A limited palette with 6 QoR watercolours. Another with 6 Daniel Smith colours.

I tested quite a few QoR colours when they first came out in 2014 - 6 from tubes I was sent as samples and others from small dried out sample dot cards. You can see them all here.

They are all on my website in the Painted Watercolour Swatches section, which is creeping to almost 800 different painted samples now. If you have some more watercolours and would like to send me a sample to paint out, please get in touch :-)

I've been asked about adding some mixing information about these paints.

They are made with a new type of synthetic binder rather than the traditional gum arabic. It makes them feel and behave differently from traditional watercolours - a bit like painting with liquid acrylic, I felt. Golden make wonderful acrylics but I'm afraid I don't find these to be wonderful watercolours - I guess they are just not what I am used to. However, for those who are starting out they may work well. There are certainly some excellent colours but also some that are simply.... weird.

Anyway, I'll include a paintout I did using the palette of 6 that I chose. I decided to go with a balanced full gamut palette of nickel azo yellow PY150, transparent pyrrol orange PO71, quinacridone magenta PR122, ultramarine violet PV15, ultramarine blue PB29 and viridian PG18. No earth colours, and all transparent with three normally granulating pigments. Viridian and ultramarine violet are often quite weak colours so I thought these would be good to test the QoR claim of stronger colours. They are pretty powerful if you pre-wet them well before use, but not very granulating and quite difficult to lift.

QoR exploration - 6 colour full gamut palette.

I was intending having three neutralising pairs in this little palette. As you can see each pair doesn't quite make a grey but there's a lot they could do.

QoR have a much more powerful purple than this - Dioxazine purple, and a much more powerful green - Phthalo green. So this palette could be made up with stronger colours. Bismuth Vandate yellow could be used instead of Nickel Azo yellow. They also have a strong crimson which is the mixing opposite to Phthalo green, which could be used rather than the magenta. So this palette is not intended as a recommended palette, just an exploratory one.


That's the limit of my exploration of these paints. Partly, I guess, since I would actually very rarely set up a palette without burnt sienna, cerulean and a good warm yellow. Also, though it's a pretty colour, and a great mixer, I don't like painting with quinacridone magenta. While I love exploring what limited palettes can do but I don't actually choose to paint with them :-)

I don't know how well this brand would mix with traditional watercolours as I haven't tested them further. If anyone else has, please comment below.

Here is a similar full gamut palette made up with Daniel Smith paints - a powerful crimson (Pyrrol crimson), and the very strong Carbazole violet (the same pigment as Dioxazine violet) and phthalo green. There is more about this palette here. Once again it isn't a palette I would necessarily choose to paint with though even though they are so much fun to explore! My smallest palette contains lots of earthy pigments including burnt sienna and is shown here though I do have a full gamut palette in a silver locket ;-)

Daniel Smith 6-colour full gamut palette exploration 

Just 6 colours - bright, transparent and non-granulating full gamut palette

I previously posted about limited palettes containing just 6 bright colours here. While I don't use such limited palettes myself, I really enjoy the challenge of working through them. It is also very helpful when those on a limited budget are trying to get started in artist quality watercolour - they can start with just a few but still mix an amazing range of colours.

This palette of six colours is transparent and non-granulating. It contains the full gamut of yellow, orange, red, purple, blue and green with no earth colours so you have to mix them yourself. It is made up of three neutralising pairs of single pigment colours. 

Phthalo Blue Red Shade DS + Transparent Pyrrol Orange DS 

Hansa Yellow Medium DS + Carbazole Violet DS

Pyrrol Crimson DS + Phthalo Green BS DS

Pyrrol Crimson won't make the bright purples that a magenta or more rose-red colour would, but as there is a purple in this palette, the powerful crimson can be included to create deep black hues with Phthalo Green. (see 10)

Transparent Pyrrol Orange and Phthalo Blue RS completely neutralise each other creating another deep black, as well as a gorgeous range of earthy burnt sienna and burnt umber hues (11)

Carbazole Violet and Hansa Yellow Medium will create yellow earth hues and, with a touch of orange, raw umber hues (15)

You need a pretty good understanding of colour to work with these palettes if you are going to successfully create all your earth hues as well. You also need a decent mixing space. They are great fun to explore.

Other explorations you might find interesting.

Just 3 colours - exploring primary triads

Just 4 colours - an amazing bright quartet

Just 5 colours - why it's not for me :-)

Just 6 colours - lovely limited palette

Just 6 colours - bright transparent non-granulating

Ultimate Mixing Palette - palette of 14 paints, 15 colours.

Designing my palette

My palette

Single pigment wheel - 24 colour wheel

Colour exploration - Super bright 6 colour palettes - updated.

Once again I have been exploring palettes with no earth colours but this time using neutralising pairs. Here are a couple of gorgeous bright palettes to consider. 

The first is based on my gorgeous bright quartet, posted here, that contains DS Hansa Yellow Medium, DS Transparent Pyrrol Orange,  S Purple Magenta (or use DS Quinacridone Lilac) and DS Phthalo Blue RS. The Red Shade of Phthalo Blue neutralises completely with Transparent Pyrrol Orange to create a black. (2020 update - Transparent Pyrrol Orange is now mid orange rather than a red-orange.)

