travel palette changes

It's been a while since I cleaned out and restocked my travel palettes. After returning from Texas, it seemed a good thing to do. Inside, away from this wicked heat!


The palette on the far left was rarely used . . . until Cathy 'Kate' Johnson posted that it could be altered to hold full-sized pans. I didn't like using it with the half-pans it came with. Now it holds the bare minimum: 3 primaries plus 4 convenience colors.

The middle one used to be filled with 21 half-pans; now it holds a warm and a cool of the main colors I use, plus 2 neutrals -- all full-sized pans.

While in Texas, I bought the smallest size tin of Neocolor II watercolor crayons --- not for the crayons but for the light-weight tin. It holds various leftover half-pans plus 3 shortened pencils and a small travel brush (not shown). I think this one will stay in my purse for day-to-day sketching.

*** update: Decided to keep this Neocolor tin in the drawer next to my livingroom chair for quick sketches. I'd rather have the "warm / cool" palette or my Bijou box in my purse. The sable travel brush shown above fits right between the pans.

I also changed my core "go to" pigments slightly, switching from new gamboge and aureolin to cadmium yellow pale and Hansa yellow light. Still testing them.

Cadmium yellow pale from Winsor & Newton and cadmium yellow light from Daniel Smith use the exact same pigment --- but the W & N version is warm (what I was after), while the DS version is cool. How odd.

The background colors are what is currently living in my studio palette. I've taken out quite a few colors that were no longer used. Then filled a paint set for our eldest granddaughter with them. I hope she plays freely with them!