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Chapter 2. About Watercolor Paints and Supplies

Last Updated 21 December 2018.


Paint formulation begins with the manufacturer's selection of pigment. Pigments are divided by hue group and number. For example PG7 means "pigment green, number 7". In addition to pigments there are a variety of additives with various functions. But for now, suffice it to say that every paint has its own personality and behavior, which we will explore presently. An absolute wealth of information about pigment formulations is found online here. and in M.D. Gottsegen's The Painter's Handbook. Generally speaking, paints are classified according to the following properties whose binary categories are best thought of as an approximation along a continuum.

  • Staining vs. Non-Staining. If the pigment particles are fine and mobile, they will work their way into the interstices of the paper fibers and be very difficult to lift out afterward. These paints are known as staining. Staining can be an advantage when layering paint as the second application will tend not to disturb the previous layer. In gross categories paints are classified as either staining or non-staining.

  • Granulating vs Non-Granulating. If the pigment particles are larger and less mobile, they will tend to sit on the top of the mat and to be more easily lifted (i.e., tend to be non-staining). They also will tend to clump as they move about on the surface and form a more mottled appearance after drying. Paints that behave in this way are known as granulating, and granulation can be desirable to achieve certain textural effects. With exceptions, granulating paints tend not to be staining and vice-versa. For example, Viridian (PG 18) and Phthalo Green, Blue Shade (PG 7) are nearly the same hue. However, Viridian is a granulating non-staining paint while Phthalo Green is a staining non-granulating paint.

  • Transparent Vs. Opaque. Some colors are more opaque and others are more transparent. As a rule, transparent paints are usually staining and granulating paints are more opaque. Transparent colors allow for layering effects that create apparent depth. The degree of opacity is always a function of the thickness of the paint layer, so even "opaque" watercolors may be applied in thinner more-transparent layers. Gouache refers to an opaque family of watercolor paints that are opacified with chalk. They are used to occlude previous pigment layers. Titanium White Gouache is especially effective for fixing a wayward paint splotch that fails to lift completely from a white border.

(One might even consider paint in two broad categories: staining non-granulating transparent paints vs. non-staining granulating opaque ones. This is a bit of an overstatement, but broadly correct.)

  • Lightfast vs. Fugitive. Not all pigments are lightfast. The American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM) has developed a procedure for the testing of lightfastness in watercolor paint. The specific standard is ASTM D4303. MacEvoy claims that the ASTM ratings do not always adequately assess the effects of exposure to sunlight and recommends that you do your own testing. Notwithstanding, the ASTM standard seems to be the best reference measure at the current time. I do not use fugitive pigments and I don't think you should either, but many are in common use. For example Alizarin Crimson is a ubiquitous but fugitive pigment that should be avoided; A mixture of Quinacridone Rose and Quinacridone Magenta will yield an identical hue. Often Alizarin Crimson is used for skin tones. But in those cases I prefer Perylene Maroon, which is a bit redder. Most manufacturers sell Alizarin Crimson due to popular demand, but they clearly list it as fugitive. Watercolorists should not use it and that goes for Aureolin (Cobalt Yellow) as well. Hillary Page recommends substituting Winsor & Newton PY175. I prefer M. Graham Nickel Azo Yellow (PY150).


Watercolor paints are also sold in two grades, artist/professional and student. Student grade paints have less pigment per volume, often use extenders, and are a false economy in my opinion. I would rather use artist/professional grade paints.


One might also broadly classify pigments as inorganic (mineral) or synthetic organic.

  • Mineral Pigments. So-called mineral pigments are generally metal oxides, silicates, and the like (e.g., compounds of cadmium, cobalt, iron, etc.). Originally derived from natural sources, they are now mostly synthesized via inorganic chemistry to yield pigments of excellent lightfastness and consistency. They are typically more opaque and granulating than the synthetic organics.

  • Earth Tones. A subcategory of mineral pigments are earth tones such as raw and burnt sienna, raw and burnt umber, etc. These earth pigments are generally lower chroma (muted but beautiful) browns, reds, and yellows.

  • Synthetic organics. Common organic pigments found in watercolors comprise among many others the phthalocyanines (blue to green), quinacridones (violet to orange), perylenes (red to violet), pyrroles (reds and oranges), and arylides (Hansas) and azos (benzimidazolones) which are yellow to yellow-orange. The synthetic organic pigments used in watercolors are generally lightfast, transparent, non-granulating, and have high chroma and tint strength – a little goes a long way. They are used everywhere from automobile colors to exterior house paint and make very durable watercolors. If you are really interested, I have summarized the main chemical structures of these pigments here.


