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Keiko @alohawatercolors and I are excited to introduce our brand new challenge for 2021! For all of you who love to create with watercolors this might be just the right challenge for you. Especially as it also includes tutorials and giveaways! In short: - one month, one theme, one color palette. - Each week, a new prompt. - At the end of the month, a bonus prompt. - Fulfill all 5 prompts for a chance to enter our giveaway. - Tag @alohakiwichallenge, @alohawatercolors and @stakiwicolours and use #alohakiwichallenge and #alohakiwijanuary for a chance to get featured. Every month we have a new overall theme and a new color palette for you. Every palette consists out of 4 basic colors plus one bonus color. For the month of January, it’s; Ultramarine blue dark PB29 Prussian blue PB 27 Titanium buff PW6 Alizarin crimson PR83 And the bonus color: shimmer gold Within this palette you can mix and create new hues to your liking and create the prompt of the week. You don't have to use all the colors for every prompt. If you like, just choose one or two. If you don’t have the colors of the monthly palette at hand, try to mix them yourself and come as closely as possible to our palette. Feel free to use any watercolor brands you already have. Theme: CELESTIAL For the prompts, use any combination of the colors in the palette. You can also just use one or two colors (as shown here in the pic: Prussian blue and gold). Videos and tutorials Tutorials and videos available at Aloha Studios Youtube account. We are looking forward to seeing your creations. Stay safe! Keiko and Stacey / Alohakiwichallenge

Hi everybody! My name is Tanja @tkosovska on instagram. I am actually from Ukraine, but based in Norway. I am a children's book illustrator and... pottery maker. Watercolors and clay are my passions. Watercolors is the old passion and clay is a new one. I just love mugs! Big mugs, small mugs, with funny handles, interesting forms, with or without pictures. For one year ago I discovered instamugs for me. It was love from first sight. I wanted them all! But it is not possible, that's why I decided to learn to make them myself. I am still at the beginning of my pottery maker's way, but I enjoy it so much! There are already hundreds of mugs, tumblers and plates at my home and they are waiting for their new homes. The process... The whole process can take about a week. First I throw the clay on the throwing wheel. I usually make small objects like mugs, and tumblers. Then it needs to dry for quite some hours, usually one night, so it is ready to be painted. Pottery needs to be fired in a kiln on a very high temperature, about 1200 degrees, sometimes more, that's why pottery needs special paints, you can't use watercolors or acrylic. Why? They will just burn out. So the piece must dry, it takes a few days. If the weather is warm and sunny, perhaps 3-4 days, and if it is rainy - about a week. If it is not dry enough it can explode in the kiln! So it can be fired for the first time. After that is glazing time. Glaze doesn't allow the water to come through the mug. After glazing, the piece must be fired a second time. After this the mugs are ready to use! Actually it is very easy to be a pottery maker. You don't need a throwing wheel, and it is possible to make amazing pottery on the slab. You just need to find someone with a kiln to fire your pieces. I have my own baby kiln so I fire at home. If you are interested in learning more about making your own pottery or about purchasing a handcrafted piece, please feel free to contact Tanya via Instagram @tkosovska or email tkosovska@googlemail.com My review: I have been using my handcrafted palette for a period of a couple of months now. It travelled safely all the way from Norway to New Zealand. I am happy with the size of each well for mixing colors and the way the colors settle into the ceramic texture. It is smooth and crafted well. I would heartily recommend a ceramic palette because it is a unique handcrafted piece of functional art. There is nothing like it and I love this so much! I have another ceramic palette and it is lovely but the texture is not smooth like Tanya's. Thank you so much Tanya for sharing about your pottery process and passions. Please go check her out on Instagram and give her a follow. @tkosovska Question: Do you have a ceramic palette? Share your experiences in the comments. Question: What is the most common color that you mix in your palette? Mine is usually skin tones or pastel tones. Thank you for reading and supporting this blog platform. What other content would you like to read or see? Would you like to contribute? How to contact me (Stacey) You can email me at mrsstaceydodd@hotmail.com or DM via contact forms on this website or @stakiwicolours via Instagram

Short answer: No What is Mica Powder? Mica Powder is a natural substance, it is a stone which has sparkly flecks throughout it. When you grind Mica into a powder it results in a mica powder which is sparkly and looks a bit like a very fine glitter. You can use mica powder to achieve a pearl-like effect or a metallic finish. Mica powder come in an assortment of colors. (source is resin-expert.com) Mica powder has been used for hundreds of years, dating back to prehistoric times. It has been documented that mica powder was known to the Aztec, Indian, Roman, Egyptians, Chinese and Greek civilizations. The use of Mica Powder can be seen as far back as cave paintings found in the Upper Paleolithic period. The Pros and Cons of Mica Pigments If you source mica pigments, I recommend that you directly ask the supplier if the mica is ethically sourced. This is something I always make a point of doing with new suppliers that approach me or likewise. Some suppliers have this information available on their websites. Please be mindful that some do not so it is your responsibility to ask if you are wishing to purchase it. The Results! For my experiment, I used two different mica pigments. An Aztec Gold and an Orange/Red with an iron oxide base. I used the same binder and amount, same paint brush and paper. I timed each mulling cycle to be the same for each pigment. I photographed the pigments next to each other in the same light/time of day. According to my experiments and the results, I would conclusively say that there is no need for mulling your mica pigments. Why spend ALL that precious time of yours for the results to be rendered about the same and/or a different hue to the one originally intended? Popular question: What if there is an iron oxide base color ? I discovered that not mulling it did not affect rubbing off or it's dispersion. I tested the palette knife mixed mica and it did not rub off the paper and the hue seemed even. Did the color change with an iron oxide base? Yes! There was a difference with the iron oxide based mica pigment with regards to the hue. It appears that it reflected the light differently and therefore the color appeared different. The non iron oxide based pigment did not appear changed in hue. If these are the results above then why mull? It does not affect the hue markedly and it does not rub off. It dispersed evenly with a palette knife. So why? So, why do makers mull their mica pigments in the first place? I can only assume this because I do not mull mine. But I would suppose that it started with one maker and then this influenced future makers thereafter perhaps? Perhaps the makers who mull their mica do so because they originally thought that mica and matte pigments are one in the same whereas they are not the same. Matte pigments are different to mica pigments. Mica is a natural stone mineral with shiny flakes. When mica is ground into a powder, you get mica powder. Mica powders are therefore sparkly, sort of like very fine glitter. Pigment powders are ground-up colors, sort of like powdered colored chalk. Pigments are the actual colors themselves and have names such as ultramarine blue, cadmium red, yellow ochre, and titanium white. (Source is thebluebottletree.com) Results of a poll and question via instagram. Poll Results: Same = 97 votes Different = 79 votes Your comments: Number 1 is more red and Number 2 is more pink. Mostly same hue but different light. Right is lighter #1 looks slightly darker but may just be the lighting! Left seems darker. Maybe the one on the right is a bit warmer. But in the picture I can't really see a difference. I said same as the tiny differences wouldn't be enough for me to class them as two separate entities. Not a stark difference, but 1 is a slightly darker shade than 2? And a little more red. Hard to say because of the light, but I feel like the left is more dark/red. They look the same although I think the left one is a little richer and darker of color. Hard to say - either the same with a little difference in lighting OR slightly different. The light reflects the color differently. Almost looks like being a shifter. 2 is more orange-iy, 1 seems more reddish. They look like two copies of the same sketch slightly different but not enough to say they aren't. Light looks from different angle. 2 looks slightly more light and yellow. #2 is not as dense. Left looks a little more reddish, but if I hadn't searched for it I couldn't tell - could be wrong. It may be the light? The outer shapes look more pigmented, especially the rectangle. Lighting is different. 1 seems deeper, richer. I don't know how to explain it, but I do see a slight difference. Maybe the base pigment? I don't know. Please note: The only other factor I have not mentioned in this article is that because mica particles have a specific role to play in their ability to reflect the light, there is the suggestion that mulling could potentially further grind these mica particles further into smaller micron particles. It would then mean that if this does occur, then this would explain why there could be a change in hue with certain mica pigments. This could also explain why you might notice differences between makers even though they use the same pigments. It is entirely your decision which maker you choose to support however, it would be such a time saver for the maker to not have to mull mica at all don't you think? Please feel free to comment and please no mention of other brands/makers. Let us be mindful and kind to one another. Please note that I have been making my own watercolors for two years and have worked with as many as 300 or more pigments in this time. I have worked with numerous brands, both matte and mica, chameleon, iridescent and lake/dye pigments. I am not an expert but I do have a lot of experience to share. with you.

