Handprint - Working With Paints

11/8/2016 handprint : working with paints
working with paints technique

When I began to learn watercolors, one of the
mysterious aspects of painting was exactly how to handle paints.
It took me a lot of time, paint, and trial and error, to find the major palette types
methods that worked for me. Here's most of what I've learned.
life without a palette
We start with a review of mixing surfaces, including glass
sheets, butcher trays and commercial plastic palettes. I then rinse water & pure water
introduce you to life without a palette, my own method of
working with porcelain mixing cups. work routine & storage
Next I explain rinse & pure water and the usual set up routines mixing tube paints
for working with paints. Finally, we get to mixing itself. I start
with tube paints, as these are the most popular packaging mixing pan paints
alternative and are fairly easy to work with, though they require
brush mixing tricks
more equipment. Then I explain the same mixing strategy for
pan paints.
An great way to develop your working preferences is by doing

paint wheels. These make you do a lot of color mixing. You'll
find yourself simplifying your work area and your mixing
methods to get the job done, and you'll end up with an efficient,
habitual and comfortable painting method.
major palette types

The artist's signature piece of equipment is a
palette on which to mix paints. Because watercolors are much
less viscous than oils or acrylics, we don't use the handheld kind
of palette, but something designed to contain and partition
puddles of water. The watercolor palette provides four things:
(1) a bright white surface that lets you clearly see the hue,
chroma and value of paints and paint mixtures,
(2) paint wells that hold the pure paint straight from the tube,
separate each paint from the others, and are large enough to let
you scoop up paint with your brush,
(3) one or more mixing areas a flat surface or shallow

dishlike area where you can blend the raw paints and puddle or
slop water around to get the diluted mixtures you want, and
(4) a nonstaining, washable surface that cleans up

completely after work is done.
When choosing a palette, think how well it satisfies those four

requirements.
Sheet of Glass. By far the simplest palette solution (at least since
the early 19th century) is to use a large sheet of glass as your
working surface. To be practical, the sheet should not be too
large: between 12" x 16" up to 16" x 20" is about right. You can
buy glass in a range of thicknesses (1/8" to 1/4" is the most
convenient) at some hardware stores and any window repair
shop; they will cut the sheet to your spec. (Be sure they polish
the edges on all sides so that these won't cut you.) Plexiglas is
http://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/tech14.html 1/28
safer to use and clean, especially if you use a large piece; you
can also use Plexiglas sheets to flatten watercolor paintings
when you're finished painting.
To work, lay the sheet flat on a table, under good illumination,

with a single sheet of your watercolor paper underneath.; this
allows you to match mixtures to the hue of the sheet. Light the
sheet from the side, so that a mixture is not sitting over its own
shadow. No watercolor paint can stain this surface, and it
provides an exact match to the sheet you're painting on.
You get the effect of paint wells by generously spacing the daubs
of raw paint around the rim of the sheet. This isn't as
inconvenient or impractical as it sounds. On a 12" x 16" sheet,
for example, you have 58 inches (142cm) of edge to work with: if
you are using 12 paints (a large number, usually) then these can
be separated by 4" to 6" around the edge. Very runny paints, by
Schmincke especially, work less well on this kind of palette, but
most paints do fine.
Keep a sponge or paper towel handy, and use it to cut off any
trickle of water that gets too close to the paint or threatens to
link one paint puddle with another. You'll be pleasantly surprised
at how infrequently this happens. If it does, the sheet is not set
perfectly level. A slip of cardboard under one edge of the sheet,
or a wood shim under a table leg, will usually fix that.
The mixing areas are improvised in the large surface in the

center, which is more than large enough to do the work. I
mentally divide the working area into distinct sections you can
get about 8 index card sized areas on a 12" x 16" sheet and
build one color mixture within each. Once you've finished with a
mixture, or have run out of room, sponge off the area and start
over.
The main disadvantages of a sheet are (1) the large size and (2)
the difficulty moving it when there is liquid mixture on the
surface. If you have plenty of studio space and can leave the
palette where you set it up, then these problems don't matter.
Some folks get nervous about the open spaces on a sheet like
this, and build paint wells or mixing areas by laying down a bead
of silicone caulk (the clear or white kind used to seal windows or
showers) to make barriers around the paint. To me this negates
the basic advantage of using a sheet in the first place open
space and ease of cleaning. (The Skip Lawrence palette, sold
by Cheap Joe's for $17, is an interesting compromise: a 9" x
14" flat sheet with walled off paint wells that open directly onto a
flat mixing area.)
It really doesn't take much practice, or skill, to learn how to keep

the mixtures separate and the raw paint clean. I find the main
hazard is clipping the top of one of those piles of paint with a
hovering brush or sleeve.
Butcher Tray. Some artists use a large enameled butcher

tray as the flat sheet: a sheet with a dike around it. The
set up at right is the one preferred by Nita Engle. These
range in size up to 11" x 15" (a 14" x 18" tray is also
available from Jerry's Artarama), and cost $8 to $12 from
direct order art retailers. (Holbein makes a white plastic
butcher's tray; the white is warmer and the bottom is

completely flat. Cheap Joe's sells these for $16.)
In all about a dozen paints can fit into this tray. Mixing wells
can be built up by creating a wall of pure paint, or by squeezing
paint onto the sides of the pan, above any water flow.
My complaint is that the butcher trays sold by art retailers have

been disfigured by pressing the flat bottom from underneath,
making it slightly convex. This causes juicy paint mixtures to run
into the gutter and along the side, where they are harder to
control and clean up. You also probably pay more for the tray
from art retailers than you would pay buying the same item a white enameled butcher's tray
from a kitchen supplies store. used as a painting palette
I find the butcher's tray is convenient and easy to clean when

working with 4 to 6 paints on a half sheet or smaller painting: it
seems to me inconvenient for larger formats (many mixtures), or
a larger number of paints on the palette. Your mileage may
vary.
Manufactured Palettes. The major alternative to the sheet

(or butcher's tray) is a premade mixing palette. Here you
will not want for choices ... and unfortunately I tried
almost all of them before I figured out my own system.
The most popular palette is one step removed from the primitive
mixing sheet: it's a flat rectangular mixing surface bordered on
most or all sides by slant mixing wells. There are several
variations on this idea.
One of the most basic is the Robert Wood palette,

consisting of 24 very deep, slant bottomed paint wells
arrayed around all four sides of a recessed, 9" x 14"
mixing area. (Some versions subdivide this area with
small walls, creating shallow mixing cups.) It comes with
a snugly fitting white lid that provides four additional flat
mixing areas. The paint wells are about 2" wide, large
enough to accommodate almost any brush. My
complaints are that these palettes are rather flimsy
(beware the words "lightweight and portable"), and you Robert Wood palette
must hover over them to see what's in the slant wells.
It's also perplexingly easy to slop paint from one well to
another, as each well holds a lot of liquid; there's also
no way to lift a paint mixture off the central mixing area
without carrying the brush over one or more paint wells.
The lid can protect dried gobs of paint during transport
but cannot seal off any liquid remaining in the slant
wells. Many variations on this one, including brand name
palettes by Cheap Joe's.
If for some reason I have to use a palette (painting in a
workshop), then my second preference is the John Pike
palette. This is much like the Wood palette, except it's
made of heavy white polystyrene plastic, a slightly off
white that is closer to the usual paper color. The paint
wells are flat bottomed, slightly smaller than in the
Wood (about 1-1/2" wide), with four larger wells
wedged in two corners, 20 wells in all. (Cheap Joe's also
offers "big well" version with just 16 paint wells.) There John Pike palette
are no wells along one side you carry your brush on
and off the palette from this side, so that you don't drip
paint into the wells and the 9" x 12" mixing area is
perfectly flat and easy to see. There's a snap on lid, also
flat, that provides additional mixing area (once you learn
how to pry the lid off, which for me requires a
screwdriver). And a major attraction is that you can set
up a Pike palette with the specific paints necessary for a
certain genre of painting (portrait, or landscape), then the Pike palette lids make
save that unused paint combination simply by snapping great studio trays
on the lid. The paints dry in place and store indefinitely
until rewetted, like pan paints, for a new painting.
However there are three significant disadvantages to
this palette: capillary action can cause paint to creep
from one paint well to another around the front barrier
between wells (which makes it advisable to separate
paints by empty wells if possible); dried pigment is
tough to clean out of the sharp corners of the mixing
wells; and finely particulated, staining synthetic organic
paints (dioxazine, phthalo, quinacridone or
benzimidazolone paints in particular) will leave stubborn
stains on plastic or porcelain (though a little lighter fluid
and a paper towel, or a white "Mars plastic" eraser, will
clean these off almost completely). I still find the Pike
palette a very good alternative to a flat mixing sheet,
since the palette and its lid together provide almost a
30" x 15" mixing area. And the lids, when not in service
protecting unused paint in the palette paint wells, make
sturdy and compact studio trays, for example when
cleaning up the work area (photo, right).
The Tom Lynch palette has a similar design but with 13 slant
bottom paint wells and 3 large flat bottomed wells in the
corners, enlarged to make room for large brushes. The Frank
Webb palette palette is another variation, but with 25 narrower
paint wells; there is no front dam to the paint wells, so that
paint can be pulled directly from the well onto the mixing area
similar in concept to the Skip Lawrence palette mentioned
above.
Other palette concepts have been devised structure your

