me, to use as a black. It's just such a beautiful colour and I get beautiful spectrum of grey's with the two colours mixed.

[@BeckyTregear]

It is definitely one of the most versatile colours (shades?) out there. I love a Payne's Grey in any medium! 😊

[@awatercolourist]

Love the pengwings, to quote Cumberbatch 😂

[@INCWorks]

Beautiful! I imagine a lot of time and work went into the process. Your palette looks fantastic and I love the penguin family.

[@BeckyTregear]

Thank you! It fortunately didn't take too long to sort them, at least not as long as some of my other palettes...I just wish the raw umber would have fit on the same line as the other browns! 😂

[@JoKatana1]

A very enjoyable video and I loved the penguins. Lovely looking paints

[@BeckyTregear]

Thank you! 😊

[@elainetyrrell4669]

M. Graham watercolours are my favourites. I don’t have any Lamp Black because I found I can get a nice black by missing Paynes Grey with Sepia. I love your pengiuns Becky.

[@BeckyTregear]

I think Lamp Black is one that was sent to me. I quite like it! But Payne's Grey is my favourite "black" colour. And thank you 😊

[@joandevillier733]

I’ve really enjoyed this video. Your penguins are charming and well done. M. Graham is my favorite paint brand, as are the Silver Black Velvet brushes. Always happy to see them valued for their incredible qualities!

[@BeckyTregear]

Thank you, and both the paints and brushes are fabulous. 😊

[@debsmith7050]

Paynes Gray is my fav. I was gifted a small set of M Graham and have not used it yet - you guys online give me the inspiration! Your penguins are adorable. BTW - I have been making my way through watching your vintage art supply videos - you have a great collection - I really like them. Thanks for all you share

[@BeckyTregear]

Oh you must try the paints, they're gorgeous! It's always hard opening a new set though and marring their pristine beauty when the tubes haven't been squeezed yet. 💙

[@ms.rocketscience4924]

Wow! That Payne’s gray is perfect for penguins. I think that is one of the best demo paintings you have done.💕 I really like how vibrant MGraham paints are. The PB60 is the best , it has that deep dark blue without the dull drying shift of the Daniel Smith PB60.

[@BeckyTregear]

Thank you! I love the deep anthraquinone blue, it is such a beautiful colour!

[@DTartdrawing]

Very beautiful painting!❤💖👍👍

[@BeckyTregear]

Thank you 😊

[@Elvraie]

Very beautiful painting, Becky. I'll bear in mind the M.Graham's Payne's grey. Have a great weekend

[@BeckyTregear]

I'm glad I picked that one up, it's a lovely Payne's Grey!

[@Azkademon]

truly fantastic artwork!! I loved watching how much flow it had on the penguin's back wow!! I don't own any M.Graham paints so can't comment to a fave but I think I'd like the payne's grey too! such a lovely colour!, really enjoyed this video thank you! :D

[@BeckyTregear]

Thank you, they're very nice watercolours with their intense vibrancy, and decent running in water. I'm glad to have an organised palette once more, haha!

[@elainetyrrell4669]

M. Graham’s Payne’s Grey is slightly bluish which I love. Not all brands have that.

[@wahjeebee]

M Graham are so vibrant. I have their Anthraquinone Blue, it's so beautiful, my favourite colour ever, hands down. Ultramarine pink looks like it would be good in sunrise skies, it's so pretty. The Payne's grey looks lovely too. Great video and they look so organised, my little Virgo heart is happy. 😊

[@BeckyTregear]

Anthraquinone Blue is a favourite of mine too! 💙

[@AlexisCassandraArt]

It might just be me, but are the M Graham paints really captivating to look at? I don’t have any actual paints, but they are very pretty even looking through the screen. The second swatch chart in order was very satisfying! Payne’s grey is one of the most useful colors, and it’s just what your palette needed! I love your penguins🐧🖤

[@BeckyTregear]

They are just the most beautifully vibrant colours, I love looking at them too! And thank you, I just had to paint some penguins, they were perfect for Payne's Grey!