Hey guys! It’s Karen of @letteringbykaren, and I’m thrilled that Stacey has invited me here to go over the basics of lettering with watercolors. I remember being scared to try out watercolor lettering as a beginner, but I mostly remember all the dust that my brush pens collected as soon as my paint brush hit the paper that first time! Watercolors are definitely one of my favorite mediums to use. I have been lettering for 2.5 years, and along with watercolor, I also love using chalk and chalk markers, brush pens, gel pens, and pretty much anything that can be used to draw letters. No, really! I’m obsessed with trying out all of the art supplies. I currently offer various styles of lettering worksheets through Etsy and through my website, www.letteringbykaren.com. I also take commissions and occasionally work alongside companies for product promotions. I live right outside of Atlanta, Georgia with my husband, two daughters, cute dog Maggie, and a pantry full of chocolate. But enough about me! Let’s work our way through some of the basics of watercolor lettering. INTRODUCTION If you are used to brush pen lettering, lettering with watercolors may seem daunting. There are so many articles out there oozing with information, and it is overwhelming! Let’s break it down a little and just keep things simple. Here are a few things to consider when making the jump from pen to paint brush. ACTIVATE YOUR WATERCOLORS There’s a reason why I’m putting this step first. I think it’s extremely important and often overlooked by beginners. Every time you use watercolors, you have to activate them by putting a few drops of water on them. Let the watercolors sit while you gather your supplies, and the water will work its magic. (It reminds me of preheating the oven before you’re going to cook. Always do it first!) I recommend using a water dropper over a spray bottle to wet your watercolors. Lettering with wetter watercolors is smoother and easier than if the watercolors were just slightly moistened. WHAT KIND OF BRUSH SHOULD I USE? If you’re used to using a brush pen, a paint brush is going to feel much different. Many brush pens have a felt tip, which tend to require less control than a brush with bristles. You may need to change the angle at which you hold your brush. Hand letterers tend to hold brush pens around a 45 degree angle from the paper to prevent the tip fraying; with a brush, you may find it easier to hold it more upright (closer to how you’d hold a pencil). Water brushes. If you are all about some brush pen lettering, a water brush will be your best friend when you take the plunge into watercolor lettering. Water brushes are more similar to brush pens than paint brushes are. I recommend using a small tip water brush, like the Kuretake or Pentel aquash. Paint brushes. A small round brush or liner are commonly used for watercolor lettering. Liner brushes have very long bristles; while they make beautifully thin upstrokes, they take a lot of practice and patience to learn how to use for lettering. I suggest round brushes for beginners. The size of the brush is quantified by a number: a 2 is similar to a medium/large brush pen, whereas a 0 or 1 would create smaller brush lettering. My go-to brush for watercolor lettering is the studio round 2 brush by The Pigeon Letters. WHAT KIND OF PAPER SHOULD I USE? There are a few choices that work well with watercolor lettering. Watercolor paper. Watercolor paper allows the watercolor to sit on top of the paper until it dries. You’re going to get more saturated colors than you would with other paper, because it holds the pigment in place. Watercolor paper is also thicker and built to hold water, whereas other papers may buckle or tear. It comes in different weights and textures, which can make it hard to choose the right kind. I recommend using 140 lb watercolor paper, as it is easy to find, usually affordable, and will hold up well for watercolor lettering. Cold press vs. hot press.Cold press is commonly seen in the lettering world.It has more texture than hot press watercolor paper, and paints will dry slower on it.A slow drying time will help if you’re looking to blend different colors together.Hot press is a smoother paper with a much faster dry time.If you are struggling with your brush catching on the tooth of the paper, I recommend trying hot press; it will be more similar to lettering on regular paper.If you are planning on using brush pens along with your watercolor lettering, hot press paper will be less damaging to felt tips than cold press. Student grade vs. artist grade. You definitely get what you pay for when it comes to watercolor paper. If you are just starting out and looking to practice your watercolor lettering, student grade paper is much more affordable and great if you’re worried about wasting paper and/or supplies. (In my opinion, there’s no such thing as wasting supplies! It’s all about learning, practicing, and enjoying the process.) Artist grade paper is more durable and won’t buckle like student grade papers, but it is definitely pricier. Everyone has a different opinion about what works best for them. Here is a list of my favorite watercolor paper for lettering: Canson XL cold press: very affordable, will buckle slightly under heavy washes Strathmore 400 Series cold press: very affordable, minimal buckling Strathmore 500 Series hot press: affordable, almost no texture, only comes in 5x7 Legion Stonehenge Aqua 140 lb: comes in hot press, cold press, and cold press black; affordable artist grade paper Mixed Media. Mixed media paper is not as durable watercolor paper, but it can still handle some wetness. If you’re looking to do a mixture of ink and watercolor, this paper would be fine for practice. Some buckling will occur with watercolor. Canson XL and Strathmore both offer affordable student grade mixed media paper. Cardstock. Cardstock is thick enough to handle the wetness of watercolor lettering without too much buckling, and it’s extremely affordable. I will always choose watercolor paper over cardstock. However, it does work well for some projects. Examples: if you want to letter on a different colored background, print out worksheets to practice watercolor lettering, make a cute card and don’t want frayed edges (artist grade watercolor paper does not cut smoothly in a paper cutter!), etc. LET’S LETTER! You’ve got your supplies picked out. Your watercolor should be ready to use. As you letter, make sure that the watercolor stays wet. If you’re using a water brush, this will be less of a problem. For paint brushes especially, don’t be afraid to add more water as you go! You’ll find that wet watercolors glide more easily across the paper when lettering. Here are a few ways to get started: Color it in. If you’re terrified of putting brush to paper, this is probably the best place to start. Using a light-colored brush pen, letter your word first. I recommend using a gray, water soluble brush pen, although other light colors can be fun to use as well! Then, fill in your lettering with your watercolor. Light pencil lines. If you want to plan where your letters are going to go, you can use a pencil to draw them out first. Lightly go over your plan with an eraser, leaving behind faint pencil marks. A lot of watercolor will hide pencil marks, and you can erase any stray marks once your paint has completely dried. Plan accordingly for those yellows and translucent paints, though! Pencil pairs very well with opaque matte and shimmer paints. Light box. An easier but more expensive option than pencil is to plan out your letters on a sheet of paper and then use a light box. Place the planned out lettering onto the light box, and then place your watercolor paper on top. You will be able to see through the watercolor paper and trace over the design with your brush and paint. Oh, and there’s no erasing involved! I recommend taping down a small corner or two to prevent the papers from moving while you letter. Wing it. This is my favorite way to letter, but it wasn’t how I started as a beginner. Sometimes, I get hung up on trying to trace over planned-out letters. You may find that your letters vary from brush pen to paint brush, and it can be frustrating to make your paint brush do things it doesn’t want to do. If I just go for it without a plan, I think more about changing my pressure and how I’m holding the brush for each letter. Give it a try. You might surprise yourself! TECHNIQUES Let’s go through a few techniques that are commonly seen with watercolor lettering. One color gradation. Choose one color, and paint each stroke with a different amount of water. I like to start the first stroke or two with a highly pigmented brush (really mix that watercolor with your brush!), and then I’ll dip my brush into the water to let some pigment come off for the next few strokes. You’ll end up with a beautiful gradation. Blending by stroke. It’s so fun to watch watercolors blend and bleed together. Pick out several colors for this technique, and switch colors between strokes or letters. (Make sure to clean your brush between colors!) To get watercolor bleeds, make sure there is enough paint at the end of each stroke. When it connects with the next stroke, the excess watercolor will bleed in and create a gorgeous effect. The best bleeds will usually result after just one stroke, with each subsequent stroke lessening the effect. However, we all know that getting it perfect the first time can seem impossible; watercolor lettering is fun because you can keep messing with your letters until you’re happy with them. (Yep, you totally can. I’m giving you permission.) Let’s say it takes four or five strokes to make your letter look how you want it to, and the cool bleed has vanished. Simply dip your brush into the first color (the bleeding one!) and put a small amount where the bleed would start. This technique works best with wet watercolors. If you aren’t getting bleeds, check your paints! They may be too dry. Watercolor frosting. Or really, adding a second color on top. I just wanted to see if you were paying attention to these titles, and if we’re being honest, it really is like adding frosting to the top of your letters. For this technique, you will want your paints to be nice and wet (are you sensing a theme?). Letter your word with one or more colors. Then, choose a color that you’d like to add to the tops of them. Touch the tops of each letter or stroke with your “frosting color;” refill the brush every one or two letters to guarantee a similar effect on each letter. If you’re working with a long word, I suggest “adding your frosting” every few letters. That way, the watercolor won’t dry before you get to it! I love doing this technique with glitter paints. A FEW FINAL NOTES Remember to keep those paints wet. Start with a few drops of water to activate, and add more water later if they seem too dry to glide across the page. There is no wrong way to use watercolor for lettering. Try the techniques mentioned above. Try other things. Experiment a little. Think of it like faux calligraphy if you struggle with thick downstrokes and thin upstrokes; watercolor is very forgiving and will happily accept more downstrokes until you get things the way you’d like them to be. If the paper is too rough for you, switch to hot press. If your upstrokes are too thick, try a smaller brush. And when it’s all said and done, leave your watercolors out to dry. I like to leave mine open overnight before closing them to ensure that they do not mold. Good luck, and happy watercolor lettering! Please note: All colors featured in this article are Stakiwi Colours handmade watercolors.

