Latest Posts
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Color Spotlight: Deep Scarlet (PR175)
A very transparent maroon, a bit brighter than Quinacridone Burnt Scarlet and borderline bright scarlet.
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Finding a Dark Magenta: Comparing Quin Fuchsia, Quin Violet, and Bordeaux
I have two great options for a primary magenta, Quin Magenta (PR122) or Quin Rose (PV19), both of which are extremely bright but don’t get that dark. I like to have a way of making a dark version of each of my colors, but none of my usual ways of darkening magenta quite work for…
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Palette Updates After Taking Liz Steel’s Watercolor Class
I recently went through Liz Steel’s Watercolor course, which was a great way to geek out about color. The course is appropriate for beginners but probably ideal for people with, say, about a year of experience (like me!), and focues on color choice and pigment characteristics, brush technique, and trying different styles. One of the…
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Color Spotlight: Perylene Maroon (PR179)
Perylene Maroon sits somewhere between crimson and earth red, a deep red with a brownish cast; sort of brick-colored. It’s useful to deepen scarlets and mute greens and blues to make more realistic landscape tones. I became interested in Perylene Maroon after watching Denise from In Liquid Color paint a pigeon using shades of gray…
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What’s the difference between Goethite Brown Oxide (PY43) and Monte Amiata Natural Sienna (PBr7)?
Jane Blundell’s Ultimate Mixing Palette includes the highly granulating ochre Goethite Brown Oxide (PY43), with Monte Amiata Natural Sienna (PBr7) listed as an alternative. But what’s the difference between these two colors?
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Five Situations That Activate My Perfectionism… And Five That Don’t
Perfectionism is the creativity-killer. I do my worst work and have the least fun when I’m putting the most pressure on myself. Expecting and demanding perfect work from yourself does not lead to perfect work – it only leads to burnout. The truth is that I’ll never be perfect – nobody is – and for…
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Color Spotlight: Alizarin Crimson Alternatives
The best-known crimson, Alizarin Crimson, is traditionally made from pigment PR83, which has fallen out of favor because it is not lightfast. Different companies have different solutions to this, offering colors with names like “Permanent Alizarin Crimson” made from various mixes of red pigments. Some artists also mix their own (a popular recipe is Perylene…
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All of Handprint’s Top 40 Pigments
Written in the late 90s/early 00s, Bruce MacEvoy’s handprint.com is still an invaluable resource for information about watercolor pigments. In his watercolor guide, MacEvoy has listed every color available from major brands at the time – and since watercolor catalogues don’t change that frequently, they’re still pretty much accurate, with the occasional missing pigment, review…
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What’s the difference between Phthalo Blue (Green Shade) and Phthalo Blue (Red Shade)?
Phthalocyanine blue (PB15) is an incredibly intense, staining, transparent, non-granulating, lightfast pigment that comes in two versions: Phthalo Blue Green Shade (PB15:3) Phthalo Blue Red Shade (PB15:6 or PB15:1) (I’ll call them GS and RS in this post.) What’s the difference, and which should you choose?
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Color Spotlight: Quinacridone Coral (PR209)
I just love this unique color. It’s a warm pinky red, yellow-toned, but not in orangey way. It truly is coral. It reminds of a cherry Italian soda. It’s a great color for flowers, the inside of a strawberry, and coral of course! It’s hard to tell what color slot to put this in, but…
