In limited palettes, I like to include a convenience green for quick mixes. Usually this would be phthalo green — horribly garish on its own but a good mixer for other colors. Daniel Smith’s old version of sap green was quinacridone gold and phthalo green, a really lovely mix!
But I don’t really like phthalo green so I tried a few other options. Prussian green is such a beautiful color on its own but when mixed with other basic pigments seems a bit dark and dull. My favorite is Daniel Smith’s jadeite, but it is very expensive. So after making a page full of mixes, I did one more using perylene green — which will probably be the one that makes it in my limited palette.
The other pigments in my limited palette are quinacridone red (or quin. rose), quin. gold (until it runs out), Hansa yellow medium, phthalo blue, ultramarine, and burnt sienna.
Good choice. I love Prussian Green, also. But it has limited good mixing potential. I have not used Jadeite. The mixes using it look very rich! I will be interested to see what you think of Perylene Green after using it for a bit. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI’ve actually been using perylene green off and on in sketches for a year or two, usually keeping it in larger palettes with 3 green choices. (Mostly serpentine green, green apatite, and perylene green). In spite of it technically being a black pigment, it is surprisingly versatile!
DeleteI just found your blog. I love it! It’s filled with so much valuable info for someone new to watercolors. For me, I need to really learn about color mixing and this seems like an informative place to spend some time. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI’ve learned much along the way in my sketching journey, especially from getting together with other artists in the “Riverside Watercolor Society” (where I was introduced to watercolor) and sketch crawls with Cathy Johnson (Oh, how I miss those!); there are also great Craftsy classes and YouTube videos. I still have so much to learn . . .
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