Emilie Meyer
Watercolor pans are a convenient, easy-to-use, and portable option for watercolour painting. Pans can be purchased or made at home by pouring paint into the corners of the pan, stirring it with a stick, and leaving it to dry for 24-48 hours. When mixing colours in pans, it is important to keep in mind that the colours will lighten as they dry. It is also crucial to understand colour theory, particularly colour temperature, to achieve the desired hue. Multiple brushes can be used to mix colours, and a separate palette or mixing surface is recommended to avoid contaminating the colours in the pans. Water is vital to bring the paint to life and aid in mixing, and it can be used to adjust the colour by making it lighter or darker.
Characteristics and Values of Mixing Pan Watercolors
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Supplies | Watercolor pans, metal palette with lid, stir stick, toothpicks, scrap paper, waterproof pen, tape, clean rag, clean paper, and watercolor paints in tubes |
| Setup | Mix on a palette or paper, use multiple brushes, pre-wet pans with water, and adjust color with water |
| Benefits | Economical, convenient, easy to use, and portable |
| Tips | Avoid air bubbles, smooth paint with a toothpick, and test swatches before adding more paint |
| Challenges | Difficult to get paint off brush, hard to mix exact tones, and pans may become messy |
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What You'll Learn
Preparing your pan
To prepare your pan, start by squeezing paint into the corners of the pan. Don’t fill the pan completely – no more than half full is good. Stir the paint with your stick. You want to avoid any air bubbles from forming and get the paint to adhere to the inside of the pan as it dries. You can also tap the pans on your tabletop a few times to chase bubbles to the surface. Leave the pan to dry for at least 24 to 48 hours then check the results. Drying time varies depending on temperature and humidity and can take a few days. Just let it dry naturally. Don’t try to speed up the process by heating.
If you are using tubes of paint, make sure to massage or shake the tube before opening so all the ingredients mix together. Sometimes paint gushes out of the tube – be ready to catch it in a pan in case this happens. You can also use an eyedropper to add one to three drops of water to the colours you plan to use.
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Choosing a palette
If you want to create your own palette, you can start by choosing a primary colour wheel of red, yellow, and blue. You can then expand your palette by including a warm and cool tone for each primary colour, such as warm red and cool red (magenta), warm blue and cool blue (violet and cerulean), and warm yellow and cool yellow. This expanded palette will give you greater mixing potential for creating a wider range of colours.
You can further personalise your palette by including some dark colours for mixing, such as Payne's grey, Prussian blue, transparent brown, or lamp black. Additionally, you can include some of your favourite colours that you frequently use, such as different shades of green or a light pink.
When setting up your palette, you can arrange the colours in the order you prefer, such as red, yellow, green, blue, dark, and brown. You can squeeze the paint from the tube into the palette wells, ensuring you fill all the corners and edges to prevent chipping or separating.
Remember that you can always mix your own colours, but having a selection of your favourite colours readily available can be convenient and time-saving.
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Mixing colours
You can mix colours on a palette or on the paper. If you are mixing colours on a palette, you will need to use your brush to remove the colour from your pans and deposit it onto your mixing surface. You can use a mixing palette, which is any surface on which you mix colours, such as the lid of your travel tin, a plate, or an enamel tray. If you are mixing colours on the paper, wet the paper first and then use your brush to drop in the colours you want.
It is important to understand that you can mix any colours you wish. Understanding colour theory, particularly colour temperature, will help you decide which colours will help you mix the hue you have in mind. It also helps to understand that single-pigment watercolours will mix the most cleanly and predictably. Many watercolours these days are mixtures of two or more pigments to approximate specific hues.
You can also create your own watercolour pans by mixing different colours and pouring them into a pan. First, squeeze paint into the corners of the pan. Don't fill the pan more than halfway. Stir the paint with a stick and tap the pan on the tabletop to remove any air bubbles. Leave the pan to dry for at least 24 to 48 hours.
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Adjusting mixtures
It is important to understand colour theory, particularly colour temperature, to help you decide which colours will help you mix the hue you have in mind. Single pigment watercolours will mix the most cleanly and predictably.
You can mix colours on a palette or on the paper. If you are mixing on a palette, use a brush to remove the colour from your pan and deposit it onto your mixing surface. If you are mixing on the paper, wet the paper and use your brush to drop in the colours you want.
You can also adjust the mixture as you paint. If your mixture dries on your mixing surface, simply re-wet it and keep working. You can also add more colour to your original pool, rinse your brush, and continue mixing.
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Cleaning your pan
When cleaning your pan watercolours, it's important to consider the type of paint you are using and the level of colour contamination. Colour contamination occurs when paint from one pan spills or mixes into another, altering the original colour. While a little contamination is not a significant issue, it can become problematic if the colours spill over onto other pans, especially if a darker colour contaminates a lighter one.
To avoid colour contamination, it is recommended to use two water bowls for rinsing your brush before switching colours. Changing the water as soon as it becomes muddy can also help prevent contamination. Additionally, using a separate pan of the same colour for mixing can help preserve the original, clean colour.
If colour contamination occurs, cleaning the pans can be challenging as it may result in paint wastage. To clean the pans without wasting too much paint, use a clean brush or fabric dipped in water to gently remove the contaminated paint. However, this method may still result in some paint loss.
Another approach to cleaning your pan watercolours is to refill the pans with new paint. This is a more economical option than purchasing new pans and allows you to choose different brands and colours. When refilling the pans, it is essential to consider how the paint dries. Different manufacturers use varying recipes, and some paints may crack or flake when dried in a pan, while others remain liquid.
Overall, maintaining and cleaning your pan watercolours involves preventing colour contamination, carefully cleaning contaminated pans, and refilling the pans with paint when necessary. These practices will help ensure the longevity and quality of your watercolour paints.
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Frequently asked questions
You will need a palette to mix your paints on, water to activate the paint, and a brush to mix the paints. You can use a mixing palette, or any surface on which you mix colours, such as a plate, the lid of your travel tin, or an enamel tray.
You can mix colours on a palette or directly on the paper. To mix on a palette, use your brush to remove the colour from your pan and deposit it onto your mixing surface. You can also pre-wet your pans with an eye dropper to add one to three drops of water to the colours you plan to use. To mix on the paper, wet the paper and use your brush to drop in the colours you want.
To make your own pan watercolours, squeeze paint into the corners of the pan, filling it no more than halfway. Stir the paint with a stick, tapping the pan on the table to remove air bubbles, and leave the pan to dry for at least 24 to 48 hours.
Understanding colour theory, particularly colour temperature, will help you decide which colours will help you mix the hue you have in mind. Single pigment watercolours will mix the most cleanly and predictably, so having a solid set of primary colours can give your palette a good backbone.
