There are so many beautiful colors of watercolor paint out there it can be hard to know what to choose. Depending on an artist's style, method and subject, different hues suit different artists. Which is why many companies (like Daniel Smith watercolors) advertise by attaching an artist's name to a pigment "playlist." If you enjoy my vibrant florals, you may be inspired by the colours I love and I don't mind telling you what's a must-have on my watercolor palette right now.

Brands I Use

I recommend you purchase and use artist quality watercolor tube paints. And do not buy them from big-box stores (starts with W and rhymes with "all-smart"), or stores that sell everything for a dollar, because you might as well mix a little Jell-o and white glue and slap that on your painting. Terrible, terrible quality.

Some of the brands listed below make both "student-quality" and professional lines. Go with the artist quality if you can afford it. It's worth it in richness of pigment, fade-resistance and texture. Brands I buy to use and enjoy:

Winsor & Newton
Daniel Smith
Da Vinci
M. Graham

There are many other great brands out there, but I haven't tried them. As you try different brands you will find certain hues differ between brands (I never buy Winsor & Newton Burnt Umber because it is too "orange" for my tastes - see sample below) and you'll experiment with new colours - it's always fun to try a new colour and see if it becomes a permanent addition to your palette.

Colors I Use

I've been trying a few new colours lately and it's been a lot of fun. Over the years I've seen my colour preferences change and with it, my palette. It keeps things interesting. Here's a list of the colours I couldn't live without right now:

Alizarin Crimson

Cadmium Red (orange-toned red)
New Gamboge (lovely & versatile yellow)
Raw Sienna (creamy neutral yellow)

Sap Green (I love Daniel Smith's golden-hued sap green)

Viridian (another darker green)
Pthalo Blue (turquoise on steroids)
Cobalt Blue (a "true blue")
Ultramarine Blue (a granulating colour very similar to cobalt)
Cobalt Turquoise Light (a robin's egg blue)

Burnt Umber (mix with cobalt to make a grey. I'm using M. Graham Burnt Umber right now)

Payne's Grey (a rich dark grey-navy)

Other Colours

There are other colours in my palette but the ones above are the ones I don't paint without right now. I'd love to add a few more lovely pink reds. You may also notice a lot of blues in my palette. I can survive with just a cobalt blue, but painting is just way more fun with several to work with. On my "Fragrant" painting below, I used seven different blues!