Chemical Description: Carbazole dioxazine Pigment Number: PV23 Lightfastness Rating: ASTM II Pigment Opacity: Transparent Paint Opacity: Transparent I first worked with Dioxazine Violet back in May 2019. Honestly, it is a challenging pigment to work with. I would not recommend it to a beginner paint maker. I have referred to it in an earlier blog post regarding friendly and not so friendly pigments. Click here to read more about this. I would recommend that you gain experience and some confidence with understanding how to adapt your own binder to pigment ratio. This is THE most challenging part of being a paint maker and working with matte pigments. If you have only worked with mica pigments, it will come as a shock at first to try out matte pigments. Mica pigments, in comparison, are not as variable, cure well, and do not require mulling. It is not easy to simply add binder to said matte pigment and get sound quality paint. It takes much practice to learn each individual or family of pigments binder needs. It is difficult to guide a new paint maker here because of the many factors that can affect a paint's final curation. For example, the climate can be a variable that is difficult to control. It means that the way I make a pigment into a watercolor paint in one country can be totally unsatisfactory in another country. My advice when first working with a difficult pigment is to work with a small amount. Record what you do in a notebook including swatches. You might record amount of pigment used, amount of binder used, how long it was mulled, lifting tests, lightfastness tests, and rubbing tests. When I first worked with Dioxazine Violet I was quickly reminded that it is similar to Prussian Blue. It is a fine, staining pigment and with ample time, it mulls beautifully. The horror comes afterwards! The curing stage. When you think that you mulled it wonderfully and check on it in it's pan to find that it has substantially shrunk! It almost seems like all the binder has evaporated into thin air and the smallest portion of set, hard pigment is left in the pan. It's as though a paint thief came along in the night and slurped up all your beautiful paint! It's so frustrating! All that mulling time and this happens! Don't fret! This just means that you need to go back a step and re-look at your binder to pigment ratio. It seems that this pigment is particularly thirsty and requires quite a bit of binder. It really does. Glycerin is a helpful aide and store bought binders do not come with this ingredient so this is why it is beneficial to learn to master your own binder recipe that you can adapt to suit your needs. Handy Tip: Keep Glycerin in a small bottle on your paint making table. Sometimes adding a couple drops more during the paint making process can help soften the paint. This tip applies to painters too. If you have paint that is squeezed from a tube that hardens and crumbles, I recommend a little binder or glycerin to soften the paint and enable easier re-wetting. Handy Info from the Handprint website. "Dioxazine violet PV23 (or it's cousin PV37) is a lightfast to impermanent, semitransparent, heavily staining, very dark valued, dull violet pigment, available from about 30 pigment manufacturers worldwide for use in plastics, inks, paints and foods. The hue is similar to (but much darker than) ultramarine violet or cobalt violet deep. Its tinting strength is very high, on a par with phthalo green (PG7) and phthalo blue (PB15). PV23 is a good choice for color point 6 on the color wheel, is useful for reducing the saturation of paints on both the warm and cool sides of the color wheel, and produces potent dark shades when mixed with the likes of phthalo green (PG7) or quinacridone violet (PV19). Dioxazine Purple is one of the bluest shades of violet I tested. But even so it is a violet, therefore falls between red and blue. It mixes well with most any pigment. The red characteristic of this pigment mixes well with any yellow, orange, red or violet and the blue characteristic of this pigment mixes well with most blue, turquoise or green. " According to the Matisse website. "While Dioxazine Purple is classed as ASTM II it is right at the top end of ASTM II colors and has a reputation in industry for very little fading and only then in the lightest tints. In short, Dioxazine Purple is a very light-fast pigment that can be used with confidence by the artist." According to the Gumnut inspired website, Dioxazine/Carbazole comes from coal tar. "It can be created synthetically, but the process isn’t economically viable. Apparently the pigment is so strong and staining that in a more concentrated form it is so dark it’s sometimes used as the pigment in black Indian ink. By the less quality brands of ink manufacturers, that is. The chemical itself is very closely related to the red and orange  pyrroles." Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this blog on Dioxazine Violet. It is pleasing to find out that although it is listed as ASTM ll, that it is on the high end of lightfastness ASTM ll. My version of Dioxazine Violet has an incredible dark to light range, staining, dilutes beautifully, smooth and vibrant! It was originally part of a curated set of paints called The Stormy Palette curated by a talented artist, Jenni @secondjenletters Are you interested in finding out about more pigments? Leave a comment below with a pigment that you're curious about. Comment on the Instagram post to win a dot sample of this beautiful violet paint. Giveaway ends 21st Friday August 2020 midday NZT.