painting activity more rigorously. Of course someone
would come up with a ColorWheel palette, of which
there are many variations ("color theorists" such as Nita
Leland, Stephen Quiller and Michael Wilcox market their
own versions), most with a cover that provides
additional mixing areas. Again, these are often
"lightweight and portable," meaning you can punch
through them with a steak knife. The chief advantage
seems to be helping those who have difficulty imagining ColorWheel palette
a circular color sequence around the edges of a
rectangle. If this is the case, you might benefit much
more from a little more study of the artists' color wheel.
These highly structured palettes may actually cause you
to be overanxious or formulaic in your mixing approach.
There's a lot to discover in those accidental puddles and
pools of paint! in those random paint combinations! in

flailing away with paint mixtures!
Various "paint preservation" palettes have also recently come on
the market: the Sta-Wet palette that sits on a thin sponge
sheet which you can wet with water or turpenoid to keep
watercolors, acrylics or oils from drying out, and the Possum
palette consisting of a rack for holding tiny clear plastic cups,
each tiny cup with a tiny hinged snap tight lid, which keeps the
paint safe and snug and moist. I don't know, I just don't have a
problem with paint drying out. But if you love these palettes,
then use 'em it's your studio!
If all you're after is puddle control, the San Francisco

slant palette is a workmanlike arrangement of 8 paint
wells, 8 small slant bottom mixing areas, and four
shallow mixing cups (for washes or larger paint
mixtures). The mixing cups aren't quite large enough to
be useful, and I find the mixing areas are too small to
work freely with paint mixtures (see below). You may
like this arrangement, however. A few other versions
are available Zoltan Szabo makes a mixing palette
that is nothing but paint wells and slant mixing areas, San Francisco slant palette
with a cover to protect the paint between sessions
again, it's "lightweight and portable." The San Francisco
slant palette in contrast is as tough as a garbage pail lid,
and harder than most to stain.
The English painter Jason Skill has devised a watercolor
mixing palette with emphasis on large wash mixtures.
His design is a white plastic tray of five rectangular wash
areas, each depressed on one side to form a reservoir
that can hold enough liquid to cover a full sheet
watercolor paper. Tube paint is squeezed onto the
elevated shelf, and mixture from this paint drains into
the reservoir. As the two areas are connected, the wash
mixture can be easily adjusted with more paint. The
palette comes with a snap on lid that can be used as an
extra mixing area, as a base to increase the slant of the
mixing wells, or as a cover to protect the unused lumps
skill's watercolor mixing palette
of paint when the palette is transported or set aside. I
have not used this device and cannot speak to its
drawbacks (if any), but the design seems easy to clean
up and well made for the purpose.
However, for down and dirty painting, ease of packing
and convenience in almost any painting situation (from
plein air to studio to life drawing session), my favorite
palette is the Eldajon palette. Nothing fancy here, just
12 smallish paint wells along one side of three large (4"
square), cupped mixing areas. The main drawback is
that the wells don't take a brush larger than a 3/4" flat,
but I just pick up the paint I need with a small round, Eldajon palette
daub it high up on one side of a mixing area, then use a
larger brush there. The paint wells are deep enough to
hold a generous shot of raw paint (more than I usually
need), and each mixing area will hold enough wash
mixture to more than cover an entire full sheet. The
mixing areas are very easy to sponge clean (no walls,
no corners), but hardened paint in the paint wells
requires soaking and aggressive swabbing with a paper

towel or cotton swab to clean out, and (like the Pike
palette) the hard plastic stains rather easily (again,
cleaning with lighter fluid and a paper towel takes care
of this). I find the palette is small enough (5" x 12",
3/4" high) that I can move it around on a large painting
(laid flat) to keep the palette close to the working area
(and I know I better not spill paint when I do this!). The
trays stack for compact storage between work on
different paintings, but better is to put trays in the
refrigerator between painting sessions, to inhibit mold
and evaporation. Best, the tray is small enough to fit
into a plein air paint kit, in case I want to use tube
paints instead of pans in the field.
Mixing Cups. Most of these palettes are paint wells
and paint mixing areas. This means you also must
acquire a few or more mixing cups for working up
wash solutions or large quantities of paint
mixture.
Cuplike mixing areas are incorporated into some of the
commercial palettes, such as the handy Eldajon palette;
but they are typically not very large, and to bring the wet
mixture closer to the work you have to move the whole
palette. Because it's more convenient to use a mixing cup
you can hold near the work (especially when applying a
large wash), artists usually have other implements for
this purpose.
In my early days I preferred a white plastic ice cube tray,

which provides 12 separate mixing cups, each deep
enough to hold enough wash solution to cover a full sheet
(22"x30"), and wide enough to accommodate a 1" flat
brush or smaller. These trays are cheap, unbreakable,
easy to clean (the corners at the bottom are nicely
rounded), and several of them can be stacked up to
conserve space.
If you use larger brushes or work with larger washes, you

will want a larger container. You can try small glass or
porcelain bowls, sold as finger bowls, custard or crme
brule dishes, cereal bowls, kitchen mixing bowls, and so
on. These also work very well and clean up easily. The
main issues are breakage and stackability some
dishware will stack, some won't. Make sure the material is
a pure white or clear glass, so that you can accurately see
the color of the mixture as you're making it.
If breakage concerns you then better alternative is an

empty margarine tub, the white kind of course, washed
with plenty of soap to remove all grease. You can mix
enormous quantities of wash with these tubbies, and they
will receive any brush. (If you don't use butter or
margarine, collect tubs from your zaftig neighbors.) Small
Tupperware containers are also good, and have the
advantage of the snap on lid that prevents overnight
evaporation that will change a mixture's dilution
(important if you work on several similar paintings at the
same time).
Or you can use coated white paper picnic dishes. These

flare at the rim in a way that makes it easier to slop the
paint around, and you can throw them away once you're
done.
Of course, there is also a clutter of commercial

waterwells, porcelain slant mixing trays, folding palettes,
oval palettes, floral mixing cups, traveling (seals tight!)
mixing trays, plastic mixing trays, Japanese sumi ink cups
that are always available at any art retailer ... the list is
endless and the selection only depends on available
retailer shelf or catalog space.
The drawback? Speciality art items cost far more than the
equivalent implement purchased as dishware or crockery,
and they are often not as well made or as flexible to use.
They go beyond utility to a desire for decorative
acquisition more junk to clean, store, and discard after
you discover they are not all that useful.
life without a palette

