Marianne Martinez
Watercolor pans are convenient, easy to use, and portable, and making your own pans is more economical than buying ready-made alternatives. The process of making pans is simple: fill an empty pan with paint from a tube and let it dry. However, the type of paint used can affect the drying process, and some artists prefer to squeeze out fresh paint each time they paint. Watercolor pans can be filled with custom colors by mixing different paints together in a palette before adding them to the pan. This allows artists to create unique colors and shades that may not be available in pre-made pans.
Characteristics and Values of blending watercolor pans
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Tools required | Watercolor pans, metal palette with lid, toothpicks, stir stick, scrap piece of watercolor paper, watercolors in tubes, a clean piece of paper, water in a jar or glass, brushes |
| Techniques | Wet-in-wet, gradual transitions, layering, mixing on a palette, adjusting with water |
| Considerations | Color theory, color temperature, amount of paint, drying time, paint shrinkage, re-animating dried paint, color ratios |
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What You'll Learn
Choosing a mixing palette
When choosing a mixing palette for blending watercolour pans, there are a few factors to consider. Firstly, the purpose of a watercolour palette is twofold: to store your paints in wells and to provide a mixing surface. The latter is particularly important when choosing a palette for blending.
The material of the palette is a key consideration. Watercolour palettes are commonly made from plastic, metal, ceramic, or porcelain. Plastic palettes are the most affordable and accessible option, but they are less durable and can be tricky for mixing as the paint may not pool or create puddles of colour. Metal palettes are also known for this issue, and both metal and plastic palettes may need to be prepped by scuffing the surface with a toothbrush and baking soda or toothpaste. Ceramic and porcelain palettes are the heaviest and priciest option, but they are the easiest to mix paint on due to their smooth surface and ability to retain moisture. They are typically left in the studio as they are not designed to be portable.
Another factor to consider is the design of the palette. Foldable palettes with lids are great for travel as they provide a closed environment for the paints, but they may have wells on both sides, causing the paint to rest upside down and potentially detach. Some palettes, such as the Da Vinci Mixing Set, offer a simple and uncluttered solution for mixing, allowing you to explore various colour combinations and ratios.
If you are a beginner, it is recommended to start with a cheaper palette to test out your interest in the hobby before investing in more expensive options. Additionally, consider the size and portability of the palette, especially if you plan to travel with your watercolours. Some palettes, like the Jack Richeson Tom Lynch Porcelain Watercolor Palette, offer a good balance between quality and portability.
Lastly, some palettes may require priming or preparation before use, especially new enamel surfaces, to prevent colours from beading up. You can also prime new plastic palettes by scuffing them up a bit to improve their performance.
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Mixing colours
Firstly, decide what colour you would like to mix. For example, violet is a mixture of red and blue. Then, dip your brush in water and load it up with one of the colours you'll need. Some people like to start with the more dominant tone, but with a colour like violet, both red and blue are dominant, so it doesn't matter. Dab the paint onto your palette, adding more paint depending on how large an area you'll be painting. Clean the brush with water. Repeat the same process with the second colour, but don't dab the second colour on top of the first. Instead, dab the second colour right next to the first one. This way, you can be sure you're adding an equal amount of each colour.
You can mix colours wet-on-wet in a wash to create beautiful blooms and gradual transitions. Create your wash, then begin adding colours. You can add more water, more colour, and blend. Be aware that less is often more, and these areas will dry differently from how they appear wet. You can also put down one colour and, while it's still wet, add another colour to it. This method can be used to create depth and shape in a botanical painting, such as a leaf.
You can also mix colours directly on the paper. Wet the paper and use your brush to drop in the colours you want. Or, add a wet colour to a dry area, then add more colours. This is a great way to get beautiful mixtures.
If you're mixing colours on a palette, you can use any surface to mix colours, such as the lid of your travel tin, a plate, or an enamel tray. You can also buy plastic palettes with vessels for different colours in art supply stores.
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Adjusting water content
Water is essential to bring watercolour pans to life and create a consistency that allows for easy mixing. The amount of water added to the paint will determine the lightness or darkness of the colour. To create lighter colours, add more water, and for darker colours, use less water.
