Here’s a watercolor only sketch I did tonight. I wanted to try painting without guidelines and correcting as I go.
I changed the paints in my compact kit. Across the top I have Sennelier Yellow Light, Maimeri primary red magenta, Daniel Smith cobalt blue, and Maimeri Cupric Green deep (aka Pthalo green). Across the bottom I have Sennelier Permanent Alizarin Crimson, Sennelier Paynes Grey, Maimeri Ultramarine and Maimeri Burnt Umber. I dulled it down from my prior arrangement to better fit the Tysons area and so I could stay more neutral with a few accents. This palette gives me a pretty good range. I will replace the Pthalo green with Viridian when it runs out so I don’t pollute the water so much on the go.
I really like this small watercolor pack you’re using. I thought my palm-size WInsor & Newton was small, but it appears yours is even more compact. I like the idea of working without penciled-in reference lines. Is it working to your satisfaction?
My kit is a gum packet of paint inside a yip yap dog breath mint container. It’s too small to use freely. I have to limit the colors a lot and be smart about building mixes on top of each other. I try to have a light side and a dark side. I started with yellow on the right then turned that to green. On the left I used variations on paynes grey alizarin crimson burnt umber and ultramarine. Working without lines was liberating. I intend to do it more for sketching. I think it will help me be more confident and direct with the bigger paintings.
This sounds fabulous. A friend recently showed me her Winsor & Newton cakes arranged inside an Altoids tin. I was impressed with that. Seriously, I’d like to have something a little smaller than what I use–Only about 1/2 of the colors are getting any use anyway.