Which leads to a final question: why use a
palette at all? Before you get embroiled in ordering all the
various proprietary palette varieties, you may want to
experiment with more flexible ways of working.
Storing and using paint in condiment dishes. For much of

the 19th century watercolors were most frequently sold
as rock hard cakes that had to be "rubbed out" (dissolved
by rubbing against the bottom of a dish filled with a small
quantity of water) prior to use. Painters typically
prepared their paints each morning in small porcelain
saucers, one for each of the different paints they planned
to use that day. The benefits were that each saucer could
be prepared or cleaned up separately from the others,
paints wouldn't bleed or contaminate from one container
to the next, paints could be poured from one container
into another (the saucers served both as paint wells and
mixing cups), and the saucers would stack neatly when
not in use.
I recognized the functional similarity between those

Victorian painting saucers and the white porcelain
condiment dishes (shown at right) that I found while
browsing the kitchen section of a Crate & Barrel outlet
one day. (Any home lifestyle or kitchen supply store will
have a selection of similar items.) On a whim, I bought
several and tried working with them and tube paints in
the old style ... and became an enthusiastic convert.
Square, just 3" on a side and 5/8" deep, the dishes are
impervious to stains, dishwasher safe, quite sturdy and
stackable even when they contain wet paint. The
inner corners are rounded and easy to clean, and they
are heavy and squat enough to resist spills or splatters if
accidentally bumped. The dishes are compact and stable
enough to set right on the paper next to the area I want
to paint on those big 41" x 29" sheets that is a real
convenience. The raised edges are perfect for wicking a
wet brush, and every watercolor brush I know of can

easily fit into the dish.
When used with a small plastic palette for spot color mixing or
thinning, the dishes serve as: (1) pan paint storage for tube
paints that I use frequently, (2) paint wells for holding wet
paint, (3) mixing cups for wash solutions, or (4) a white mixing
surface for spot color mixing. Used as pan paints, the mixing
dishes can be combined or replaced at will, allowing you to set
up different palette combinations for each painting. And as I
move from one painting to the next, I can "change my palette"
simply by swapping my selection of cups. This complete painting
flexibility is the heart of the setup!
porcelain mixing dishes and
At first I used the dishes as mixing wells, squeezing out paint as a plastic mixing tray
needed (as shown above, right) and cleaning up the residue
paint when finished. Now I permamently store the 40 odd tube
paints I use routinely as "pan" paints. To make a new pan color,
I completely empty two 14 ml. tubes of paint into a single dish,
slide the dish vigorously back and forth on the table surface to
smooth out the pile of paint to approximately level (or flatten it
with a wet brush if the paint is stiff), then let the paint dry out
completely. I note the pigment color index name on the side of
the dish with a Sharpie indelible pen so that I can locate paints
even when they are stacked.
tube paint stored as "pan
In this form the paint can be stored indefinitely and rewetted as
paint" in porcelain condiment
frequently as needed. I have used paints in this way for over six
dishes
years without any adverse effects, and I have largely eliminated
the daily annoyances jumbled tube storage, the clutter of
tubes containing little paint, stuck tube caps, sticky extruded
vehicle on the sides of tubes, dried paint in tubes, wringing
paint tubes that come with the routine use and storage of
tube paints.
When stacked, the paints can be protected from dust by

covering with a towel or the backing board from a used
watercolor block. For something more permanent, I found a
large Rubbermaid snap case (product number 2282), 10.5" x
14" x 4" with a hinged top and latch, that holds up to 48 stacked
dishes. I use this to cover stacked paints I'm not currently using
and to store all the paints while I'm off on vacation. However I
routinely leave the dishes lying around my work area and find
dust accumulation is not a problem.
How to use the pan paints. The procedure for

using the paints is simple (photo series at right):
1. Measure out the quantity of water necessary for the
total quantity of diluted paint. For large (wash)
quantities, I just use an empty, clean dish to pick up
water from the source bowl. For smaller or more
concentrated paint mixtures I use a measuring spoon or
large brush.
2. Pour the water over the dried paint and mix up to the
desired consistency. Many paints soften naturally if left to
sit under water for a minute or two; the softened paint is
easily dissolved by gently stroking the paint with a brush.
Always use a 1/2" acrylic flat brush for this task not a
natural hair brush especially when scrubbing is
required to dissolve the paint (for example, with cobalt or

some "umber" iron oxide pigments).
3. When the desired consistency has been reached, pour

the paint mixture from the paint dish into a clean mixing
dish. Liquid left in the paint dish will continue to dissolve
paint that transfers to the brush each time it is recharged.
Pouring out the paint is usually desirable if the paint must
remain at a constant dilution (for example, in a large sky
wash). Using the paint directly from the paint dish,
exactly like a pan paint, is desirable if you want to vary
the paint concentration or want to gradually increase the
paint concentration as you work.
4. When finished with the paint, simply pour the excess

mixture back into the "pan" dish, or set the pan dish aside
to dry out. Until then, the paint remains soft for drybrush
or renewed paint mixing.
A particular advantage of the square dishes is that they

pour easily from any corner. For rarely used paints that I
keep as tubes, or for very large quantities of paint
mixture, I squeeze out the paint from the tube into a
clean dish, then dissolve the paint in water just as if it
were in a palette paint well. When the mixture reaches preparing dried paints stored
the desired concentration I pour the solution into a in mixing dishes
second clean dish (the "mixing cup"); the residual raw
paint is left wet in the first dish where it is available for (a) measuring water with an
other paint mixtures. empty
mixing dish, (b) pouring water
over
dried paint, (c) pouring the
dissolved
paint into an empty dish
Pouring can also be used to decant the paint (right), if

you want to separate out the heaviest or largest paint
particles, which reduces the effect of granulation or
brush deposits in colors or wash areas that I want to be
exceptionally smooth.
Decanting is especially useful when working with heavily
granulating paints in wash solutions, or when dissolving any
paint (such as viridian or cobalt violet) that tends to create
small, undissolved bits of paint that can streak the color when
brushed on.
New paint mixtures also dry to a thin layer of paint at the

bottom of their dish; this dried paint dissolves quickly and decanting a granulating paint
smoothly at the touch of a wet brush, making it as convenient as from one dish to another
a pan paint for continued work with a "custom" color mixture.
When I'm finished with the mixture I clean out the dish, and it's
ready to reuse.
Partly dried, recently wetted or "sticky" paints are not a problem,

provided you put no more than 2 14 ml. tubes of paint in the
dish and level out the paint before it dries. Paints then will not
contact the bottom of dishes stacked on top of them. Sticky
(honey humectant) paints should be covered with another dish
when not in use, as they will trap small insects or dust. But I
find that they do not grow mold if allowed to dry out after each
use.
Problem pigments. After years of experience I have found

that nearly every tube watercolor paint from every
manufacturer works just fine in this "large pan" format.
However, there are a handful of cranky pigments that I
prefer to store as tube paints. Most brands of cobalt
turquoise (PB36) and viridian (PG18), and some brands
of cobalt cerulean blue (PB35) dissolve with gritty clumps
in them that are difficult to break down. And some brands
of burnt umber (PBr7) or "transparent" iron oxides dry to
a resinous density that is tedious to dissolve. I store these
paints as tubes and squeeze out color into a clean, empty
dish when I need them.
Spot color. Finally, for detail, drybrush or spot

colors, I simply work straight from the tube or
from a few drops sprinkled on the dried paint. I
unscrew the cap, wet the brush with just enough
water to lubricate the raw paint, then I daub the
paint I need straight out of the tube.
This works best if the paper is already wetted and the lifting paint straight from
paint is not strongly staining, so that the first mark of the tube
paint can be brushed out and adjusted with a wet brush.
Daub the paint around until the brush is cleaned, then go
back and stroke out the lumps of paint, wetting the brush
with more water or wash solution if necessary. (If you
have a coarse, painterly style, then staining paints on dry
paper will amplify the brush textures.) This method is
great for for laying in details (such as flower parts in a
botanical painting) that require small amounts of paint
applied with a small brush. It is also good when defining
highlights with white paint that must be clean of any
contamination: if you accidently transfer color to the
paint, simply squeeze out the discolored part and wipe it
away.
In all cases, squeezing out only the amount of paint you

need, and stroking the tuft against the edge of the tube
nozzle, will allow you to mix the paint and water in the
tuft almost as evenly as if you'd mixed it on the palette
you have a lot of control over the paint texture. I find a
small to medium sized brush works best, both for
transferring the paint to paper with a nice gestural mark
and for blending the mark into the painting; larger
brushes carry so much water or paint than you have much
less control.
The main hazard is that excess water will drain from the
brush as you stroke the paint and accumulate inside the
nozzle, and eventually a drop of watery paint can fall
from the tube on your painting, especially when you
squeeze out more paint. The obvious solution: don't hold
the tube over the painting.
Commercial alternatives. Several years after I first posted

this "palette free" solution to watercolor painting, I was
intrigued to see a similar system of "huge pan"
watercolors offered by two commercial brands, Blockx
and Winsor & Newton. I have not tried either system, but
appearances suggest the Winsor & Newton paints are in
the "dry" (English/German) style, and the Blockx paints

are in the "moist" (French/Russian) style of dry pan
preparation.
There are three drawbacks to these commercial solutions.