[@MirandaWatsonArt]

Hey, you have a PO48 in there, nice! Payne's Grey is one of my most favorite colors to have in a palette. It was perfect for your penguins. I just swatched a PR254 in Mission Gold's line and I'm curious if M. Graham has one. I'm going to go look right now because I noticed that it really caught my eye and I also LOVE it in the Da Vinci line, so I think that might be one pigment that always needs to be in my future palettes...

[@BeckyTregear]

Has it actually been discontinued yet? I can't find much if any info about PO48. I think I need to buy another Daniel Smith Sap Green if that's the case, because it's my all time favourite one. I do love a pyrrol red, it's so massively vibrant!

[@MirandaWatsonArt]

@@BeckyTregear Daniel Smith claims that have quite a large amount of it left, but who knows for sure 😉

[@martinanelsonartandpsychol6478]

love my PR 254 from M. Grahahm

[@FourInchCats]

Another great video and I love the Pengins!

[@BeckyTregear]

Thank you! 😊

[@NaomiCoutureArt]

So many nice colors. I agree a lot of their yellows are similar. Love how the penguins turned out.

[@BeckyTregear]

Thank you! Yellows....soooo many yellows...💛

[@dianethoroughman9541]

Hi Becky, I would like more M.Graham paints. I did buy the set by mind of watercolor. I don't remember his name at the moment. I think it is a Steve something. Maybe Mitchell. Anyhow, your penguins are beautiful. I also love the tutorial style of your video. It is so helpful. Thank you.

[@BeckyTregear]

Ah yes, Steve Mitchell - I saw his video on the curated set he made. It would be so awesome to have a set with one's name on it! And thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed my video. 😊

[@FaithAnnNB]

Lovely palette of M. Graham and beautiful painting! I have a set of 5 M Graham and that’s it. I love them, but they’re so expensive at my local store. I find them incredibly tacky as well… great for a home palette though 😊. I always spell grey with an “e” as well… just cannot bring myself to write it another way lol.

[@BeckyTregear]

I have a modest number of tubes and this palette looks like I have so many of them, haha! I can't remember the ratio of half pans to tubes...I need to actually make an inventory of these things I guess. Always Grey and never Gray! (Except when I am tagging them online, where I will include both spellings so everyone can find them in search, lol).

[@RoryP22]

Your penguins are wonderful! Really enjoyed watching you paint them. I love M. Graham paints too, and the only one you're missing that I think you should have is the Viridian (PG18). It mixes lovely, natural looking greens and granulates beautifully. That raw umber is really useful, so don't count it out. 🙂

[@BeckyTregear]

I'll have to use up a half pan of green if I'm to get another (this applies to the entire palette really, haha). 😂 I do like the raw umber, I just wish it fit on the top line with the reds and browns. ❤️

[@lindyashford7744]

Great little painting, I do like the next generation baby penguins. I doubt I will every buy any M Graham’s, too pricey and I have enough watercolours anyway. I did like the speedy reaction of the quin rose though, and I love reactive watercolours. One of the greens caught my eye, a Hooker’s green, I think. You have enough yellows and blues to never be short of any kind of green for a long time, and a touch of a transparent yellow with some Payne’s grey should give you a tolerable substitute for perylene green, in fact I use Mars black and a touch of yellow anyway for greenish blacks. I read somewhere that though people discount yellows on their palette they are usually the fastest colour to get used up… I guess that palette is going to do you for a very long time yet. I have poured Sennelier pans that are not dry after five years, and my Jackson’s own are the same….. their quin violet will be runny for eternity I think!

[@BeckyTregear]

Some of these honey paints defy drying, that's for sure! 😂 I do use yellows a lot so I am fine with them all, and yes at least I can make plenty of greens with all of the blues as well. Plenty of those to last a lifetime. 💙

[@lisagoetsch]

Squeee!!!! ❤ I love this. The penguins turned out beautifully. They are one of my top favorite animals. (Really only out ranked by bears and platypus). I currently only have one M. Graham watercolor and I think it’s an Azo Yellow. Wouldn’t mind trying more someday. Loves the Quin. Violet you swatched.

