Oh, paint colors.

Probably the most-asked and most-wondered question that comes up.

Perhaps it’s because there are so many colors to choose from (not to mention brands). And the most visual ‘thing’ we can wonder about when we see inspiring artwork.

I know I certainly ask myself “hm, what colors did she use?” or “I wonder what his palette looks like?”

So, in today’s post, I thought I’d share with you the colors I’m using in my current palette. I just “reset” my palette with a new arrangement of colors earlier this year - so I’m calling this my “2021 palette”.

Something that I’ve been figuring out as I go along is that there is no ‘perfect’ palette. As much as we’d like someone to just tell us what colors to buy and be done with it...that’s not really how it goes.

Palette picking is personal, it evolves with you and your art.

I used to feel like I had to continue using the same palette of colors until I used up all the paint. But then I realized that day would never come because there were colors I actively avoided using.

In fact, I set up a 24 color palette back in 2019 and noticed I wasn’t using a handful of the colors at all. This year I finally decided it was time for a full ‘reset’ - which is what brought me to this current palette.

The colors in this 18 color palette are all Daniel Smith Watercolors unless noted:

1. Potter’s Pink (Winsor & Newton)

2. Quinacridone Rose

3. Pyrrol Crimson

4. Pyrrol Scarlet

5. Burnt Sienna

6. Monte Amiata Natural Sienna

7. Naples Yellow

8. Hansa Yellow Medium

9. Hansa Yellow Light

10. Sap Green

11. Perylene Green

12. Phthalo Green (Blue Shade)

13. Phthalo Blue (Green Shade)

14. Cobalt Blue

15. Ultramarine

16. Indanthrone Blue

17. Jane’s Grey

18. Buff Titanium

(Note: Palette shown is Mijello Fusion Airtight Palette)

And a few things that I want to share about the palette that goes beyond just a list of colors:

• I (still) don’t fill my wells to max capacity because I am not sure I want to ‘commit’ to all the colors in case I want to reset my palette in the near future

• In the back of my mind, there are colors I’m already thinking about switching out and I JUST put them in (like Potter’s Pink)!

• I’m trying (hard) to keep my palette on the smaller side ~18 colors

I recorded a short video talking through the palette as I filled and swatched it, if you’re interested in watching:

I hope it was fun for you to see what colors I’m currently using. But mostly, I hope this is a reminder to treat your color choices as something that evolves and changes, just like your art...and yourself!

Thank you for watching,
Susan