Within each brand, I believe the manufacturers only offer
a partial selection of their complete watercolor line in the
huge pan format. If you like one of their more arcane
colors, you are out of luck.
Second, you may or may not find these little custom

dishes are convenient for your own purposes or storage
system. Judging from available photos, the dishes have
gently sloping rather than sharply raised edges, which
makes it harder to wick off paint without recharging the
brush; the dishes are certainly not deep enough to allow
you to dissolve a large quantity of paint mixture directly
on top of the raw paint. You must transfer the wet paint
to another mixing area that will hold enough water, just
as one does with a field pan paint kit.
Finally, if you use any other brand of watercolor paint,

you must wait until you deplete the paint in one of these
custom dishes before you can refill it with new paint. And
as there is a lot of paint in these dishes to start, that's a
long wait before you can get rid of the tubes of your
favorite M. Graham, Daniel Smith, DaVinci or MaimeriBlu
watercolors.
rinse water & pure water

Mixing paints and rinsing brushes requires
water, and most artists also develop a personal system
for providing water while they paint. This usually means
you need to choose appropriate water containers.
Now, if you are painting in the field, in a workshop or

painting color studies in the studio, one water source is
usually sufficient. Plein air painters learn the knack of
first pouring a tablespoon or so of clear water into the
palette mixing wells before starting, prewetting paints
with clear water, painting sky washes first, wicking or
snapping out the brush before rinsing, and other tricks to
keep the single water source as unpolluted as possible. I
find my field habits carry over to the studio and I feel
comfortable working from a single water source.
However, for large painting projects in the studio you will

usually want two kinds of water: the rinse water
necessary to clean paint from your brush or unwanted
paint from your palette; and pure water necessary to
prewet the paper, mix paint or wash solutions, induce
paint blossoms in wet paint areas, and so on. The easiest
way to meet these requirements is with a two container
water system: rinse and source. The picture shows my set
up two clear plastic containers, filled to the brim.
rinse water and source water
The kind of container doesn't really matter some artists

use a glass baking dish, china bowls, margarine tubs, you
name it. I like clear plastic containers because they let me
really see the water (light through the sides is more
reliable than a reflection off the bottom, because
sediment settles there), and the acrylic plastic is much
safer to handle and wash than glass or ceramic.
The rinse container is for clearing paint from your brush.

It gets pretty dirty pretty quickly, and that's the point.
The container should be capacious enough to hold at least
a pint of water (mine holds a quart), yet be shallow
enough to let you bump the tuft of the brush against the
bottom, if necessary to dislodge paint from the tuft. My
container is roughly as wide as it is high, minimizing
depth; Edgar Whitney used metal baking pans, which can
hold a quart but are only 2 or 3 inches deep, and you can
just as well use an enameled butcher tray for the same
purpose if you can afford to give up that much valuable
work space for a rinsing container! (I also can't lift the
things back to the sink without spilling some.) If you use
an opaque plastic or ceramic bowl, make it white. When
you drain a rinsed brush against the side of the container,
you will be able to see from the runoff whether unwanted
paint remains in the tuft.
If you are repeatedly rinsing your brush while working

with related color mixtures (cool colors, or analogous
colors) or working down the lightness scale from light to
dark, then you can work with dirty rinse water
without negative effect on your color mixtures. If you
shift to opposing color mixtures (from a dark
background to flesh tones, or from greens to reds), then
you should empty, rinse and refill the rinse container, to
prevent contamination of the new mixtures as you rinse
the brush.
The source container is your supply of pure, clear water. Use
this water only to prewet the paper before applying a wash, to
dilute paint mixtures, and to add water to wash areas or create
wet in wet effects. Do not dirty it with an unrinsed brush.
I like the source container to be relatively small with a crisp rim,

so I can tip it to take out water with a metal measuring spoon,
or just pour water directly onto the paper or palette as needed
for wash solutions, paint mixing, paper prewetting, and so on.
Many artists (including me) keep some source water in one or

more plastic spray bottles, which can be used to wet paints in
paint wells or porcelain dishes, add water to a mixing area or
wash mixing cup, wet the paper before painting, or blend paints
as they dry on the paper. No way you'll accidentally dirty the
water with a brush and one squirt delivers a fixed quantity. If
the task is wetting the paper, my problem has been finding a
spray bottle that produces a fine yet evenly divided mist most
spray bottles eject a mist mixed with much larger drops.
I've learned by trial and error that rinsing is a waste of time.

It breaks the flow of work and just gets the rinse water even
dirtier; worse, it destroys the equilibrium between water
and paint in the tuft. After rinsing the brush is full of water, not
paint; to get it back to painting mode I have to blot or shake out
the rinse water as necessary, pick up a fresh charge of paint,
then wick out the excess paint so that paint is delivered to the
paper at the right density. So I've learned ways to paint that let
me rinse less frequently.
My prejudice is, rinse as a last resort. Do all the painting

necessary with one paint mixture before rinsing it out to start
with another. In particular, frequent rinsing is often a
symptom of overworked painting. Stay alert to the other
ways you might get rid of the paint on the brush. You can put it
elsewhere on the painting, leave it in the brush as you swirl up a
different mixture of paint (to shift the hue of the mixture
slightly), use it for drybrush texturing ... rinse the brush only
when you can't clear it in any other way.
Final comment: it really is OK to lower your standards of

cleanliness if necessary. Very often, if the paint mixture you're
working with is at a fluid or dilute consistency, you can just
shake out the brush or wick it against the edge of a mixing area,
and go on to another color without rinsing. The impact on your
painting will typically be unnoticeable (or no more noticeable
than paint mixed with dirty rinse water), unless you want to
apply a yellow or white paint.
work routine & storage

Once you've got your palette, mixing cups and rinse
containers, you're finally ready to start working with paints.
Layout for Paints. Many artists wrestle with the issue of

how to lay out paints on the palette. The standard
recommendation is to order the paints in spectrum
sequence rose, red, scarlet, orange, yellow, green,
turquoise, blue, purple, earths red to yellow, white and
black. The primary advantage of this system is that you
remember where colors are.
Other artists lay the paints out to separate strongly staining

colors from the rest, as even a little staining color will strongly
pollute other paints. This is basically a method to help you avoid
brush blunders.
Still other artists lay the paints out according to palette types,
staining colors in one area and opaque colors in another. This is
basically a method to help you organize your mixing procedures.
The list goes on ... but by now you see the basic point: artists
lay out their colors in whatever way makes them comfortable as
they work. (Just like organizing your kitchen utensils, or the
work by your computer, or your golf clubs.) If you simply watch
yourself paint, you will discover your own intuitive system for
ordering paints. If you pollute colors often, learn to separate
them; if you forget which paints are which (!), lay them out in a
memorable pattern. The palette reflects the way you think about
painting.
Again, everything about mixing gets clearer if you do four or six

paint wheels with different brands of paints. If you have any
natural working preferences or confusions, all the color mixtures
that a paint wheel requires will quickly bring them to your
attention!
Fresh, Dry and Moldy. At the other end of the work