Hi everyone! We are Steffi @nepucat on instagram, and Stella @merakiwatercolor, a watercolor artist and a paint-maker. We have been collaborating on a watercolor set for a while now and Stacey asked us if we would like to write about our collaboration. We were, of course, thrilled to do so and hope to inspire some of you to consider a collaboration as well. Collaborating can be so much fun and really boosts the art community, so definitely keep reading if you want to know more! Stella, half Greek half Dutch water colorist and paint-maker based in The Netherlands. When I'm not covered with paint or obsessively buying new pigments I am a social worker that reads a lot, talks to plants when I think nobody is listening and loves everything about cats. Besides art, I advocate for mental health and inclusivity, both in my daily job and my social media. I'm Steffi, or you can totally call me Nepu, because many people do. I'm a German watercolor artist. Madly in love with handmade watercolors because they are simply awesome. I'm earning my money as a social worker in addiction aid and I'm also fighting for equality and inclusivity for everyone. I still believe in fairies (because you can't see them it doesn't mean they are not there, right?) and I try to keep my inner child alive because I don't want to lose that wonder and awe of the beauty in this world. With my art, I hope to bring some of that joy, magic and wonder back to people. Finding a collaboration partner So, how and where do you find a collaboration partner? Instagram is the platform we found each other on, but there are many other platforms and communities you can do this on. It just depends on which one you're most active and follow people that inspire you. This is how it all started for us.... Steffi (artist): Since I found out about handmade watercolors and fell deeply in love with them, I secretly wished for creating a watercolor palette with a maker. I've been using handmade watercolors for over a year now and I love that you are able to get very special colors you won't be able to get anywhere else. So a while ago when one of the makers (Stella) I like to buy my colors from asked in her stories for ideas for upcoming color palettes I eagerly wrote her, because I have a LOT of ideas for those. Plus the possibility to get my hands on a color or even a palette I'm looking for is pretty awesome. And I told her that if she ever would like to do a galaxy themed palette she could let me know. Stella (paint-maker): When Steffi suggested a Galaxy themed palette I was immediately sold. A while later I asked her if she was still interested and she was! So that’s how our collaboration began. Before I asked her I did a little overthinking, which made me doubt myself etc. etc..you know that spiral right?! What can help with this is to find an artist or fellow paint-maker you want to collaborate with, that you already know a bit. By that I mean that you’ve chatted, followed each other for a while, like each others work but most importantly someone you feel you connect with. I always drool over Steffi’s work and I always felt comfortable having little chats with her and that really helped me to just go for it! Tip: If you’re not feeling confident to approach someone directly or want to be open minded about new ideas and possibilities, you could also do a post or Instagram story. It could be like an offer to collaborate, like: I would love to collaborate etc etc, let me know if you’re interested! And who knows what comes from it :) Phase of “sorting things out” Okay, you’ve found a collaboration partner. What now?! Stella (paint-maker):First of all, from the paint-makers perspective I think it’s important that you’re clear about the terms of the collaboration. So after you’re in agreement about WHAT you’ll create, chat about the long term expectations. As a paint-maker, I see the artist as the curator and it’s good to think about what you can offer them (and what not). In most cases it wouldn’t be money because most paint-makers barely make a profit, but there are other options. For example a complete palette for free or maybe heavily discounted when it’s ready and/or a dot card set for the artist to do a giveaway. Besides that, the artist will receive all your paint experiments and that is also much fun! Also, something to consider and communicate early on is how you’d like the collaboration to work. I’ve read about collaborations where the paint-maker sends 10-12 samples to the artist and the artist chooses a certain amount and that’s it. Which is much quicker and efficient. You could also let the artist choose some colors and then you can make them and that’s it. The part of the artists will be much smaller in this case. Later on in this post you can read about our process! Other important things that we didn’t explicitly discuss but can be handy: How you will communicate (chat, video calling, voice clips etc.)? How much time do you expect someone to put into it? Is there a deadline? Steffi (artist): Then we immediately talked about how this could work. Luckily both of us live in Europe so sending color samples was not a problem. For the next days we talked about colors a lot and how both of us envisioned a galaxy watercolor palette. From the first moment on I realized that we like the same hues for galaxy art and we connected very easily. There was a lot we needed to figure out before starting making colors and testing them, like how many colors do we want in the set? What colors would be essential? Do we want mica (shiny) colors as well? Somehow we didn't have any big problems with those decisions because I think we have the same way of approaching and thinking about working together and making decisions. We sent each other a lot of pictures of colors and links of accounts that use colors we like to get a feeling for our palette. Working together Well begun is half done, right? So after the first “sorting things out” phase we could actually start the whole process. Stella (paint-maker): When we had some ideas about what we wanted, I started with the paint-making process. I looked into the pigments I had but also ordered new ones and made (big) dot cards. Maybe a bit obvious but tip: Make 2 dots cards of each paint making experiment and give them names. I name mine T for Test and then a number. So, T1, T2, T3 and so on. So you have one to test and the artist gets one. Steffi (artist): Two weeks later I got the first colors to try. What an awesome moment that was! Working on making a watercolor palette, it was happening for real! (Stella was so sweet to send me some goodies, too. Unbelievable how sweet she is!) I was so eager to make this galaxy palette happening that I immediately tried the first batch (I think 11 colors, this was heaven guys, for real!!!) and swatched and mixed them to my heart's content. Stella (paint-maker): After that, Steffi gave me her feedback and a lot of new ideas and I started working on new ones. Some colors were lovely but we immediately were like “Nah, not for this set…” and some colors Steffi mixed and created new combinations from which I made a new color. What is really great and I’m so grateful for is that Steffi is just the loveliest to work with! Often we are in such a flow and that feels like a dream. What I also appreciate (and suggest to you) is honesty. Steffi gives me her opinion and feedback and that is so incredibly helpful! Steffi (artist): I could tell her honestly what I thought could work and which colors might need a tweak or don´t work at all for me. We chatted a lot and talked about possible colors and how they should work together. Stella was so fast in getting new colors ready for me to try it's unbelievable. We even went looking for micas (shimmers) together. I was so happy to be able to help her and that she really appreciated my opinion on the colors. As I'm a huge color nerd, I have many colors at hand and I looked up some from big brands as they have their pigments listed on them so we could create the palette of our galaxy-dreams. After our second try we already had two colors we both loved a lot: Cepheus and Pink Supernova. And as proud as we were, like mommies, we announced them. That was a big moment for me as we teased people before but kept the secret until we definitely were sure about those colors. During the testing and waiting time for new colors, we talked about possible sizes for the set and I painted a lot with the colors Stella sent me, to get a feel for them and check out how they worked together in my art. How even more ideas where born About a new palette, creative flow and no deadlines. Steffi (artist): During these days we had even more ideas because some colors that didn't fit into the galaxy theme gave us strong vibes for another set of watercolors (which won´t be revealed yet ;) ). We tend to inspire each other while testing and painting so this is the best way possible this could have worked out, right? We are both very open for the ideas of each other and appreciate each other a lot I think. We talked about how to tease people with sneak peeks and when to reveal the first colors. What set options would be nice for people to buy it when it's finished. And we have had a lot of fun creating this together so far. Stella (paint-maker): We definitely have fun! Also, what really helps I guess is that we don’t have a deadline. This gives us the freedom to just go with the flow and really choose colors that we actually love. Of course we want to bring out this palette somewhere this year, but we both aren’t fans of rushing our creative process. This no-deadline approach isn’t for everyone. It can be tricky if you are someone that doesn’t like to make decisions and I wouldn't recommend it if you’re struggling with perfectionism. So make sure you and your collaboration partner work in a way that keeps you both productive. For us, this way works and I feel like we’re on the same page. Besides we’ve come to realize that from every color we make and test, new ideas are born. As Steffi wrote, we even have another palette in mind. So, if you’re going to collaborate keep an open mind and trust in that creative process! Love, Steffi and Stella Thank you so much to Stella and Steffi for contributing such an honest and thorough insight into how artists and paint-makers collaborate together. This is such a fascinating and truly special experience so thank you for sharing this. If you want to learn more about this, please feel free to comment your queries below. If you would like to share an insight whether it be how you swatch, a watercolor technique, helpful tools like brushes, paper, journaling or if you would like to share your experience about making paints, a certain pigment. Please contact me, Stacey, via DM on instagram @stakiwicolours or via email mrsstaceydodd@hotmail.com

