A simple watercolor palette for beginners (and experts)

I frequently get asked what watercolor paints I use, so here is a quick run-down… As an experiment, years ago, I decided to try a very minimal palette with paint colors more or less matching the four ink colors in a standard desktop color printer (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black). So, I started with just these Winsor and Newton paint colors (listed here with their pigment codes):

Winsor Blue (green shade ) – pigment code PB15:3

Quinacridone Magenta -- pigment code PR122

Winsor Yellow -- pigment code PY154

Payne’s Gray – pigment codes PB15, PBk6, PV19

Winsor Blue is also called Phthalocyanine Blue in other product lines, and Winsor Yellow might also be called Azo Yellow Light, or Benzimidazolone Yellow. You can compare the pigment codes to determine if two different paint names from different product lines contain the same pigment.

Payne’s Gray is a convenience mix of Phthalocyanine Blue, Lamp Black and Quinacridone violet, and even in its most concentrated form it’s not exactly black. So, to my four basic color-mixing paints listed above, I also added Lunar Black by Daniel Smith, which I mostly just use for very dark backgrounds, because its gritty texture doesn’t look good in mixtures. It does however have a nice velvety softness when applied thickly and quickly. Those are the five colors I use about 90% of the time, even now.

I eventually added the following additional colors, which I use only occasionally:

Winsor Green (yellow shade) – pigment code PG36

Winsor Blue (red shade) – pigment code PB15:1

Cadmium Red Medium – pigment code PR108

The addition of the latter two paints gives me something close to a classic “split primary” palette, where you have warm and cool versions of each traditional primary color, except I have only one yellow, and I’ve also added green, gray and black. It’s still a very simple set, which I like because I’ve gotten to know these paints really well and there are no surprises. I also like that most of them are staining pigments, which I prefer for realistic watercolor painting because you can get intense saturated colors or thin them way down for subtle glazing, and because washing over previous work done with staining pigments doesn’t lift off the dry paint (much). The downside of staining pigments is that it’s harder to correct mistakes, but I’ve shared some helpful error correction methods in my previous videos.

I’ve used these same 5 to 8 paint colors to make over 200 watercolor paintings to date, and that has all worked out nicely. I neglected to point out in the video that there’s at least one thing my palette does not have much of, which is texture, because one of my goals has been to make watercolor paintings that don’t look like traditional watercolors. If texture is more your thing, then you will probably want more sedimentary colors on your palette. But if you’re a beginner feeling overwhelmed by all the possible paint color choices, or if you’re an experienced painter wanting to try something new and different, perhaps a minimal palette like mine might be a good starting point for experimentation.

Anyway, thanks for watching!

[And many thanks to Bradford Yorks for pointing out the errors in my first uploaded version, which I have hopefully now corrected!]

[IMNENIGMA]

I wish i saw this 2 months ago and hundreds of dollars sooner.

[hendsaeed]

Im doing a search on the pigments that are needed on a limited palette, I've seen a lot of videos like this but this one is the best so far! And it is only 4 minutes filled with amazing direct informations. This is the best limited palette I've actually seen 😍

[Panda-]

This has been VERY helpful. Thank you for teaching me what you know.

[marideelebrun]

Out of those oh so many videos you get the only 100% on the information ! You use a easy to mix uncomplicated palette! THANK YOU!

[TheTaylorwailer]

Proof that walnut brains are still as clever as watermelon brains!

These are great tips, thank you! Also, your paintings are unbelievably stunning 😮

[mulekicker]

Phenomenal mind, eye, and hand control. Ai will never have anything on your skill and imagination.

[zywang]

I highly recommend PBk31 Perylene Green and PV29 Perylene Violet as the darks/blacks. I use them to mix a wide range of darks from warm to cool.

[mcruz]

OMG, this is so brilliant using colors based on a printer. I will definitely try this simple version instead of the many color palettes. Also, it would probably be very useful to have a second part video to this one on how to actually mix colors with your palette. I know we can use the color wheel, but sometimes it helps to have the visual while trying at home. Thanks for the video!

[davidmolloy]

Thanks very much Paul, I've just found your channel and subscribed. From England. Take care, David.

[leslietempleton]

I am just starting out with watercolor painting. I bought a very inexpensive practice set but now I want to create my own pallete with higher end paint. This was very helpful to me because I do not want to spend a ton of money on my first pallete since I am new to mixing colors. I feel I can buy larger tubes of just what I need to mix more colors :) Thanks so much!

[DigitalViscosity]

CYMpaynes gray is still my palette to this day :) or the base of it.

[vikram]

Love this! I also believe a limited palette helps though mine extends to 8-10 colours. I do use the split primary palette but a single yellow plus a convenience green and two browns ( burnt umber, burnt sienna) I also am a fan of DS raw sienna (Monte Amiata) - it is a glowing transparent ochre colour

[avibongo]

Unfortunately I saw this two years late. The ink cartridge example was simple and brilliant.

[winterdiana]

Your strategy makes so much sense. Love this video!

[_Adrian_Llarena_]

Nice! I hope you make a detailed video discussing all the possible colors that you can make using these limited palette and what subjects you can use it to.

[gilliani.]

Oh I just ❤️❤️❤️ your idea of using the colors in a printer! I’ve a bizillion tubes of watercolors and a little less, pan sets.

[cLorraine]

Yep. Love the limited pallete especially the printer colours. I’ve subscribed to this channel

[lisahodgson]

This is a top video! So short with so much super useful information! I am still a beginner and often over think colours. 🌻☮️

[angelicamartacahyaningtyas]

I understand your reason for not using Ultramarine (granulating, liftable, not so staining). But for me, I will not replace my Ultramarine with anything. (^_^)

[freyatheo]

this is soo helpful for me who is trying to learn about watercolor, thank you so much