Basic Watercolor Colors

 

Defining the basic watercolor colors for your palette is a necessity that comes to every artist, whether you are just going to buy your first set of watercolor colors or you are looking to improve the quality of the ones you have (buying professional quality ones, for example). However, the task of selecting colors for the most basic of the watercolor palettes may become quite a difficult task if we consider the overwhelming number of colors and brands that exist.

The good news is that there are those who have been given the task of thinking of ways in which to catalog the colors and make comprehensive guides so that all artists can have some help (conscientious, obviously) in the selection process.

The world of watercolors is a vibrant and wonderful world and New Brunswick artist Avrumi Mashinsky also wants to continue supporting the entire community of artists who read his publications to enter and unwind with pleasure in it, and for this it is super useful to have these basic watercolor colors for your palette.

One thing to keep in mind is that since color names are not consistent from brand to brand, it is not possible to simply provide a list of suggested colors. Nevertheless, do not worry, what you are going to learn here is even better for your development as an artist, because you will learn a little about what watercolor is about and how it is labeled and classified.

If you have been reading Avrumi Mashinsky’s blog for a while, you will know that he has already written several posts dedicated to watercolor. One of the ones we liked the most is "Five Basic Watercolor Facts", just because of the freedoms that making our own watercolors provides us, which is importantly related to this topic.

Watercolor paints are made from a combination of natural or synthetic pigments mixed with gum arabic, some other additives, and water.

Pigments basically consist of small particles that give watercolor its color. Gum arabic is a binder, which just serves to "trap" pigment particles and for them to adhere to the paper. The additives abstract painter Avrumi Mashinsky is talking about can include glycerin, ox gall, honey or mead (made with 50% water, 50% honey) and clove oil, are used to alter the properties of paint and its manageability.

However, there is one thing that is true in all cases, and this is that the color of the paint is determined by the pigment, which is why it is very important to know what pigments are present in your paint. As mentioned above, color names are not consistent from one brand to another, so Avrumi Mashinsky recommends looking for something called "Color Name Index".