It is such a pleasure to introduce you to Christina Keim from @bonfireart on Instagram. She is a talented watercolor artist inspired by things that cross her path every day in real life, stories or images via Instagram. She has a Society 6 store, RedBubble and Skillshare platform. Hey, my name is Christina. I’m a watercolor artist based in Argentina and you can find me as @BonfireArt on Instagram and Facebook. I recently published my first online class on Skillshare. It‘s about painting a dramatic sky full of storm clouds with watercolor and I’m so honored that Stacey invited me to share my process in this little tutorial on her blog. For a sneak peek into my class you can watch the introduction video here: The full class is available on Skillshare. If you are not a member already you can subscribe to their premium membership directly through this link and get the first two month free: https://skl.sh/37yaWLY And now, without further ado, let’s take a look at the supplies you need to paint a sky full of clouds with me and then dive right into the step by step process. In the end, you’ll have created your own dramatic sky painting and also learned some of the key techniques in watercolor, that you can apply to your next projects as well. Supplies Here you can see all the supplies I used for the painting. You don’t need the exact same ones, what you have at hand will do: · Watercolor Paper, preferably 300g / 140 lb and 100 % cotton. The one I use is Khadipaper from India. · 1 medium sized flat & 1 round Brush. Mine are from the Craftamo Water Edition. Also, a bigger flat brush is very helpful to wet the paper in the beginning. · Watercolors. I used Winsor & Newton Cotman Watercolor in Payne’s Grey, Cerulean Blue and Prussian Blue. · A mixing tray (e.g. a porcelain plate) · Two jars of water (one for clear water and another one to clean the brushes). · Masking tape · Cardboard or something similar to tape the paper on · Paper towels or a cloth to dry the brushes Color Swatches and Practice Before starting a bigger piece, I recommend that you swatch your colors and practice a bit with them, to see how they mix and blend and how they behave on the paper. This is especially helpful if you use new colors or a new paper brand. Also, when you want to use complementary colors in your piece that may end up creating unforeseen muddy colors. Painting the Storm Clouds Before you start painting, tape the watercolor paper to the cardboard. This keeps the paper from buckling when you put down the various layers of color and water. It also creates a nice clean edge on the finished piece. In a first step, wet the whole paper with clear water using a big flat brush. It’s important that the whole paper is evenly wet with a thin coat of water. If there’s too much water, it will make puddles and the paper won’t be able to absorb the colors, they will just float around uncontrollably. You can pick up excess water with the cloth, a paper towel or a damp / dry brush. For even better color control, let the paper sit a minute or so. The cotton fibers will absorb the water and on the damp paper the colors will spread less, once you start painting. Keep in mind, that this will not work on student grade paper, that’s made mostly or entirely of cellulose fiber. Those dry much faster and you will have to work either more quickly or re-wet the paper as necessary during the process. For the first layer of color, use your medium sized flat brush and a very light, watered down shade of your lightest blue. I used my Cerulean Blue here. As you can observe in the picture, I painted the part in the center in a very light shade of blue and applied a darker shade on the top and bottom, carefully mixing in a tiny bit of Prussian Blue. As you will paint lots of clouds over this first layer, it’s not necessary that the gradient is totally perfect. With a clean cloth or paper towel, pick some of the blue in the upper part back up from the paper to be able to create white clouds in this area. Like I said before, this trick works fine on cotton paper and is much more difficult when you paint on student grade paper. In that case it would be easier to leave parts of the top lighter or even white from the beginning. Now take up the flat brush again and begin to dab in the clouds. My go to color for this is Payne’s Grey, because it’s very versatile and has a blueish undertone that I think is just perfect for clouds. Start with a very light shade of grey and make slightly curved dabbing motions with your brush, to give the clouds a bit of a fuzzy, fluffy look. The paper should still be wet when you do this and slowly dry during the cloud painting process. This makes the colors spread less and less while you continue to layer the clouds from lighter to darker shades of grey. As you can see, I apply the darker shade on the bottom of every cloud or cloud layer to give them depth and dimension. This is the part I enjoy most when painting cloudy skies, it’s almost magical and very relaxing to watch, how the paint spreads and creates beautiful clouds almost on it’s own. So, my advice here is: Don’t think to much about what you’re doing, let your hand go here and there dabbing the layers in and just enjoy the process of creating!! If you happen to apply too much paint or if it’s too dark in some places, pick some of the pigment back up with the damp brush and apply it elsewhere. When the piece is almost dry, these tiny brush strokes or dabs with dark color add marvelously to the fuzzy cloud effect. To differentiate the clouds better from the sky, in the end I touch up on some of the light blue areas in between the clouds. And there you have it: A beautiful sky full of fluffy clouds coming in – maybe a storm but maybe only some clouds in passing… Let your background dry completely while thinking of elements that you want to place in the foreground. There are endless possibilities, but I like to stick to silhouettes in the lower part of my dramatic sky paintings to keep the focus on the sky and clouds themselves. The foreground helps to accentuate the sky while at the same time connecting it to the earth. Therefore, I often paint different trees or bushes, power lines, mountains, houses or city skylines in the foreground. For this piece I used my medium sized round brush, looked out of my window on the first floor of our house and basically just painted the silhouettes of various trees and objects I can see from there. You can obviously vary the size of your brush according to the shapes you want to paint. Here I used a rigger brush for the cables and the streetlamp for example. That’s it – nice and easy… After the paint dries, it’s time for the most satisfying (or on occasion the most frustrating) step: removing the tape and revealing the finished piece!! Here are some tips for tape removal: Peel the tape slowly and at an angle pointing away from the painted image. If a bit of the paper surface comes off, you can smooth it down with a drop of clean water on your finger – without touching the paint – and the damage won’t be visible anymore. You can also use a hair dryer to apply heat before removing the tape – it will come off more easily then. Now, sign your art and that’s it!! I hope you had fun painting clouds with me – I surely did. If you’re not happy with your piece, take another sheet of paper and start over. Like everything in life, your new skill will evolve through practice and experiments. So, don’t be afraid and just relax into the magic of watercolor. If you want to share your painting on social media, I would be absolutely thrilled if you tagged me so I can see your work. Also, don’t hesitate to contact me through my social media channels with any question you might have. I’m happy to help. For a more detailed version of this process, you can also access my Skillshare class and paint directly along with me at any time. There are steps that are difficult to explain but maybe much clearer if you can see what I’m doing in real time (- if you have no interest in subscribing to the platform, but still want to take my class, contact me and I can provide you with a free access link for this class only). And now, HAPPY PAINTING!! Best wishes from Christina