​When I speak of watercolor pigments, I abbreviate them according to my own convention. For inorganic metal compounds I use the name of the chemical symbol; e.g., Bismuth (Bi), Cadmium (Cd), Cobalt (Co), etc. For the color I use R=red, O=orange, Br=brown, Y=yellow, G=green, B=blue, V=violet, W=white, and Bk=black. This is standard chemistry and color industry nomenclature, but I combine them into my own peculiar code for paints. To save you four years of chemistry, and some head scratching, Table 1 contains my abbreviations. The manufacturers and paints listed are the ones I happened to have in my pallet the day at the time of this writing.


Table 1, Pigments Sorted by Abbreviation

Pigment Designations

In addition to my particular abbreviations, the list above also gives the pigment designation; e.g., PY184, PBr7, .... These are the standard designations understood by pigment manufacturers worldwide. There is an extensive (and free!) pigment resource here. The pigment designation is important because different manufacturers sometimes use different names to refer to the same thing (e.g., Winsor & Newton's Winsor Green and Daniel Smith's Phthalo Green use the same pigment). Other times different manufacturers adopt the same name while referring to different pigments. For example, Daniel Smith's Cobalt Violet is PV49, while M. Graham's Cobalt Violet is PV 14. Finally, even the same pigment may be prepared in a different way to give quite different colors. For example, Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna, Raw Umber, Burnt Umber, and Van Dyke Brown are all PBr7, yet they have different hues and values. Even so, the pigment designation is the best information about what pigment is being used.

Paint Manufacturers

There are many quality paints on the market. In order of general preference I use M. Graham (MG), Daniel Smith (DS), and Winsor & Newton (WN). All are high quality paints. I usually buy my paint from Dick Blick and they carry about twenty different paint manufacturers, so if these three are not your cup of tea, you may find others that are. You may also choose to shop at Cheap Joe's, Jerry's Artarama, Amazon.com, or buy directly from the manufacturer.


If I can find a pigment in M. Graham, I use it in preference to other brands. In very high concentration, M. Graham paints tend to bronze or even remain tacky on the page. This is no doubt due to their use of honey as a humectant. However, at normal dilutions, this is not an issue and I prefer their paint's smoother and more uniform coverage.


Daniel Smith pigments are quite good and they have a larger variety than most other manufacturers. Their nearby retail presence makes them a convenient choice for me. Daniel Smith paints are informatively labeled and the actual pigments they use are right on the tube. If they reformulate a paint such as Cadmium Red (PR108), they relabel it as Cadmium Red Hue (PR53, PR254) to notify the artist that they have substituted other pigments for the traditional ones. I like this kind of honesty. In the case of cadmium, some manufacturers look for alternatives owing to its toxicity. Since I'm not eating the paint, I do not worry about the toxicity despite today's zeitgeist which borders on paranoia. I prefer actual CdR (PR108). If you have a different opinion, you will find that Daniel Smith's Pyrrol Red (PR254) is very close in hue, less granulating, and may be used as a substitute for CdR. However, I've found no good single-pigment substitute for CdO (PO20) and no better hue for carrots.


Winsor & Newton make very good paint, but I have two irritations with them.

  1. I don't like the fact that their tubes have only 14 ml of paint rather than 15 ml.

  2. I don't like their labeling. For example, Winsor Green, Winsor Blue, Winsor Lemon, etc., seem too self promotional to me and the names don't give me any clue as to what the pigment is. Their paint names also don't alert artists to substitutions of traditional pigments.


Single- and Multi-pigment Paints

I use only single-pigment paints. Some paints are blends of pigments. They have names like Sap Green, Payne's Gray, Cadmium Red Hue, etc. There is nothing wrong with this and good artists use them all the time with wonderful effect. Notwithstanding, I prefer to brush mix my own pigments and so I want my paint tube to contain just one pigment rather than two or more. To keep color blends from getting too muddy, many watercolorists (me included) recommend a split primary with both warm and cool shades of key hues. By warm, I mean moving in hue angle toward red and by cool, I mean moving in hue angle toward blue.


Pallete

In general, you should plan on purchasing a minimum of 12 to 16 paints. These will get you started.


I would resist the temptation to buy more paints until you have gone through at least a half tube each of the above hues. After you gain more experience, you may wish to purchase some additional colors such as these seven.


and perhaps

  • LBk (PBk 7) and TiW Gouache (PW6) are also good to have despite an aversion by many watercolorists to them. You can avoid these latter pigments if you use the watercolor paper as your only white and you mix paint to make neutral gray or black; e.g., VDBr+UlB will give gray (or black at higher concentration). If you prefer a more staining and transparent formulation, try PeM+PhB. Even so, I think black and white are good to have on occasion.