When using watercolour pans, it is important to get the paint to the right consistency before beginning to paint. This can be done by adding a few drops of clear water at the beginning of each painting session to pre-wet the paint. It is important to leave a small reservoir at the top of the pan when filling it, as this makes it easier to form a pool of water and activate the watercolours. Filling the pans in stages also allows for filling any gaps with a new layer of paint and improving the adherence of the paint to the pan.
For paints that have dried out and hardened, a drop or two of distilled water can be added to each pan and allowed to soften before adding a drop of glycerine and stirring with a toothpick or fine object. This process can help to revive dried-out paints and improve their consistency.
The consistency of the paint can also be adjusted by adding water directly to the palette during the mixing process. This allows for more precise control over the intensity of the colour. It is important to mix enough paint of a particular colour, as re-mixing exact tones can be challenging. Additionally, it is important to keep in mind that watercolour lightens as it dries, so it is advisable to let test swatches dry before adjusting the mixture.
Water can also be used in the wet-on-wet painting technique, where water and colour are added to a wash to create blooms and gradual transitions. This technique allows for the creation of beautiful, subtle effects, but it's important to remember that these areas will dry differently from how they appear when wet.
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Layering colours
The glazing technique may sound complicated, but it is simple. It involves applying multiple layers of paint on top of each other, allowing each layer to dry before applying the next. Each layer of paint creates a new colour. For example, you can paint a leaf in yellow and then add a second layer of blue paint. The result is a green leaf with lots of colour variety and interest.
Glazing adds depth and richness of colour to a painting. It also makes some types of painting more manageable because you can focus on the tone and form rather than thinking about mixing exactly the right hue. For example, many artists layer primary colours on top of each other – yellow, then red, then blue.
It is important to note that glazing is not for the impatient. It takes longer because you have to wait for each layer to dry completely. If you apply a new layer of paint too quickly, you can easily lift the previous layer and the pigments will mix together.
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Filling the pans
Firstly, it is important to consider the type of paint you are using to make your pans. Each paint manufacturer uses a slightly different recipe to make their paints. Tubes of watercolour are made up of coloured pigments, plus a liquid that holds the pigments in suspension. The ingredients in this liquid are designed to improve the handling attributes of the paint. A couple of these ingredients seem to affect the drying characteristics of tube paints when you put them into pans. For example, a "plasticizer" is added to make the paint less brittle and reduce cracking when it dries. In modern paint formulas, this is usually glycerin. A "humectant" is also commonly added to paint.
Before filling the pans, tape a scrap piece of paper onto the inside lid of your metal palette. You will write the names of your paints as you put them in the pans. Then, pick your first tube. Squeezing from as close to the bottom as you can, squeeze some paint into the pan. Only fill it halfway up, but try to fill all the nooks and crannies. Use a toothpick to pull the paint into the corners and to smooth out the top. This can help make it easier on your brush when you go to paint later. Cover the pan with a clean piece of paper to protect it from lint while it dries.
Some watercolours will shrink as they dry, so you may want to fill the pans in three stages, allowing each stage to dry before adding more. You can also add a drop or two of distilled water to each pan, allow it to soften, then add a drop of glycerine (and a little more paint if there is room) and stir with a toothpick or blunt needle or other fine objects.
If you want to mix colours, you can do so on a mixing palette, which can be the lid of your travel tin, a plate, an enamel tray, etc. You will use your brush to remove colour from your pans and deposit it onto your mixing surface. You can mix colours wet-in-wet in a wash to create beautiful blooms and gradual transitions. Just create your wash and then begin adding colours. You can add more water, more colour, and blend.
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Frequently asked questions
You will need a palette to mix your colours, water to adjust the consistency and shade of the paint, and a brush to mix and apply the paint.
First, decide on the colour you would like to mix. Then, dip your brush in water and load it with one of the colours you will need to create your desired hue. Dab the paint onto your palette, adding more paint depending on the area you will be painting. Clean the brush with water and repeat the process with the second colour, dabbing it next to the first colour.
Some common challenges include paint drying too quickly, paint cracking, and paint shrinking. To avoid these issues, you can add a drop or two of distilled water to each pan, allowing the paint to soften before adding a drop of glycerine and stirring with a toothpick. You can also fill the pans in multiple stages, allowing each stage to dry before adding more paint.