routine is your method of setup to start a painting and for
handling paints between painting sessions overnight or
during vacations.
There are basically three schools here: (1) squeeze paints fresh
from the tube to start work and clean off the palette when the
painting is finished, (2) let the paints dry out on the palette
when not in use, or (3) keep the paints continuously wet.
If you use a variety of paints, choose different paints for each

painting and work with small format paintings, then the best
approach is probably to squeeze paints fresh from the tube
and clean the palette completely when you've finished painting
for the day.
To clean the palette, put the palette in the sink, immerse it in

water and leave it soak for an hour. Then hose it down and towel
dry. (You may need a QTip or sponge to work paint out of the
sharp corners of paint wells on commercial palettes.) All residue
paint goes out with the rest of the mud on the palette, and each
time you start a painting you start with fresh paint.
In the second approach, you let the paints dry out when not in
use. This has a lot to recommend it and a few drawbacks. For
plein air painters who like to work with pan paints and are
frequently absent from the studio, the method is the same in
field and studio and provides continuity in technique whatever
your travel schedule may be. Finally, clean up chores in the
studio are greatly reduced. You rarely have to clean out moldy
paint, unused paint, or contaminated paint. (If paints do become
contaminated or moldy, simply put the paint under running hot
not scalding tap water until the water has dissolved away
the contamination, and drain dry; clean paint remains on the
palette.)
To rewet the paints when you start work, either spritz the dried
paint with water from a spray bottle, or pour a small amount of
clean water over the paint with a measuring spoon, and let the
paints soak for 5 to 30 minutes. Some painters are impatient
about this enforced moistening period, but I'd suggest there are
always morning chores making coffee, answering emails,
walking the dog, getting dressed, etc. that can be done while
the paints soak. Wet the paints first, then go do other things.
If you need to start with large quantities of paint, rewet the

paint by squeezing fresh paint on top of the dried, with a little
added water. By the time you work through the tube paint the
dried paint will have softened to the same consistency.
All watercolors made with gum arabic binder can be dried out
and rewetted an unlimited number of times without harming the
paint color or permanence. There are three cautions, however:
(1) some manufacturers (such as Schmincke) make their paints
with a synthetic binder, which I find does not rewet as well as
gum arabic with glycerin and glucose; (2) some manufacturers
(such as M.Graham and Sennelier) use a honey wetted vehicle
that either dries out very slowly or only dries to a sticky surface,
which must be covered to protect the paint from dust and
insects; and (3) in some brands there are problem pigments,
specifically viridian, manganese blue, cobalt violet, cobalt blue
and the dark iron oxides used in burnt and raw umbers, that
rewet reluctantly and may turn toward a thin or gritty
consistency.
To artists who dislike working with dried paint, I'd suggest that
the only reason you have a pile of paint to rewet the next day is
because you've squeezed out too much paint in the first place.
Add paint to your palette more frequently and in smaller
quantities; there's always more in the tube. When you're done,
what you clean off will not be worth saving.
The third approach, which is to keep the paints continuously

wet, allows you to work immediately and with larger quantities.
The primary motive, I think, is distaste for the interruption and
tedium of dissolving paint: the painter dissolves a single large
amount of paint and gets it over with. The main drawback is the
inevitable appearance of mold after four or five days, or sooner
in hot or humid climates.
The remedies for mold are at least as inconvenient as mixing the

paints each morning. The first recourse is to prevent mold
spores from getting onto the paints. Keep the paint wells
covered when not in use, use an air filtration unit near your work
area, and work with bottled distilled water only. Be sure to clean,
dry and cover your brushes each night. Clean paint containers
and palettes with soap and water prior to use.
If you are willing to experiment, try different paint brands to see

if you can find a mold resistant formulation. (Unfortunately
favorite paints are all susceptible to mold.) One alternative is to
mix your paints by squeezing the paint into a plastic squeeze
(ketchup or honey) bottle or small Tupperware container, add
water, cap and shake to dissolve. Store the paints overnight in
the refrigerator and shake them up each time you use them, as
pigment will settle quickly to the bottom. (Flat palettes,
protected by their covers or a sheet of foil or cling wrap, can also
be stored in the refrigerator.) You will still have to periodically
clean out and refresh your paints, but this can usually be kept to
once every two weeks or so, depending on usage.
The simplest solution may be to add a few drops of

Listerine disinfectant to the paint wells, diluted paints and
rinse water. This may create a mild chemical odor while you work
but this disappears once the paints have dried.
You might also try adding small quantities of a nontoxic food

preservative, such as potassium sorbate or sodium benzoate
dissolved in your source water (used to mix colors) and rinse
water (used to clean brushes). Unfortunately these "natural"
preservatives create or require an acidic environment to work
well, but in small quantities they may still inhibit mold enough
to meet you need.
I used to clean the palette because I wanted to start fresh with

each painting. Now I store and mix the paints in separate
porcelain dishes, which I choose and use as I need them, let
paints dry out when I'm not working in the studio. When I run
out of clean extra dishes I run them all through the dishwasher.
I temperamentally like to work with different paints and color

combinations, so I only feel hemmed in by dried piles of paint on
a single palette. Some artists paint the same kitty in the pail, or
game bird, or rose petals, or seascape sunset, over and over and
over: and they have their piles of familiar paint always at the
ready. For them, a crusty or continuously wet palette is just the
thing.
mixing tube paints

The page on mixing with a color wheel provides
the step by step instructions for a basic mixing method, which
focus on how to choose different paints to get a specific mixed
color. Here I focus on how to work with the paints as material
substances you mix with a brush. (The paints used here are the
same used to illustrate the basic mixing method.)
Again, my preference is to explain things in enough detail so

that you can understand what is going on. For simplicity, I
describe the procedure as if you wanted to paint a single area
with a single color. Typically your actual work procedure will
be more free flowing, as you build new mixtures, go back and
add more of previous mixtures, float more paint into an area
that is still wet, adjust the color temperature of an existing
mixture to model forms, and so on.
The key elements of rinsing, bringing out paints, building

mixtures and adjusting colors remain the same, and these are
the basic building blocks of your technique. They will simply
become more intuitive and more flexible with habit.
Mixing On the Palette. The figures that follow show a

single mixing area in an Eldajon palette (on the left), and
part of a flat mixing sheet (on the right), to demonstrate
how to work with paints on a slanted or flat mixing
surface. The Eldajon mixing area is actually a shallow
rectangular bowl, so paints placed near the edges are
raised above the pool of mixture in the center. You may
prefer the flat surfaces that most large mixing palettes
provide.
laying out the paints
Lay out the raw paints with plenty of room between them.
I've placed them in adjacent paint wells on the Eldajon
palette (left), but it's better to leave an empty paint well
between different paints if you can. This prevents one wet
paint from contaminating the other. I use the middle
paint well to make a mixture of the two paints on either
side, as the need arises, to save mixing space in the
mixing areas.
Squeeze out only enough paint to do the job. This is a

matter of guesswork based on your concept of the
finished painting; with experience you can estimate this
pretty accurately. (And if you need more paint, it's in the
tube.)
I squeeze out paints one at a time, only as I need them,

since I may change my mind about a paint depending on
how the other colors look on the sheet. When I haven't
committed to a prior plan by squeezing out every paint I
think I'll need, I can improvise in a new direction if I
want to.
I put several drops (about a half teaspoon) of water over

the raw paint. This dissolves some paint in a thin solution
so that the color is easier to see, and it keeps the paint
from developing a hard skin while I work. If I need the
paint full strength, I dip into the pile; if I want it diluted
and wet, I dip into the water.
bringing out the first paint

clean the brush by wiping it on the mixing area
To start the mixing, take a moist medium brush (a