[@BeckyTregear]

I love penguins too! My palette has rather a lot of purples, but M.Graham make some gorgeous ones! 💜

[@koskey06]

Holy yellows!

[@BeckyTregear]

So many yellows!! 😂💛

[@heatherrae4126]

I currently have 14 m Graham paints. I want 6 more to fill my palette. Decisions, decisions! 😂 love your bubbly personality

[@BeckyTregear]

I hope you work it out....deciding whi ch paints to choose is always supremely difficult, haha! 😂

[@kimiastewart6293]

I'm a new subscriber and I love your beautiful painting, you are an amazing artist ❤

[@BeckyTregear]

Thank you so much! 💟

[@awatercolourist]

I’ve only tried their Payne’s Grey and their Azo Yellow. Very pigmented. I’d love to try their Quin Gold, Azo Green, Cobalt Teal, Indanthrone Blue, Quinacridone Rust, PY97, Quinacridone Violet, Quinacridone Rose, Viridian, PG36, Cobalt Blue, Ultramarine, Manganese Blue Hue, Turquoise, Nickel Azo Yellow, Permanent Alizarin Crimson, Quinacridone Red. Yeah, I guess that covers everything 😂

[@BeckyTregear]

That would make a sizeable palette! 😂

[@elainetyrrell4669]

The Quin Rose is beautiful. I got some along with Titanium Buff to mix together to get a nice pink to paint a pig.

[@awatercolourist]

@@elainetyrrell4669 M Graham has Titanium Buff? Since when?

[@awatercolourist]

@@BeckyTregear 😂 Not as sizeable as yours 😆

[@elainetyrrell4669]

@@awatercolourist Apologies. I just checked the tube and it a Daniel Smith.

[@elizabaum]

Beautiful paints and painting! I haven't gotten around to trying any M. Graham yet, though mostly because other brands have simply been cheaper/more accessible. That Payne's Grey is really pretty and tempting, though....as if I need *another* Payne's Grey.... 😂

[@BeckyTregear]

I started buying them when I found that my local store had the paints in stock at a "reasonable price". Then people sent me more and now I have a whole tin's worth. Can't have too many Payne's Greys...😂

[@Saahrish]

I love your paintings. They are always so so so beautiful. I have been meaning to get some M Graham watercolors but I’s so bad at picking few colors for a limited palette. Ah why are watercolor end up being so expensive 😢

[@BeckyTregear]

Thank you! I feel your frustration - it's SO hard choosing only a few colours. I have spent many hours trying to pick limited palettes. I think with the M. Grahams I'd bought about a dozen tubes, and then others sent me pans so all of a sudden my collection doubled, haha. Now I plan on buying extra tubes only if I manage to finish up any of the half pans, lol.

[@denisestover2416]

Hi! I just found your channel and I'm enjoying your videos. I have a few suggestions to help you especially when swatching your colors as they've always helped me. I'm a silk artist now and, though I'm no longer a watercolorist, I do everything almost exactly how I did with watercolor. To keep your swatching neat and in its "lane" use masking fluid to put around your borders. Another way is to use masking tape. It's easier to buy the small pinstripe size masking tape, but you can cut it yourself....though it's time consuming. Another way is to use a hairdryer. You'll paint the first swatch/color and dry it, then the next swatch/color and dry it and so on... I hope those help somewhat. Happy 😊 Painting

[@BeckyTregear]

Welcome to my channel, and thank you for your lovely comments! Silk painting sounds amazing, and it is something I have never tried - I'll have to do some research on the subject. Ah yes, tape...that would make things a lot neater! The book I'm using is breaking down with its sizing and I'm finding that tape etc is just a nightmare on it so I am plowing through the book as quickly as possible and then I can then move on to less annoying paper. But I've always been a messy swatcher anyway, so I don't know if new paper is going to fix this, lol! Miranda Watson - Alkali Creek Art does lovely tape bordered swatches - hers are much neater than mine. 💜

[@denisestover2416]

@@BeckyTregear Oh, I completely understand the paper situation! I hope you try the liquid masking as borders but only on your new paper😉 I do love some of the colors you have in this palette.

