Thursday 7 November 2013

Aquarelle palette - my pigments sorted! Updated.

I have a lot of paints that I only use occasionally, and had been trying to work out a way to store them that is neat and functional for occasional use at home, but that also allows me to take them to my classes or workshops when I am teaching. These didn't need to be in a palette, but some sort of good storage system. I am very grateful that Malcolm Carver, a fellow member of the AWI,
presented me with the answer with the flower shaped Aquarelle palette he designed.





This palette is intended to encourage his students to work with a limited palette of 12 colours and to mix them on the paper rather than in the palette, so there is no 'mixing' space.

They hold up to approximately 2 full pans of paint, can keep paint moist, keep paints covered when not in use and are neat and portable. Perfect!








I don't use them for doing a regular painting. I have set up many of them with my extra pigments - colours that are perfect for a particular painting for me or for my students; pigments that are really granulating; primatek colours etc. It may be possible to mix the colour, but the properties make them useful and can't be created by mixing others. They contain many cadmium colours that I use to demonstrate opacity or for special effects in a painting.





I set them up using one for yellows, another with yellow earths. A third has oranges, another has reds, purples, blues, greens and so on. It makes it much easier to find a pigment or colour in a demonstration or while painting.







Happy painting!












2 comments:

  1. Thank you, yes please to a list of your pigments for special purposes.
    I love those palettes by Malcom Carver....his website says "Free Shipping" but I bet that's only for local shipping, not the USA. Later I'm going to email and ask, they loo so practical.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Susie - OK have updated with a list of pigments and some idea of what I use them for. All are Daniel Smith unless otherwise stated. Let me know if you need more information. I am thinking of doing a complete post and review of all the colour I have tried but there are so many I don't know if that is of interest...

      Check with Malcolm about the shipping to the US. Perhaps if you are able to order enough of them (for a group?) the shipping would be OK. I actually have another in my studio with 4 different brands of Ultramarine, different brands of Burnt Sienna, etc. They have certainly solved my storage issues!

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