#8 round), dip it into the weakest tinting paint (the paint
with the weakest mixing strength), and bring the pure

paint out onto the mixing area. Daub it down on the
sheet, then smear the brush sideways (or scrape it
against the outer rim of the mixing area) to get as much
pigment off as you can. Repeat if you need more paint.
Bring out slightly more paint than you think you'll need.
Then clean the brush by stroking it in the area where you

will make the mixture. Get as much paint off it this way as
you conveniently can.
adding water to the mixing area

swirl the brush in the mixing area, not in the rinse water
Take the brush and dip it into the rinse water, but do not
stir it. Let it fill with water, then transfer this water to the
mixing area. Rub the brush against the mixing surface to
get more paint off the bristles and discharge the water.
Then repeat to add more water.
On the Eldajon palette, discharge the water by wicking

the brush against the edge of the mixing area: the water
will run down the side to make a puddle in the center.
For larger quantities of water, use a small measuring

spoon. I use a plastic straw dipped in water and then
stopped at the top end with my finger; this method also
allows me to measure the water pretty accurately.
Keep this going until you've built up a pool of water that

is slightly less than the amount of mixture you'll need.
Then mix the paint and water thoroughly to assess the
mixture. If the mixture is too weak, add more paint from
the pile on the mixing area.
At this point you have a weak mixture of paint in the

mixing area, and a pretty clean brush. Notice that you
have not cleaned the brush by plunging it into the rinse
and swirling away the residual paint; you've repeatedly
wet it just enough to loosen the paint, but have swirled
away that "dirty" water on the palette, where it forms
part of the mixture.
Dip into the pile of paint on the mixing area if you need
more paint to make the mixture stronger; rinse the brush
by swirling and rubbing it in the mixture.
When you're done, wick the brush off against the edge of
the mixing area (on the Eldajon) or by stroking the brush
around the edges of the mixture puddle on the flat sheet.
Now rinse the brush thoroughly in the rinse water: you

should only get a little paint out of it. (If not, then you
could probably wick more paint onto the sheet or edge of
the mixing area first.)
bringing out the second paint

slowly swirl the dirty brush in the mixing area, to test the
mixing proportions
Shake out or towel the brush lightly to remove excess

water, but leave some water in the brush this helps to
release the paint onto the palette because paint does not
stick as eagerly to a moist brush.
Then pick up the second, stronger tinting paint from the

raw paint pile in the mixing well with the wet, clean
brush. Pick up only as much paint as you think you'll need
typically, this turns out to be too much.
Drop the blob of the paint on the side of the mixing area,
then very cautiously begin to swirl off the rest inside the
pool of mixture (remember, you probably have too much
paint on the brush). As you do this, you can evaluate how
powerfully the dominant (second) paint will affect the
hue of the mixture, and can adjust your mixing
proportions accordingly.
Stop immediately and rinse the brush if you suddenly

come close to the color you want; otherwise carefully add
more of the second paint (from the pile on the mixing
area), each time swirling the brush clean in the mixing
puddle.
When you have the hue you want, go to the rinse water
and bring out more water to the mixture, swirling the
brush in the mixture to dislodge paint, and adding water
until you have slightly more mixture than necessary.
Swirl the brush in the mixture to mix the two colors

thoroughly. You now have a mixture that is (a) close to
the hue you want, (b) close to the concentration of color
you want, and (c) a slightly larger amount of mixture
than you think you'll need to cover the area you intend to
paint.
adjusting the mixture of two paints

gently add more paint from the mixing area to adjust the color
as needed
Now, if you need to adjust the color, you can either swirl
a tongue of the liquid over to the pile of paint on the
mixing area, or pick up some paint from this pile by
flicking it lightly with the tip of the brush.
Use the paint on the mixing area to adjust the mixture,

not the raw paint in the paint wells. You want to keep the
raw paint as uncontaminated as possible, which means
touching it only when you've run out of paint on the
mixing area.
Continue swirling and adjusting until you have the hue

just right. Now test the mixture on a blank piece of paper.
The apparent color of the mixture will typically shift as
the paint dries. (You can anticipate the result of this shift
if you are familiar with the typical drying shifts of the
paints you've used.)
adding the third paint
Rinse the brush thoroughly. As the last step, add a small

amount of the third, adjusting paint to get just the right
saturation and value in the mixture. Often you need less
of this paint than you think, so start with a tiny amount
and add more as needed; a quick stroke of the raw paint
pile is enough. Rinse the brush thoroughly before
touching the paint in the paint well again.
Swirl the mixture to mix completely. You now have a

paint mixture at the hue, saturation and value you want,
and a brush completely charged with paint, ready for
work.
If you need to adjust the hue slightly as you work (for

example, to change the color temperature to model lit or
shaded areas of a form), you have both the mixing paints
on the palette to work with. Just flick the mixing pile with
the tip of the brush and swirl more paint in the mixture.
When you're done with that mixture, rinse the brush

thoroughly. Leave the color mixture where it is, and start
the next color in another mixing area or another part of
the sheet. You'll almost certainly want to go back to a
mixture you've already made to apply a second coat to
areas you've painted that are too light, or to use the
mixture in other parts of the painting, to create a color
unity.
Notice that you always leave a range of paint mixtures on

the palette. Your burnt sienna mixture is there, but also
some of the raw paints it was made from. This lets you
adjust the mixture, for example when shifting from
foreground to middle distance in a landscape, by pulling
in more of one or more paints. These paints will also
continue to drain into the mixture, giving it life. When all
the paints have been dissolved in a single puddle, any
visual excitement or variety in the mixture is dead.
Mixing On the Paper. Everything that has just been

described about mixing paints on the palette can be
applied to mixing paints on the paper. The reason to do
this is that it "shows your work" in the painting, allowing
the viewer to see the components of color mixtures, the
effects of changes in color proportions, and the effects of
pigment diffusing in water. All this greatly enhances the
visual interest and feeling of spontaneity in the work.
The way to do this is to include the paper as a "second

palette" in the mixing process. This can be done at any
point. You could transfer the finished brown mixture to
the paper, then add touches of diluted red, yellow or blue
paint to tweak the color in certain areas as you paint. You
could transfer the base orange mixture of yellow and red
to the paper, then add the neutralizing touches of
ultramarine on the paper, while the orange mixture is still
wet or as a glaze of color after it has dried. At the
extreme, you could daub or stroke the raw red, yellow
and blue paint directly on the paper, where you want
strong color accents to remain, then add water (with a
brush or spray bottle) to mix them together on the page.
All these methods produce distinctive effects, and all are

worth trying out. In general mixing paint directly on the
paper takes the work closer to a sketch, and this mixing
method is especially suited to quick sketching. But it can
be used in any type of work.
Usually you will need to moisten the paper first, or work

into still wet paint. Applying raw paint to dry paper will
leave a visible paint tattoo, no matter how much you try
to mix or scrub over it. This usually happens no matter
how wet the paper is, so there is not much point to
getting the paper soaking wet: more important than the
amount of moisture is whether it has had time to dissolve
the gum arabic sizing and soak a little bit into the paper.
This creates the ideal surface for mixing on the page.
A Two Paint Mixing Lesson. You can learn quite a lot about
mixing paints by focusing on a two paint palette. This limits all
the decisions about value range, texture, color appearance and
handling attributes to two paints, which takes your mind off
"color theory" considerations and focuses it on mixing decisions
and mixing procedures.
The mixing alternatives at your disposal are subsequently

limited to these five: proportion of each paint in the mixture;
dilution of the mixture; wetness of paper; amount of paint in
brush; and type of brushstroke gesture. So you learn more
quickly in these specific technical areas.
Perhaps the finest pair to use is burnt sienna and ultramarine

blue. These are near mixing complements, and are able to
produce a fascinating variety of hues and textures.
Once you have done some paintings using only these two
pigments, it's interesting to add a third paint to flesh out the
range of color mixtures. The most common choice is a dull
yellow, such as yellow ochre or raw sienna, which will get you a
green when mixed with the ultramarine blue.
mixing pan paints