[@hannahthufvesson]

I love M.Graham paints! Would you mind if I ask how you feel the yellow ochre compares to other brands? I’m curious how vibrant/yellow and transparent it is 😊

[@BeckyTregear]

Yellow ochre is not a colour I'm particularly in love with, but I do quite like M.Graham's version in that it's not too muddy or opaque, and it has a nice colour to it which is decently saturated but not quite as much as some of their other yellows (like the azo ones) so is good for more muted work. I usually end up choosing raw sienna over yellow ochre so I haven't got a lot to compare with, I don't think.

[@hannahthufvesson]

@@BeckyTregear Thank you so much! That's really helpful! ☺️🙏

[@koskey06]

M Gram is just sooooo expensive! I mean it makes DS look cheap. I have never tried MG myself but for what i have seen and heard from people, its some of, if not the best watercolor you can buy. I just wish they made likw 10ml tubes or even a little smaller so it wouldn't be such a commitment in price and quantity

[@BeckyTregear]

A 5ml tube option would be good to lower their price! Actually the M.Grahams are on a par with the Daniel Smiths price wise in Australia. As in....they're all expensive!! 😂

[@ChelleBeeby]

💜💜💜tfs💜💜💜

[@ladyhollman9534]

Gamboge 😁 …. Pyrrol Red … Diox Purple

[@fuzzydragons]

thats not a messy palette lol looked used but not like paint had blown up in it 😝that is a lovely payne's grey

[@BeckyTregear]

It's nice to clean it once and a while anyway, haha. I love this Payne's Grey a lot!

[@simmikose6540]

This is beautiful! I’ve been using white nights watercolour pans for 2 years now and I really want to invest in professional watercolour. I’m tossing in between m graham winsor and Newton or daniel smith. I just don’t know where to start. I want tubes over ready pans. Not sure if I should but them in sets or by singular tubes. Ugh it’s so difficult to decide. As you would know it’s so exspensive in Australia. Where do you recommend I shop from 🥰

[@BeckyTregear]

Oh I know how hard it is to choose between brands! Ok, so my first professional tubes were by Daniel Smith, and I think they are excellent all-rounder paints. They dry well in pans, rewet nicely and the range is huge so there are loads of great choices. Plus they are a bit easier to find in Australia. The Art Shop is the only place that I know who stocks M.Graham paints. These are also incredibly beautiful but they don't ever fully dry in a pan so can be an issue if travelling with them and they run. I'd say Daniel Smith are easier to handle overall. Winsor & Newton say that their tube paint formula is different to their dried pans, and the paint is meant to be used from wet. I don't think it is much of an issue though and they can be poured into half pans. But I don't have a lot of experience using them so I can't say for sure. And they're the most expensive of the three brands I think? Anyway, I hope that helps. 😊

[@BeckyTregear]

Oh and I forgot to mention that it is best to shop around online (Amazon, Jackson's) and local stores websites to see who stocks them and who has a sale going at any given time.

[@simmikose6540]

@@BeckyTregear thank you so much ❤️

[@JessicaCEP]

Did you find the cobalt teal to be stinky? Mine was….

[@BeckyTregear]

I don't remember because I poured that one quite a long time ago, but cobalt paints are often quite smelly in my experience. 🤢

[@awatercolourist]

That PR264 is way too vibrant! Is it the camera?

[@BeckyTregear]

Could be, but all of their paints lean towards the vibrant side - they're heavily saturated in colour for sure!

[@awatercolourist]

@@BeckyTregear Very saturated with pigment; I 💕 that!

[@miaomiaochan]

M. Graham paint is fabulous, but *so* incredibly messy and tacky. The paint I poured years ago into pans is still tacky, and I live in the desert. That's the power of humectants for you. But I wouldn't have it any other way, as honey-based paints are my favorite for the way they flow and for how easy they are to rewet.

[@BeckyTregear]

Mine always stay sticky too! But as you say, they're so beautiful to work with and rewet like a dream. ❤

[@awatercolourist]

First comment!