Isabelle from @isabellealgrinart is originally born in France, now based in Montreal, Canada. She has been watercolouring since 8 years old. She has a Masters degree in Art History and History and another one in Museum Studies. She is most passionate about fantasy illustration and creates beautiful jewelry pieces made from miniature watercolor paintings. You can further support her on Patreon Page here https://www.patreon.com/m/isabellealgrin You will have access to a lot of behind the scenes and exclusive content. Hello, my name is Isabelle and isabellealgrinart is my artistic face! Stacey kindly let me write a little article about how I create my watercolour bookmarks, and you know what? I have a few colours from Stacey that I wanted to use for a special project, so it makes the perfect occasion to do so! I think there are already a lot of good tutorials to learn how to paint your watercolour galaxy or watercolour mountains, so I will show you how I do my own Flowers pattern on my bookmarks! You can find my Instagram page @isabellealgrinart where you can see some examples and inspiration references for our topic today! So get ready to learn and start painting! Loki here followed each of the steps to make sure I do not forget anything, what would I do without my familiar! Art supplies you will need: Watercolour paper A flat surface to tape it Painter’s tape (or washi tape) Watercolour paints A palette to mix your colours Watercolour brush Tissue or fabric to wipe your brush Ink pen A glass of water (or two) Something to cut paper Fixative spray Optional : laminating sheets, hole puncher, ribbon, string, beads, glitter, anything to get creative! Choose your paper When you are using watercolours you have the choice between 2 main types of paper, hot pressed or cold pressed. Hot pressed has a smoother surface texture and is really good if you want to work in details. Cold pressed has a more textured surface, which can be more or less visible depending on the brands you are using. In this step by step I am using Arches cold pressed paper, but you can also use less expensive paper, like Canson, Strathmore or any other brand you have at home! Suggested dimensions When I am preparing my paper to make mini original paintings, I always think of the size I want them to have first. Personally, the size I am using is very approximative, BUT I tend to make them around 5x15cm (or approximately 2x6 inches). These dimensions include the white border I want to keep around my painted area. This is totally optional, but I love the look it gives my artwork! Of course, you can play with shapes and dimensions and maybe make them larger and shorter, it is totally up to you, and it can be the occasion to have your very own size style! Preparing your paper Next step is preparing your paper! As we are working with watercolours, you do not want the paper to make waves under the water you will use! Even though this will be easier with the flower pattern we will do, let’s imagine you want to do a galaxy painting… trust me you will need your paper to be taped securely onto a flat surface! What kind of flat surface? Well, it can be anything as long as it will not drink the water you may pour on it. Avoid cardboard, preferably something like a thick plastic piece you can reuse at your will. You can even tape it on your table. For this example you can use washi tape like I do because I will not use too much water. Oh and please if you plan a pattern that will require to use water on all the paper surface, do use painter’s tape and a good quality one. Been there, done that! Cheap ones do not hold the water and our paper ends up buckling and warping. So basically, here, you have three options. You cut your paper pieces and plan to have a border around the dimensions you planned and tape them individually on a flat surface. You just separate the mini paintings with tape, using a single sheet of paper. It is okay with the flower pattern with minimal water, but it might be a little risky if you use a lot of water because the paper will warp. You paint a whole scenery, like let’s say a flower field or a big galaxy painting and you cut the pieces of paper for your paintings once it is all dry. In my example, I am using option 1. This is the option I am using most of the time. Choose your watercolours and any other medium you need As I said in my little intro, I want to take this occasion to paint with my lovely colours I got from Stacey! I have quite the collection of dot cards I had the chance to win in one of her giveaways last year and the colours are just gorgeous! I even have some shimmer colours so they will be perfect to use for this project. Here are the colours made by Stakiwi Colours that I was able to use for this blog article : Hydrangea, Devil's Bath, Pink Potter, and Mermaid's Song as well as Lagoon and Glinda which are two shimmery colours. You can choose any brand you are comfortable with, or try some new paints maybe! Just pick whatever makes YOU happy! A little instructions though : For the petals, you will need at least a basic tone, a lighter tone or a shimmer colour to add a little magic to your painting, as well as a darker tone. Also pick some colours for the flower stalk and the leaves. Choose your ink pen so it can write well on your paper if it is textured. Pick any colour you like! You can even use some glitter pens! Start painting! So now you have your paper taped and ready, your glass of fresh water, brush, watercolours and palette, it is finally time to start painting! General flower shape with water and light colour Get started by selecting a colour and dilute it with water then apply gently onto paper to create a shape that looks like a flower (whatever flower you want to make). Keep it simple and go with the flow. This is the first layer and the base of your flower. Add a touch of the basic colour you want to use Now, select the same colour but use less water with it, so it looks darker. Apply the colour with the tip of your brush onto the water on the bottom edge of the flower. Let the magic of watercolours do its job! You will see how the darker colour will flow into the previous layer, isn’t it pretty? Add a touch of lighter or shimmery colour at the top Now, let’s work on the top edge of the flower to give it a little of a fantastic shimmery effect. Select a colour that is light and shimmery, and gently apply in thin layers the paint right at the edge of the flower and give the end of the petals the shape you want them to have, this is totally up to you. You can make them rounded, pointy, or any other kind you may enjoy! Also, feel free to use different shimmery colours, like I did on my example, I used two different colours and I think it looks really pretty! Add a touch of darker colour at the bottom Now let’s give a little of contrast to that flower, by adding a touch of dark at the very bottom of the flower, to start shaping its base, on which the stalk connects. I chose a brown colour to make a real contrast and once again, I simply apply a touch of it at the bottom and I let the watercolour flow into the previous layer’s water. Paint the flower stalk and some little leaves Now we need to create a stalk for this pretty flower and add a few leaves to make it complete. Simple, use the same colour as you did at the base of the flower, and trace a thin line going down to the very bottom of your paper.There is no need for the line to be super strait, you can totally have fun creating the shape you want! Now you can add a few leaves to the stalk while the paint is still wet on the paper, by making a tiny oval shape. You can try various shapes until you find the one you enjoy the most. I like my leaves tiny but depending on the type of flower you want to paint, maybe they will be bigger, just enjoy creating any shape you think suits your flower the best! Add an inspirational quote Last but not least, we can add a little inspirational quote at the top of the mini painting (this is totally optional). I usually search for quotes on Pinterest, or even invent them from what is on my mind! You chose your quote? Perfect! Let’s write it onto the paper by using an ink pen, or a gelly roll pen (or any other ink of your choice). Calligraphers will have the best time trying this! For my part, I just try to shape the letters the best I can, and sometimes I just write very quickly just to give a specific style to my quotes. There again, be creative! The final touches Now your mini paintings are all finished and pretty They need the final cut and final touch! Cut it So depending on the option you chose to make them, simply cut the paper around your mini artwork from the dimensions you chose at the very beginning of this step by step. Let your imagination flow, you can even cut around the flowers to give it a special look! Everything is possible! You can leave the corners rectangular or give them a specific shape too. I personally like to trim them in round corners with a little tool. You can add anything, maybe a tiny point or a touch of gold paint? Who knows where your imagination will lead you! Enjoy the process and have fun! Sign it Do not forget you can sign your little artwork onto the painting or at the back :) It is a matter of taste! Optional Punch a hole: You can also punch a hole in your artwork if you want to make it look like a bookmark and add a little ribbon or string to it, maybe some little beads or anything you enjoy creating! Laminate it: You can also laminate it if you want to use as bookmark, if you have the materials to do it. It will surely protect your mini artwork, but depending on the thickness of your paper and the laminating sheet you use, it can be a little tricky. You can find several tutorials showing how to do that on Youtube if need be. Use a fixative spray: I personally use a fixative spray once the painting is fully dry (wait several days). This way your painting is protected and can be either sold, put on a wall, or maybe used as a bookmark! Share it! Now you have made amazing mini paintings, share them to the world and try our little challenge! Here are examples of bookmarks I made while writing this blog article, Feel free to use them as a source of inspiration! I tried to vary the colours and shapes, remember the aim is to have fun and free your creativity! Challenge : create your own mini painting! Create your own watercolour bookmark with your own flower pattern and a pretty quote. Use the hashtag #paintyourbookmark and tag both @stakiwicolours and @isabellealgrinart ! We will pick a random winner to get the “I believe in you” mini original painting from @isabellealgrinart and a random assortment of watercolour mini pans from @stakiwicolours. Have fun!