When using dry pan paints, the main complication
to the mixing technique concerns picking up paint from the pan.
First, premoisten the cakes you are going to use with a

few drops of water. Usually a minute or two is sufficient
time for the water to soften the surface of the cake. In
the field, I get settled and take in the view, then I wet
the cakes I will need to start the painting, then I make
the foundation sketch on the watercolor block. By the
time the sketch is finished the paints are ready.
To wet the cake, saturate the brush with water, hold the handle
in a horizontal position, and bring the tuft over but not touching
the cake. Then turn the handle to the vertical. One or two drops
will fall from the brush onto the cake. Do not touch the pan
paint with the brush, and you will not have to rinse it. Repeat
until the surface of the pan is wet with a bead of water.
Don't go around dropping water on every cake; the more cakes

you wet the more disastrous the results if you knock over the
pan set. Just moisten the colors you think you will need. (As with
working with tube paints no point in squeezing out the paints
until you're ready to use them.)
Paints vary widely, by manufacturer and type of pigment, in how prewetting the pan paint by
easily or quickly they can be wetted and picked up with a brush. dropping water from
Usually the granulating or "transparent" inorganic pigments, a saturated brush
including the cobalts, viridian, raw and burnt umber, raw and
burnt sienna, as well as most carbon blacks, and tedious to pick
up and also hard on the brush. In general, the powdery, dense
paints, such as the cadmiums, chromium oxide green, the
whitish titanium spinel paints, yellow ochre, venetian red and
ultramarine blue, dissolve and pick up easily. The synthetic
organic pigments, such as the phthalos and quinacridones, are

about as hard to wet and pick up as the "earth" pigments, but
this is less noticeable because their tinting strength is so high.
You become accustomed to these variations after working with a
fixed set of paints in your paint box.
Next, using a medium or large round brush, carry a

small quantity of pure water to one of the mixing areas
on the inside cover of your metal pan set. To do this,
use the brush rather like a spoon: dip it into the water,
turn it horizontal, lift from the water, move it quickly
over the mixing well, turn it vertical, then wick it against
the raised side wall of the well; repeat. If the source
water is close enough you can almost shovel or throw
the water from the container to the mixing well.
Do not transfer all the water you will need for the mixture. You
should transfer no more than half the total quantity needed for
the color mixture. (The reason is explained below.)
Most paintings consist of one to four basic color fields sky,

trees and earth for landscapes; flesh, shirt and background for
portraits; leaf, blossom and background for botanicals and
most pan sets have three or four large mixing wells stamped
into the cover to accommodate wash quantities of diluted paint.
Because you are often working in bright sunlight, it is very
important to paint in the largest color areas as soon as you can, carrying water to mixing area
to minimize glare from the paper and establish your middle
values. This makes the rest of the values easier to judge.
Two hints: try to locate your source water within reach at the
end (above) the pan set, so that you can bring water to the
paints along either side. This minimizes accidental dripping onto
the pans: a drop that falls between pans will fuse the liquid in
them and cause the paints to bleed into each other. And I often
load a small amount of water into all the mixing wells at the
outset, when both the brush and water are completely clean.
Now pick up the premoistened paint with the brush. In a

two or three color mixture, start with the weakest
tinting paint. I find it best to use a medium sized brush
for transferring paint to the mixing wells, as small
brushes quickly lose their points and large brushes are
sloppy and harder to wick. They also dirty the rinse
water much faster.
If you are using a natural hair (kolinsky or red sable) round
brush, I recommend that you pick up paint by rotating (twirling)
the brush over the surface of the cake just roll the handle
between your thumb and fingers. This scrapes up paint with the
shafts of the hairs rather than the tips; it picks up paint on all
sides of the tuft, and twists the hairs tightly together so that
paint is not forced into the base of the tuft. Stroking or
scrubbing the cake will wear out the tip on natural brushes, can
fray the tuft, and works paint farther into the tuft where it is
more difficult to rinse clean. Cobalt and some earth pigments
can be especially hard and abrasive. picking up paint by twirling brush
An even better alternative is to use an acrylic flat for picking up

the paint, as the bristles are strong, the brush is cheap, and it is
much easier to rinse. Small flats also tend to pick up color more
evenly though you pretty much have to resign yourself to
wearing a hole in the center of the pan paint. (A moderate sized
hole is good, because it cups the wet paint and helps the pan
dissolve more quickly.)
Transfer the paint to one of the mixing areas in the

cover or flat palette tray of the paint box, and wick the
brush on the palette surface or stir the paint into the
water in the mixing area. Again, a medium sized brush
is best for this operation as it is easier to wick.
To wick the brush, turn the handle to the vertical position and
press the tuft into the bottom of the mixing area as you draw it
out of the puddle of diluted paint. Then pull it up against the
raised edge of the mixing area and scrape it off against this edge
to finish.
A bead of paint will form under the tuft along the edge of the
mixing area, but if the paint is not too thick and you make the
wicking gesture quickly, the bead will usually be drawn back into
the puddle and you can wick the brush a second or third time.
wicking paint onto mixing area
If you have trouble, tilt the mixing area slightly so that the bead
runs away from the tuft. If the bead is still too large to wick
adequately, wick the brush against the raised lip of the pan set
lid along the side of the mixing area. (You can sweep up stray
paint along this edge as you paint from the mixture in the
mixing area.)
Now you need to do two things: increase the amount of

paint in the mixing area until you have the total quantity
of paint you need, and increase the amount of water in
the mixing area until you have the total quantity of
liquid (diluted paint) that you need. The basic strategy is
this:
add paint --> add water
To increase the quantity of paint, you simply work back and

forth between the pan paint and the mixing area, rewetting the
pan with the diluted paint, twirling the brush, and wicking the
more concentrated mixture back into the mixing area. You are
only adding paint, not water, to the solution.
The brush becomes harder to wick as the paint solution gets

thicker. However, the paint in the pan should be getting softer, adding more paint to the mixture
so that it is easier to pick up with the brush; this keeps more of
it on the outside of the tuft. The hardest work is when the paint
is hard to pick up (such as a burnt umber) and you require a
concentrated mixture (for a dark color); this may take several
minutes to complete. Just take your time and enjoy the fresh
air.
Now add more water as needed. The trick here is that

you can pick up fresh water with a dirty brush and rinse
it at the same time. (This is why you don't put out all
the water you need at the beginning.)
To pick up the water, first wick the brush thoroughly on the
mixing area. Then hold the brush horizontal and lightly touch
the tuft to the surface of the water. Don't push the tuft into the
water or swirl the brush from side to side: let the slight
thirstiness created by wicking the brush pull water up into the
tuft. Once you get the knack of this you can pick up water
without releasing any paint.
Transfer this water to the mixing well and wick it off without
putting it back into the paint mixture. This wicking is the actual
"rinsing" action. Now go back for more water. The brush is
slightly cleaner than before, so this second charge is easier to rinsing the brush by adding
pick up without losing paint into the water, and the brush is water to mixture
cleaned further by wicking the water. Repeat until you have
enough paint mixture to continue.
The point here is that water is a scarce commodity in the field. It

is heavy to carry, and your field rinse water container is usually
smaller than the one in your studio and also must usually double
as both pure and rinse water. This rinsing method conserves the
purity of the water while cleaning the brush for work.
Now turn to the second paint. This should be the

stronger tinting color in the mixture, and is usually also
the darker paint.
You basically repeat the steps above, except that you do not
have to add water to the mixture. Because the second paint is
stronger and darker, you usually have to pick up much less of
the color.
You will probably be surprised to find that you do not have to

rinse the brush. The "rinsing" action of adding water to the
mixture has cleaned nearly all the paint from the tuft. And if you
charge the brush slightly with water before you go to the second
paint, you also keep paint out of the inside of the tuft.
If you have to make several passes for the second color, wick the
paint on the opposite side of the mixing area, so that you can
add paint without contamination. Even if the mixing area is
completely covered with paint, you can usually wick off paint
along the edge (or the lip of the lid) without getting the brush
into the mixture.
If you are unsure how much of the second paint to add, don't
take chances: wick it into a separate mixing area (as shown at
right), then draw a small amount of color over the raised edge
and into the working mixture. Do this repeatedly to build the
color gradually. You do not want to overshoot and add to much!
Don't worry about contaminating the cake with another color of