No matter how many colors you get, some book will recommend a color you don’t have. Avoid the urge to buy different colors until you get an idea of how the ones you have behave. You can almost always substitute a similar color you already own with good effect. Besides, you will never “buy” your way to better watercolor paintings, you just have to put in the time and learn to live with fear and failure as every artist does.


Tints, Tones, Shades, and Hues

To most of us, tint, tone, and shade mean the same thing. But to color theorists, tint means a color mixed with white, shade means a color mixed with black, and tone means a color mixed with gray (or equivalently both white and black). Most watercolorists (me included) do not usually mix white or black with their colors because doing that tends to shift the hue. Rather, we mix complementary colors to darken and to lighten we use additional water to dilute the pigment and lighten its effect on the white page. This tends to minimize (but not eliminate) hue shifting. There is also a well known drying shift that occurs with watercolors because the refractive index of pigment is closer to that of water than air. That means that the pigment scatters more light dry than wet and so appears lighter/whiter after drying.


Hue Shifts and Complementary Colors

To understand what I mean by the terms hue shift and complementary color, it is best to examine the CIECAM chart. A version of this chart may be downloaded here.

Figure 1. CIECAM chart.

A few things about this chart.

  1. About CIECAM space

  • Hue is specified as an angle from 0° (magenta) to 360° in a counterclockwise direction.

  • Chroma (hue purity) goes from 0 (center) to 100 (periphery) with 100 being the highest chroma.

  • You are looking top-down on a three dimensional surface. The third dimension, lightness, goes out of the plane of the paper toward the viewer. Lightness is graduated from 0 (black) to 100 (white). With watercolors we can only get as dark as our darkest pigment and our white is limited to the underlying paper, or perhaps TiW, if we use it.

  • The small "white" diamond near 20 chroma and 75° hue angle is the hue and chroma of the underlying paper and it is the end point for all dilutions. This paper point is the lightest point and the highest elevation in CIECAM space for the pigments shown. The starting point for each color is at the opposite end of each curve and represents a lower elevation in CIECAM space because it is the undiluted pigment and therefore has lower value.

  1. I have charted about 40 single-pigment paints on the CIECAM chart abpve. You will notice a paucity of single pigment paints near 120° and 300°. I have not found single-pigment paints that cover these hue ranges. For these hues, you will need to blend paints or buy multi-pigment ones.

  2. Complementary colors. Complementary colors are found by adding (or subtracting) 180°. For example, good neutral grays may be had by mixing appropriate dilutions of pigments on opposite sides of the CIECAM chart; e.g., UlB (250°-270°) with VDBr (60°-75°) or PeM (20°-40°) with PhB(210°-230°).

  3. Dilution Curves. The curves shown are dilution curves. The paper point – having lightness (J) , hue (h), and chroma (c) of J:92, h:75°, c:20 – is where everything is headed. With initial dilution the paints actually increase their chroma before losing it as further dilution washes it out.

  4. Hue shifts. But it's not just value that shifts with dilution. The hue also shifts, sometimes dramatically before finally approaching the hue of the paper at greater dilution. For example, UlB starts out at nearly 270° but shifts greener by more than 30° even with modest dilution.

Figure 2. Selected Pigments and Tints

Figure 2 shows some selected pigments at full concentration with five tints (dilutions) of each. To download this chart, click here. Each square gives the abbreviated name of the pigment, the nearest computer representation of the hue (hexadecimal representation, i.e., the computer code for the RGB coordinates), and the lightness (J), hue angle in degrees (h), and chroma (c). These are based on my own measurements with a Nix Color Sensor for paints I happened to have in my pallet. Watercolor paint does not have its highest chroma straight from the tube. Rather, the chroma actually increases with dilution and then falls, inevitably declining to the hue, value, and chroma of the underlying paper, which it reaches only at infinite dilution. However, some pigments get there faster than others. For example, the hue of Cobalt Violet (CoV) has declined from 354° (-6°) to 42° by its second dilution, a shift of 48° and nearly 60% of the way to the hue of the underlying paper (74°). That is, it has very little tint strength. Cadmium Orange on the other hand, has barely moved from its hue value of 46° to 50° even by its fifth dilution. So it has a very high tint strength, meaning a little pigment goes a long way.