So many brands to choose from! By now you’re probably familiar with the big watercolor brands like Daniel Smith and Winsor & Newton. Maybe you’re collecting Schmincke, or Sennelier. Your first tin of half pans might have been a set of Watercolor Confections from Art Philosophy, or even a pocket set from Van Gogh. There are three main reasons for buying more paint: You’re upgrading from student grade to professional watercolors You’re expanding your collection of paints to include more colors and different brands You’re a nutty artist with a serious paint addiction and you just can’t help yourself Most of us are either 1 or 2, but usually always in combination with 3. In this article I want to address the difference in quality between what is often called student quality and professional or artist quality watercolors. This is, in my opinion, more important than which brand you end up buying. I also want to talk about handmade watercolors, and how they compare to bigger brands. Student vs artist grade watercolors I want to sum up this section very briefly by first saying: you get what you pay for. Second: If your paints give you joy, then enjoy them, no matter what they cost or who made them. This section is meant to break down some of the major differences between cheap and expensive paints. And some of you might realize that your painting experience is hindered by uncooperative, cheaply made paints. A lot of brands have a cheaper student range of paints in addition to their professional line of paints. You should research the brand you’re considering, to be able to make informed purchases. Precious Pigments Some repetition: Watercolors consist of pigments (colorants) mixed with Gum Arabic (binder) and maybe a few additives. The different pigments are specific chemicals that are basically the same all over the world. However, some pigments are more expensive, and some are cheaper to source or produce. This means that pigment PB29 (ultramarine) will be nearly the same in every paint. But a paint manufacturer could choose to make blue paint from a different pigment that is either cheaper or more expensive. And some manufacturers will use a mix of cheaper pigments to mimic a more expensive one. This might make the final paint less saturated, less vibrant, or even muddier than the color it is supposed to replace. The word “hue” on a paint label always indicates that the color is made to mimic a certain pigment, which might be more expensive, toxic, or no longer available. Bulky fillers Another way to make cheaper watercolors is to add transparent fillers. These will increase the volume of the batch of paint without changing the color, resulting in more paint from less pigment. Artists might need more paint to get rich, saturated strokes of color. In other words: you’ll need more of a cheap paint to get the same result as with smaller amounts of professional paint. In the end, you’ll have to buy more of the cheap paint to make up for it. Meaning cheap paints might become very expensive in the end. Or they might make you frustrated with their limited potential and the whole painting project becomes a drab experience. Repeat expense When you decide to upgrade to professional paints, you’ll probably feel the need to replace all the colors you already have. You’ll buy all the colors twice – one cheap and one expensive version. My advice is to do the necessary research and buy artist/professional grade colors from the very beginning. Start with the essential colors, then build your collection by adding a few colors at a time. Handmade watercolors So, where do we place handmade watercolors in this scheme of all things artsy? My experience is that a lot of serious artisanal watercolor makers have a deep love for watercolors and their customers, and they are working hard to make their paints better every batch. To make good watercolors you need to personally get to know each pigment in your inventory, because they have different requirements to produce good paint. Understanding the relationship between binder and colorant, and the entire process of paint-making, is very important for quality. A good watercolor maker also listens to their audience of artists and understands their different needs. A hand lettering artist might look for completely different qualities in their paints than illustrators or animal portrait painters. Some prefer convenience mixes – paints that are premixed to a million different hues and ready to go, straight out of the pan. Others prefer sturdy single pigment paints that have endless mixing potential. At this point I would like to mention shimmery watercolors! These are often made with mica, a ground up mineral that reflects light in a way that makes it look metallic or shimmery. Micas come in all the colors of the rainbow and can also be combined with pigments or dyes to make paint. You’ll find a much larger range of shimmery watercolors in the stores of artisanal paint makers, than on the shelves of bigger brands. Ingredients Handmade watercolors should be made with the same simple ingredients as big brand paints: binder and colorant. The artisanal watercolor maker can also experiment with additives, and common ingredients are honey, glycerol and clove oil to enhance performance. Vegans should be aware of this and remember that it’s okay to ask if the products they’re buying contain animal products. The great thing about handmade watercolors is that they rarely contain unnecessary fillers. They are absolutely packed with pigment, and as a result are rich and saturated and a joy to work with. The main issue with handmade watercolors is that not everyone practices transparency when it comes to ingredients and how the colors are made. I’m not encouraging makers to share their recipes – those are secrets of the trade. But pigment information should be available to the customer. We’ve previously talked about pigment behavior and properties, and toxicity of certain pigments. Being able to make informed choices is the right of every customer and artist. What to look for Here are some tips on what to look for when browsing handmade paints: Information! What has the maker explicitly written about their paints, their quality and behavior? Pictures! How does the color look on paper? You could always ask for pictures of swatches if you are uncertain of what a paint looks like. Keep in mind that even though a paint maker releases a color with the same name or shade of color as a different brand, the paints might not perform the same way. Is the brand represented by any artists or do they have their own hashtag? Browse these to find pictures of the paints in action. Be aware that most handmade watercolors come in limited amounts. Decide beforehand which colors you want to buy, set a reminder for the countdown timer, and don’t hesitate to go get the paints you want – they might be gone before you know it. Dot cards! Buy available samples to test which paints meet your requirements and behave in a way that fits your style. To find good watercolors really comes down to experience and preference. Don’t be afraid to try new brands. And if you’re in doubt, check to see what the community has to say about the paints you’re considering! Written by Ilse @ilsea.art Why you should consider buying handmade paints: words from the community I think the thing I love most about handmade paints is being part of a wider circle of passion, inspiration and creativity. I love that handmade paints are unique, quirky and that paints from different makers usually have very different personalities, even when using the same pigments. I very definitely feel like this in turn influences the style, tone and mood of my work in new and exciting ways. It's a real feeling of being part of a community, rather than just another customer. I also love the creativity that maker bring to coming up with new mixed pigment colours and also in assembling balanced palettes which in turn inspire beautiful artwork. Everything,basically. I love everything about handmade paints. Louise (@bohemianraspberry76) Like almost every beginner, my water colour journey began with student grade colours transitioned to industrial artist colours before I found out about hand mulled paints. There isn't much that needs to be said about how incredible the quality is of handmade paints in comparison to the others. The pigments are lush, there are no fillers, they rewet well and perform so beautifully. It's fun to just sit and play around with the colours and watch them interact with each other. More importantly, handmade paints come with the added bonus of a wonderful relationship with the maker. There is transparency of the work involved, you get to see how much love and effort they put into each pour in each pan, in every little dot card. There is generosity and love and the spirit of community over competition. This makes handmade paints the winner for me more than anything else! Fathima (@artsy.m.e.s.s) Handmade watercolors are the best! There is a certain quality to them that you will never find with store-bought watercolors. It’s that combination of beautiful, creamy, super pigmented paints paired with OODLES of hard work and love that makes them so much better. They come in colors that store-bought watercolors can only dream about, and unwrapping them like little candies is so insanely fun. I like knowing where they came from, watching how they started in cute little piles of colors, and the anticipation as they get ready to go to their forever homes. I think it’s fantastic that watercolor makers think of them going to their forever homes, too! Handmade watercolors bring our little community even closer. Karen (@letteringbykaren)