paint. As you continue working on the painting you will go back bringing out second
to the cake with a freshly rinsed brush for a load of more (stronger tinting) color
concentrated, darker paint and you clean out any
contamination as you do. Of course, this assumes most of the
contamination is light to dark, weak tinting to strong tinting,
intense to dull, so that a dark, dull, strongly tinting paint is
contaminated by a light, intense, weakly tinting paint. If a
saturated yellow, orange or white paint gets contaminated with

another color, simply wick your brush off with a paper towel and
blot up most of the paint with your brush. Clean out the rest as
you work or when the painting is finished.
Add the darker paint, and any third (adjusting) color,

until you have the mixture you want.
If you want to go directly to the painting, do not rinse the
brush: charge it with mixture and get to work. If you have to
prewet the area to be painted, do not rinse the brush: charge it
with water and go to the paper. The small amount of paint in
the water tints the area so that you can see clearly where it is
wet or dry, and as you blend the water across the area you
diffuse the paint until it is quite faint.
When you are finished with the mixture, you may want to test it
on a scrap of watercolor paper. (The "postcard" watercolor blocks
are perfect for this purpose.) Mixtures on the palette can be
especially deceiving if they contain cadmiums or cobalts; one
floats, and the other sinks to the bottom, shifting the color of
the mixture from the color it will have on the paper.
As always, it is more effective to mix colors on the paper (7) wicking brush before rinsing
than on the palette. In that case the palette in the description (8) testing color mixture
above stands for the paper. That is, you wet the paper first with
a bit of water, then carry paint into that area; you roughly brush
on more paint and water, as necessary, to build the color and
wet the entire area, and "rinsing" the brush as you do; then you
drop in charges of the second color, swirling it through the wet
area to mix with the paint already there. In fact, you should
actually premix the color on the palette only when (1) you want
a diluted wash mixture to create a large, even color area (such
as a sky), (2) you are painting a small area with concentrated
paint, or (3) you want a color that must be mixed precisely.
As you work, always leave a little moisture in the cake. Don't

pick up all the dissolved paint and leave the cake to dry out, or
add a drop of water after you do. This continues the softening
process in the cake. After five minutes or so, the paint will soften
so much that one or two daubs with the brush will pick up a lot
of paint; after about 10 minutes, the raw paint can be used for
drybrush effects. Water evaporates fairly quickly from the cakes
when you are working in low humidity, wind or heat, and in
those cases you need to rewet the cakes more frequently.
As the large areas of the painting are filled in and I start

to add more details, I stop adding water to the cakes.
After repeated wetting, the cakes shift toward a soft,
gooey surface that is perfect for picking up paint for
drybrush applications. If necessary, a wet brush will lift
a heavy charge of paint quickly, because the surface is
very soft.
By the time I've added the final touches, the cakes have usually
dried out sufficiently to fold up the pan without mess, and all are
as clean and uncontaminated as when I started.
In the field I work with a single small rinse container (holding

about 2 cups of water), and I rarely have to change the water
before I finish a painting.
brush mixing tricks

The brush can also be used in a number of ways to
mix paints on the palette or on the page.
On the palette. The brush can be used as a measuring tool

or eyedropper to pick up small quantities of dissolved
paint from a paint well.
On the paper. The brush can be unevenly charged with

paint to produce paint mixtures that change as the brush
is used.
Flats or brights can be charged with one paint at one corner of

the tuft, then tinted on one side with a second paint, to produce
banded or two color strokes when the brush is used flat. When it
is turned to paint along one corner, the amount of the second
color that will mix into the stroke depends on the pressure
applied to the tuft.
Rounds can be charged first with one paint mixture, then with a
second. As the brush is drawn over the paper the mixtures will
blend from the second mixture into the first in a graded
but unpredictable way.
When mixing paint with a round, a smaller brush is better. I

find a round in the #8 size works best; smaller sizes are too
finnicky to use to transfer water, and larger sizes are harder to
wick or rinse completely.
If you are going to use a large brush with the mixture (for
example, a wash brush), use the smaller brush to move the
paint onto the mixing area: when it is rinsed, it will not release
much paint. Use the large brush to transfer water to the
mixture, and to adjust the mixture by swirling against the paint
already on the mixing area.
I've found that an acrylic flat is great for picking up raw

paint. The flat acts as a small palette knife to scoop up paint,
and it's very easy to wick off by wiping on the mixing area. It
cannot carry much water, however, so a second brush (or a
spoon or straw) must be used instead.
Sometimes, to start a new mixture, I simply take a 3/4" flat, use

it first to transfer the amount of water I need to the mixing
area, then scoop one paint with one corner of the tuft, rotate the
brush 180 degrees, and scoop up the other paint with the
opposite corner. Try this, and you'll find it's quite easy to pick up
two different colors with the same brush. I then plunge the
whole brush in the mixing puddle to rinse the brush and mix the
paints together.
Making paint wheels got me habituated to using flats, because

they work so well in mixing colors (easy to pick up paint, easy to
wick, easy to rinse). So much so, that I eventually had to force
myself to learn the same methods using rounds, because I had
lost the knack of them.
Last revised 08.I.2015 2015 Bruce MacEvoy

Handprint - Working With Paints

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Handprint - Working With Paints

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

11/8/2016 handprint : working with paints

working with paints technique

An great way to develop your working preferences is by doing

major palette types

(3) one or more mixing areas a flat surface or shallow

(4) a nonstaining, washable surface that cleans up

When choosing a palette, think how well it satisfies those four

To work, lay the sheet flat on a table, under good illumination,

The mixing areas are improvised in the large surface in the

It really doesn't take much practice, or skill, to learn how to keep

Butcher Tray. Some artists use a large enameled butcher

butcher's tray; the white is warmer and the bottom is

My complaint is that the butcher trays sold by art retailers have

I find the butcher's tray is convenient and easy to clean when

Manufactured Palettes. The major alternative to the sheet

One of the most basic is the Robert Wood palette,

Other palette concepts have been devised structure your

pools of paint! in those random paint combinations! in

If all you're after is puddle control, the San Francisco

requires soaking and aggressive swabbing with a paper

In my early days I preferred a white plastic ice cube tray,

If you use larger brushes or work with larger washes, you

If breakage concerns you then better alternative is an

Or you can use coated white paper picnic dishes. These

Of course, there is also a clutter of commercial

life without a palette

Storing and using paint in condiment dishes. For much of

I recognized the functional similarity between those

wet brush, and every watercolor brush I know of can

When stacked, the paints can be protected from dust by

How to use the pan paints. The procedure for

required to dissolve the paint (for example, with cobalt or

3. When the desired consistency has been reached, pour

4. When finished with the paint, simply pour the excess

A particular advantage of the square dishes is that they

Pouring can also be used to decant the paint (right), if

New paint mixtures also dry to a thin layer of paint at the

Partly dried, recently wetted or "sticky" paints are not a problem,

Problem pigments. After years of experience I have found

Spot color. Finally, for detail, drybrush or spot

In all cases, squeezing out only the amount of paint you

Commercial alternatives. Several years after I first posted

the "dry" (English/German) style, and the Blockx paints

There are three drawbacks to these commercial solutions.

Second, you may or may not find these little custom

Finally, if you use any other brand of watercolor paint,

rinse water & pure water

Now, if you are painting in the field, in a workshop or

However, for large painting projects in the studio you will

rinse water and source water

The kind of container doesn't really matter some artists

The rinse container is for clearing paint from your brush.

If you are repeatedly rinsing your brush while working

I like the source container to be relatively small with a crisp rim,

Many artists (including me) keep some source water in one or

I've learned by trial and error that rinsing is a waste of time.

My prejudice is, rinse as a last resort. Do all the painting

Final comment: it really is OK to lower your standards of

work routine & storage

Layout for Paints. Many artists wrestle with the issue of

Other artists lay the paints out to separate strongly staining

Again, everything about mixing gets clearer if you do four or six

Fresh, Dry and Moldy. At the other end of the work