Here in this set I have switched to Phthalo Blue GS. I have added Phthalo Green YS PG36 which neutralises purple magenta to a grey, though not a black. I have also added  Carbazole Violet which neutralises Hansa Yellow Medium to create yellow earth hues and raw umber hues. So the palette contains one of each primary and one of each secondary in neutralising pairs. They are quite neatly arranged around the colour wheel, though not completely evenly. All are Daniel Smith watercolours except the Schmincke Purple Magenta.

Super bright 6 colour palettes

The second set switches Purple magenta to Carmine (or better yet a crimson such as Pyrrol Crimson or Permanent Alizarin). This will neutralise with phthalo green BS to a black and a whole range of lovely aubergine and plum colours. That combination is why I tend to have a crimson in my palette. Ultramarine is my favourite blue for painting and is completely neutralised by the orange as seen here. The yellow and purple neutralise each other as noted above. (see these and other neutralising pairs here.) Notice how evenly the colours fit around the colour wheel. I think this would be the brightest, most balanced 6 colour set I could find. See this star set of colours on the full colour wheel here. All are Daniel Smith watercolours except the Benzimida Orange Deep, which is Da Vinci (sorry it is actually PO36 not PO71 as labelled). (W&N and QoR also make gorgeous transparent/translucent oranges of a similar hue using PO71, or DS Transparent Pyrrol Orange could be used as it is now (2020) a mid orange.)

Just 6 Colours - a lovely limited palette.

I recently put together a set of 6 colours to get someone started in watercolour. 

This page shows just some of the possible two colour mixes you can make with this set.

Amazing mixes with just 6 colours.

Add a third colour to each mix and increase the possibilities further.

There are many possible 'just 6' combinations. I have chosen a mid yellow and a primary red that will each mix clean secondary colours, added a warm blue as this will make cleaner purples and more realistic greens. I have then added a phthalo green as this increases the green mixes but also makes black with crimson and turquoise with Ultramarine. Burnt Sienna makes wonderful dark browns, deep blues and greys with Ultramarine and deep earthy greens with phthalo green. The final colour could be an earth yellow such as yellow Ochre or raw sienna but I have chosen Quinacridone Gold as this warm and slightly neutral yellow makes wonderful realistic greens and will  mix with Burnt sienna to make other yellow earths. There isn't much this palette can't do. 

These are all Daniel Smith colours but Da Vinci's Alizarin Crimson Quinacridone or W&N Permanent Alizarin or Carmin make alternative primary crimson reds; Ultramarine in most brands is an option, Phthalo Green BS is also available in most brands (called Winsor Green by W&N); Schmincke make a Pure Yellow that is a lovely primary yellow as is Winsor Yellow. Burnt Sienna is available in most brands but I prefer the versions made with PBr7. Quinacridone Gold genuine is only available from Daniel Smith but Yellow Ochre is an alternative, or use a Hansa Yellow Deep or New Gamboge.

The next page shows my suggested next 6 colour additions to increase the colour range. These are Pyrrol crimson - a warm red, a Quinacridone Rose, an opaque Cerulean, a phthalo blue, a granulating earth yellow and a lovely deep raw Umber. With this set of 12 colours I would switch from Carmine to Pyrrol Crimson as the Quinacridone Rose covers the making purples role, or leave out Quinacridone Rose and keep Carmine.

I would then add Indian Red, so I can use an earth triad, and then perhaps a lovely light Buff Titanium and a dark.

Next are a whole lot of other wonderful Daniel Smith colours that are available to increase the palette. They are convenience mixtures to save time or special granulating colours that add and extra dimension to your work. I like to have some convenience colours so I don't spend all my time mixing while painting. Also I like to use only two or a maximum of three pigments in a mix if I can. Using a single pigment green, purple or orange can help with this. The mixtures are marked with an asterisk. All the others are single pigment colours.

 For more mixing charts see my website here.

Warm and Cool Primary colour wheel with template

Template for warm and cool red, yellow and blue
mixes wheel.

Colour wheels can take a bit of drawing up, but can be a great way to learn about your colours. This colour wheel allows you to see the green, purple and orange secondary colours you can make by mixing just 6 primary colours together in separate pairs.

You need a warm and a cool yellow, a warm and a cool blue and a warm and a cool red. It is helpful if your red is a rose or magenta or carmine colour that washes down to a pink so you can create lovely clear purples. It is also helpful if your yellows are not too close together - one a lemon or mid yellow, the other more on the orange side. Decide whether you are going to follow the key on the left as I have below or the key on the right and stick to it throughout.

Paint your primary colours into their labelled sections, then begin to mix each pair as they sit around the circle, adding a little of one colour to the other as you gradually move around the circle. For example, you may start at the top with Y1 and mix a little R2 and paint the next section, then add a little more R2 and paint the next section and so on. Or start my mixing an orange that sits equally between Y1 and R2 and paint that in the middle first.

Mine below is created using

• Y1 Quinacridone Gold, Y2 Hansa Yellow Medium
• R1 Pyrrol Scarlet, R2 Quinacridone Rose
• B1Ultramarine Blue, B2 Phthalo Blue RS

Warm and Cool red yellow and blue colour wheel.

There is more information on this chart on my website here, or just click here to link to a jpeg so you can print this onto watercolour paper and have a go.

Once you've done this you will have a great understanding of how six of your colours mix in pairs. Notice how the warm red and cool blue don't make purples but interesting red earth hues - very useful! And the warm yellow and warm blue make the most dull but often realistic greens.

Next perhaps explore what would happen if you add a bit of red to you bright greens.