Perhaps a better way to quantify tint strength is to think of the journey in three dimensions. Consider hue, chroma, and lightness of the concentrated pigment in three dimensions and the straight-line distance to the paper point (hue, chroma, and lightness of the underlying paper). Then, as we dilute the pigment, we see how much of the relative distance we have closed, from 0 (starting concentration of the paint solution) to 1 (paper point). We plot this as a result of log2(dilution); that is 0 = undiluted, 1 = diluted once (2:1), 2 = diluted twice (4:1), 3 = diluted thrice (8:1), etc. This results in the set of curves shown in Figure 3 and presented in reverse hue order from yellow to green.

Figure 3. Dilution curves for selected pigments


With dilution, the paint actually moves away from the paper point slightly, primarily due to the initial increase in chroma, and then approaches the paper point as the dilution increases and the resultant hue, chroma, and lightness bend toward the hue of the paper.


​​For example, after five dilutions, CdL is about 40% away from the paper point while BiY is much farther away at about 73% of the distance. Based on this metric, BiY has a higher tinting strength than CdL. Another way to say the same thing is to look at the number of sequential dilutions required to get half way to the paper point; for CdL this number is 4.4 (a dilution of 21:1) while for BiY it is nearly 6.7 (a dilution of 101:1), see table.

How I Mix Paint

I've tried lots of things, but the best containers for me in which to blend or dilute paints are small prep bowls. I bought some clear glass ones from Crate and Barrel for less than a dollar each. White porcelain prep bowls are better for seeing the color. Or try a white ceramic egg crate or a deviled egg platter. (This deviled egg platter is the one that I have been using lately). In fact, any white multi-compartment ceramic will work well. Recently, I got some small four-compartment condiment plates on clearance from a local discount Japanese store that I like. However, I avoid white plastic bowls or pallets as they stain. A white porcelain dish works very well as a pallet, but for my part, I don't much use pallets. I find that a pallet's broad surface area causes the paint to change too much over the course of my session. This is no doubt because I paint meticulously (slowly) and often do not use a hairdryer to speed up the drying process. Also, most made-for-watercolor pallets have attached paint wells and once the tube of paint is emptied into it, the paint will be there for a long while. This is a problem for me because I organize my paint pallet in CIECAM order starting with yellow at the top, and moving clockwise (reverse hue order) to orange/brown, red, magenta, violet, blue, and green. This means that if I purchase a new paint over the course of the year I can't insert it in the "right" space in a pallet with fixed wells. I also don't like handling tubes while I'm painting. So my solution to both of these problems is to make my own pan paints by squeezing paint from the tube into 10 ml plastic cosmetic containers with an attached lid which I found online. I then let the paints dry in the open air. Dry paints discourage mold and other biologicals. Once the paints are dry, I snap the lid closed until just before use. The containers are handy to travel with. I affix a small Velcro® fastener to the bottom of each, and in my studio, I use the Velcro to stick the containers to a large lazy Susan. The Velcro allows me to reorganize paints at will and the turntable allows me quick access to each paint.


My general procedure is to spritz the pan colors with water a few minutes ahead of when I plan to use them. I then take the brush I am planning to use and swab up the color. With a disposable plastic eyedropper, I use 1 to 3 dropper's-full (~up to 10 ml) of tap water to rinse the paint from the brush into the prep bowl. I then use the rinsed brush to mix the paint with the water. Finally, I rinse the brush in my rinse bowl. That keeps my paint loss in the wash water to a minimum.


In the course of painting, I will usually make one or two dilutions of this (each usually 3 to 5 times more dilute) by withdrawing some of the color from one prep bowl with the eyedropper and mixing it with more water in another prep bowl. I repeat the procedure if I want an even thinner wash. If I want to preserve the dilution I reduce the evaporation with a watch glass. The watch glass also provides a convenient place for me to label the pigment and dilution (e.g., CoG 1, CoG 2, CoG 3) with a permanent marker. (Permanent marker can also write directly on ceramic and can easily be removed from glass or glazed ceramic with acetone, available from any hardware store. I dispense mine with a pump acetone dispenser onto a paper towel). I also mix paint in the prep bowls or egg dish either directly or by withdrawing diluted pigment from other prep bowls or wells with the eyedropper. (If you prefer a broader surface for mixing, any white ceramic plate will work but don’t use it again for food. Corelle works really well, doesn't stain, and is practically indestructible – unless you heat it on a stove or in an oven first, so don't do that.)


My Painting Surface

I place my watercolor paper on an 18" lazy Susan. It makes it easy for me to turn my work on demand and to spin my painting above all the stuff on my work table. Chart your own course. What works for me may not work for you, just as what works for others did not work for me.


