Pink Pink Pink

Pink. How do you like your pinks?

Cool or Warm?

Opaque or transparent?

Not at all?!

I hope you said yes, I will take it ALL please and thank you!

I have gone a little out of my comfort zone of greens, blues and teals recently. If you know me well, you know I love my teals. Madly!

One day I got to talking with a friend on Instagram about her love for pink, because I was talking about how I'd love to make a shell pink. She suggested I make a pink palette. I mulled on it for a little (haha!) and decided that I would consider it and store it in my recipe wish list of colors I am always dreaming up.

Then one day, while I was making up the Neon color, Pink Petunia from the Bright Florals set, I had WAY too much paint left on the slab. I had two choices. Store in a syringe as is or experiment with it. I chose to have a bit of fun, and see if I could make a baby pink. I posted on my Instagram stories the results and the response was really positive. So, from there I committed to the pink palette.

Fun fact: I used A LOT of titanium dioxide (white) pigment while making the Pink Palette. If you are a beginner watercolor maker, make sure you have a good supply of titanium dioxide on hand. Titanium Dioxide is otherwise known as Titania or Permanent White. It is THE best white pigment for use in making watercolors for its ability in providing maximum whiteness and opacity. It is of reasonable low cost, has low toxicity, and high hiding power. Hiding power means that it hides the surface of an object.

There are many ways to make different pinks whether you are a paint-maker or watercolor artist wanting to work with a minimal palette. It will be tricky and may take time to get the exact pink shades. At times, this can be frustrating and this is why purchasing artist grade branded or handmade watercolors can be a relief for artists who use pinks in their work often. It will save you time and resources. This is a personal choice. Me? I like to have ALL the colors. This is my personal choice. I don't have ALL the colors but I still like the idea that there are specific shades available should I wish to have them in the future. For example, I recently purchased some gouache paints and I bought just the basics such as primaries, a white, black, purple, pink and of course a lovely teal green from Holbein. That's it! I will play with those until I'm more confident and then consider purchasing specific shades.

So, what do you need to make pink?

Firstly, white. A lot of white! What else? Red. That's it. Start off with a little red, then add white gradually until you get the right shade of pink. The more white you add, the paler the pink.

If you want to vary the shade of pink, try adding in a little yellow or a little orange. Maybe change the type of red. There are MANY! Alizarin Crimson, Cadmium Red, Cadmium Red Deep or Light, Quinacridone Red, Magenta or Red/Violet and many many more!

So, do you prefer to mix your own colors using a variety of base colors or purchase the specific shades instead?

Let me know in the comments below. I LOVE the feedback- even though I cannot respond (current website restriction!)- if I heart it - it means I got your message and I'm sending some LOVE back to you.

Stacey.