Watercolor triads

The budget's been really tight this month, and I was resigned to not buying any new art supplies. But I had budgeted for a friend's...

I have just published a book called Watercolour Triads that explores a huge range of triads using my Ultimate Mixing set, as well as other interesting pigment options. Part of the cover is...

Use compatible triads in your paintings for consistency and color harmony.

I have a number of palettes of different sizes set up in many different ways and thought I'd share some of them all in one post. Most I do actually use, but some are set up ready to go and may be sold. I tend to set up the colours from light though yellows to reds to blues, then greens then yellow earths etc through to the darks. It works sell for me - I don't try to separate warms and cools as some do as I nearly always mix up warm and cool colours together. My intention is always to set up…

A primary color set on 2 papers, originally uploaded by Elizabeth Smith. Usually when we think of primary colors, we visualize certain bright hues of red, yellow, and blue. These hues, we’ve been told, will let us make any color of our choice. As artists, we know that this idea is at best an approximation – mainly because there are so many wonderful colors out there! What a primary triad does do for us is to keep our lives simple, and to maintain a harmony within our work. Although I enjoy…

This is a page in my sketchbook (Aquarius II paper) comparing three triads. When I use a triad to do a painting, I am just using three colors which are a variation of the primary colors, red, yellow, and blue. For the top sketch, I used cobalt violet (as my red), hansa yellow, and manganese blue. These are light pigments and will never give you gutsy color. I like to use this combo for shadows sometimes, but they make a pretty wimpy painting. The middle sketch is done with a stronger, more…

Setting up a watercolor palette can be a bit of a brain-teaser, especially when you begin learning watercolors. When I first started painting it took me a while to figure out which colors to use and how to organize them. And over time, I’ve agonized over the best choice of paints to include in my

A limited palette of watercolors does not have to be limiting! Yes… I’m kind of pleased with myself for that sentence! But it’s true. You’ll be happy to know you don’t need that luxury box set of 80 colors to get fabulous mixing results with watercolors. However, it does take a little bit of care

Daniel Smith's Newest Triad... Recently Daniel Smith added a new Watercolor Triad just in time for Summer Watercolor Painting! It's the Sand & Surf Triad colors chosen by Watercolor Artist Susie Short . It's official name is: "DANIEL SMITH: Limited Edition Watercolor Triad, Susie Short's Sand & Surf". If you are planning on going to the beach this summer to do some Plein Aire Painting, then you may want to bring this Triad along with you! Either take the Sand & Surf Triad itself, or add one…