My Brushes

  • Rounds. My first brushes were Dynasty Black Gold brushes. Here are the ones I used to use most often. I have lots of brushes – too many, really. Many artists like Robert Simmons Sapphire line. Now that I have been painting awhile, I prefer DaVinci's Maestro (Kolinsky) watercolor brushes. To start, you really only need two: a round #6 and a round #4. These are expensive, about $30 each, but worth it. Round brush sizes are NOT standardized and every manufacturer has its own numbering system. As a ROUGH rule of thumb, the ferrule neck (the smallest part of the brush where the hairs emerge) in mm is roughly half the size plus one. In other words, a #6 brush is roughly 6/2 + 1 = 4.0 mm at the ferrule neck.

  • Flats. For laying down washes I prefer hake brushes. These are inexpensive and usually made of goat's hair or similar. For painting flats 1/2" wide or less, I prefer Kolinsky. But synthetic blends work well enough and for flats above 1/2", Kolinsky is cost prohibitive.


Paper

Start with small blocks of paper. I like Arches, Cold Press, 300 gsm, 7"x10". These are about $20 each which is about $1/sheet, so you don’t need to freak out every time you spoil a page – it’s just a dollar. Note that if you use these blocks, you will NOT need to stretch your paper. When you wreck a watercolor, don’t throw it away. Instead sign, date, and keep your bad artwork. It will allow you to see your progress and keep you from being so depressed during the first 6 months when nothing seems to go right. Besides, you can use the other side for more practice or to test your colors before applying them to your current project.


Watercolor Instructionals

I have been through many watercolor books and here's why they annoy me.

  1. First, I don't want a bald showcase of the artist's work in the guise of a watercolor instructional. I appreciate great art and watercolor skill and I am willing to pay for it, but not when I want instruction. I have plenty of books and videos that basically show how they "done it real good" and I don't care how they "done it real good." It seems that some of the best artists seem to be some of the worst instructors, maybe because painting is so intuitive for them.

  2. Second, watercolor instructionals should have a disclaimer not to imitate the transition photos. Those photos are just there to show you what the intermediate steps look like. Unfortunately, no one tells you that and you end up trying to imitate them. That is a mistake. An artist needs to develop the ability to see the end from the beginning, and you can only do that by focusing on the finished product. If you look at intermediate photos you'll find that you can reproduce all of them with near exactness EXCEPT the final one! Why? Because laying down a series of washes is kid stuff. It's the finishing touches that separate the master from the student. Unfortunately, the distance between the last photo and the next-to-last photo is an infinitude that I've never seen adequately explained in print. So look at the intermediate photo, look back at the finished photo and see WHY the artist decided to put a particular wash where, then use the final photo alone to decide where to lay down your intermediate washes.

  3. Third, the most important thing in watercolor is TIMING. If the paper is too wet, the color will disperse to the four winds. If the paper is too dry, the color will not blend. And yet, it is the rare book that even mentions this. If you touch the boundary of a wet color it will run into the one you're painting, and if you touch the boundary of a less wet (but not fully dry color) then your pigment will bloom into that one and ruin what you've already done. These things are better to know than to experience.

  4. Fourth, I'm not interested in artist-speak. Every profession has its jargon and this is both necessary and understandable. But when phrases are introduced with no explanation such as "Now, develop the leaf", they are meaningless to the target audience. One might as well say plastics.

  5. Fifth and finally, I want to choke someone when they tell aspiring artists to "paint with confidence." Painting with confidence when you are unskilled is pathological. It means that you will confidently produce crap. That takes chutzpah but not skill. Skill comes first, then confidence. You don't need self esteem, you need tenacity. When you start something, you are bad. Everybody is bad. I was bad. You will not die. Diligence on your part will lead to skill and skill will inevitably lead to confidence. Don't give up. You can be an artist if you are a quadriplegic. You can be an artist if you are colorblind. But you cannot be an artist if you are half-hearted. An artist never arrives, but he does get better. It took me six months to learn to paint a rock that looked like a rock and another three months to paint a shadow that looked like a shadow. Buck up.


You can no doubt feel the frustration in my prose. This is the frustration I remember when I began watercolor and it is the frustration shared by every beginner. It's frustrating to be bad at something, and you will be bad at watercolors until you are good, and that will take awhile, which means you will become cranky and overly critical of instructional watercolor books. Like me.


But this book is great: You can Paint Vibrant Watercolors by Yuko Nagayama and it completely changed my attitude and abilities. And if you would like to see very good videos that are patient, kind, and taught by a humble master watch Barry Toshio.



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