Building a basic watercolor palette In previous posts we’ve talked about how to mix different shades using primary colors, and about the basic properties of watercolors and pigments. I’ve promised to also give you some tips on how to choose paints for your own watercolor collection, and this is what we’re getting to now. This post is for those of you who feel like their watercolor tin is missing something basic but can’t quite figure out what. Or those of you who want to upgrade from craft or student grade paints to artist grade watercolors and are wondering what to start with. If you have hundreds of watercolors already and feel sort of lost when facing all the options, I’m here to help you boil it down to a portable sized, versatile palette of basics. Or you might be doing perfectly fine on your own already, and just want to read about colors and paints while sipping your coffee. A few notes before I start listing paints and colors: Pigments are the colorants added to paints to give them their specific colors and properties. Paints are the finished products containing pigment and binder. I have listed every pigment number and color name, as well as brand (WN = Winsor & Newton, DS = Daniel Smith, Sch = Schmincke) that I have used to illustrate this article. You do NOT have to use these pigments or brands; they are simply what I have in my personal collection. I will note which types of colors they are, and you can find colors with similar hues in your own favorite brands (including handmade/artisanal paints!). The swatches might vary in color depending on your screen and settings. I implore you to research and compare colors using real samples and swatches to get a better idea of how they look and behave. At the end of the article I’ve included a section of alternative colors, to give you more ideas on how to expand your palette I have written this article around the principle of building your palette from scratch. Often, we find that we have a limited budget and can get only a few colors to start with. In that case it is especially important to pick colors that are actually useful and won’t sit untouched in its pan while you long for other paints. I’ll try to give you an idea of how to gradually add more colors to expand your collection in a sensible way. But I mainly want to encourage you to think for yourself: “What colors do I actually need for my artwork?”. You’ll probably find that your answer is “All of them!” but unless you’re loaded with money, that won’t happen instantaneously... Sadly. The first three colors If you only were to get three colors, you should try to find colors that will give you the most bang for your buck. You probably know where I’m going with this. Those pesky primaries. Here’s my go-to primary trio for the tiniest three-color palette: A middle toned yellow, a cool red, and a cool blue. You can check out the post on Primary Color Mixing if you need inspiration. With these colors you can mix a lot of bright colors. And if you introduce small amounts of the third primary color to a secondary color you can get earthy tones as well. Example: Tiny amounts of red will soften the bright green you might get from mixing blue and yellow. Adding yellow to purple will potentially result in rich browns. I specifically chose Quinacridone Rose for its softness, but if I had more colors and could include both a warm and a cool red, I’d probably choose Quinacridone Magenta for the cool red instead. Expanding to six You’ve bought your primary colors, and now you want to expand. Or perhaps you are able to buy six colors at once, in which case I’d still include the primary trio. Depending on your style and preferences, there are a few different ways you could go at this point. If you want to stick to color theory, you could add a warmer primary trio, to get more control over your color mixing. Here is an example of how that might look, now with Quinacridone Magenta in place of Quinacridone Rose: I keep using Phthalo Turquoise for my primary palette, but you might want to use the more popular (and slightly warmer) Phthalo Blue (PB15) if you wish. Lemon Yellow is also a good alternative for a cool yellow, and there are several other warm yellows you can use instead of PY153. However, you might find it more exciting to ditch the rest of the primaries and go for some convenient secondaries instead. This will allow you to skip some of the mixing and get straight to painting, only adding small amounts of this or that to tweak the colors. Here’s an example: Do some research and select a combination of green, orange and purple that fits your style. Keep in mind that Sap Green and other convenience greens often differ from brand to brand. Lastly, I’ve included a set of earthy colors to support your bright primaries. If you’re painting animals, landscape or other neutral colored subjects, these additional colors will make it easier to soften any color mix. Gold Ochre could also be a good substitute for Quin Gold, and indigo for Indanthrone Blue. Any warm brown will do the job of Permanent Brown, but this is one of my favorite earthy reds. The twelve color palette Depending on which colors you already have, and the style you paint in, you might just keep adding the colors I’ve already mentioned. I’ve also put together a set of colors that I’d personally choose among all my paints, if I could only pick twelve, and I wanted to be able to paint almost anything. Here’s how that looks: You’ll notice that I’ve kept the split primaries with warm and cool yellow, red and blue. I’ve also added a cool and almost unnatural looking green, instead of the lovely sap green from before. Phthalo Green is the perfect base color for almost any green, and with this selection of yellows and blues to choose from, you can mix all the greens you want. I’ve included the dark Indanthrone Blue, but you can swap this for indigo or another dark color if you feel like the palette is a bit heavy on the vibrant side. In this palette I’ve also made room for more earth colors, and you should go ahead and choose your own favorite browns and golds, since there really are a ton to choose from. It all depends on your preferred texture and transparency, and how warm or cool or saturated you want them to be. Keep building At this point I feel like you can afford to add more specialty colors, to suit your preferences. I personally love Green Gold for mixing; and Cobalt Teal Blue is wonderful for blue skies. Finally, I’ve put together a complete 24 color palette, that includes all the aforementioned colors, resulting in a palette that is very versatile and rich in possibilities. This palette contains A cool and a warm yellow An orange A warm orange-red, and a “true” red A darker, more muted red Both Quinacridone Rose and Quinacridone Magenta as cool primary reds A dark violet Two dark and muted blues Cool and warm primary blues A sky blue/light teal A mixing green A convenience green Earthy, glowing yellows for mixing A yellow ochre An opaque red earth color Transparent browns, both warm and cool A neutral grey, almost black color But what about brand? You’ve probably noticed that most of my colors are either Daniel Smith or Winsor and Newton. This is based on the availability of these brands in my country, and what I’ve been exposed to and wanted to try. You should choose colors from your own favorite brands, and research the range of colors and pigments they offer. Handmade brands – including Stakiwi Colours! – will also offer good alternatives to these colors, either making their own versions of these pigments, or using different pigments and mixes. If you’re unsure how to spot quality paints and pigments, look through the previous post on basic paint properties, and don’t be afraid to ask the maker what their paints contain or how it behaves. Testing new colors I would like to strongly advice you to get dot cards to test the colors you want to buy – especially if the paint is expensive. Several big brands offer dot card collections of their range of paints, and most makers of handmade paints will have samples of their paints for sale. You can test how the paint handles and how the colors look in real life. I also recommend checking out the forum on www.stakiwicolours.com, where Stacey has initiated the exchange of art supplies! If you have paints you no longer use, and want to try others, you could ask if anyone wants to swap with you. There’s also the possibility of asking the forum, or your friends, for small samples – dot cards – of their tube paints, to allow you to test more colors before buying them. Simply squeeze a tiny amount of paint onto a piece of sturdy paper, allow to dry, put them in an envelope, and mail them across the world! Alternative colors. Any of the “extras” – meaning the colors you add to the basic primaries – can be exchanged for paints that fit your style more closely, and these might be: Darker, moodier colors, like Perylene Green and Perylene Violet. Different convenience greens Purples and pinks like opera pink, lavender, Quinacridone violet, cobalt violet etc. Mixing colors like Nickel Azo Yellow (PY150) and Quinacridone Burnt Orange (PO48) More teals and blues More earth colors, like Raw Sienna and Raw Umber, or maybe Caput Mortuum Potter’s Pink Specialty colors like the Primatek series, shimmery micas, or separating colors like the famous Moonglow. White or buff titanium Black Finally, I want to repeat this: You could always look for alternatives to all the colors I’ve mentioned, as long as they are “warm blue” or “cool red” or “neutral yellow”, or whatever role they are going to play in your palette. Ilse. Up next week, all about Handmade Paints!

An introduction to paint and pigment properties In our last post we talked about color mixing and being able to get a whole range of vibrant colors from a small selection of paints. I also mentioned a whole bunch of specific paints with pigment numbers at the end, and I bet a lot of you get confused by this sort of information. I know I did when I first started exploring beyond my very first pre-made student grade 12 color palette. You might have noticed that your paint tubes or pans come with some weird symbols and numbers and stats that might not make any immediate sense. Artisanal watercolor makers might also share some info in their shop about the colors they sell. But I’m here to tell you that this sort of information is your best friend when researching which colors to get! And I’ll give you just enough background on this to prevent you from getting overwhelmed by it. What exactly are watercolors? Watercolors are made up of some form of color substance that is mixed thoroughly with a binder – something that keeps the paint together and prevents it from just falling off the paper when it dries. This applies to all sorts of paint. Oil paints are color plus oil, acrylic paints are color plus acrylic binders, and watercolors are usually color plus Gum Arabic. The paints may also contain preservatives or additives that helps with re-wetting the color, or makes it behave differently in water. But the most important ingredient is the colorant. This is what makes the paint look and behave the way it does- the binder is simply a vehicle for the colorant. Pigments The most frequently used colorants for watercolors are pigments. These are chemical particles with a certain color, that will keep their shape and properties even when thoroughly mixed with the binder. This gives the paint unique qualities such as granulation, staining abilities, and mixing properties. Two pigments might look the same in their powder form, or in a pan of paint – perhaps exactly the same shade of red – but they might perform completely differently when mixed with water and applied to paper. To avoid confusion: In the rest of this article, pigment will refer to the color particles themselves, which are specific chemical substances, whereas paint will refer to the finished mixture of pigment and binder. I’ll also mention that there’s another type of colorant that I see mainly in watercolor inks and handmade paints, which is dyes. The main difference is that the dye will react directly with the binder and water and dissolve nearly completely, unlike pigments that are simply suspended in the binder. Another important difference is that dyes are nearly always fugitive, meaning they will fade with time and exposure to light. Pigments, on the other hand, can be lightfast, or permanent. Pigments are named based on traits like chemical properties or origin – like Cobalt Blue or Indian Yellow. They also have a number that makes it easier to separate one from the other. Pigment numbers might look like this: PY154. The P stands for “pigment”, the Y stands for “yellow”, and the number is simply the number assigned to this pigment. Blue pigments are marked with B, brown with Br, red with R, etc. Pigments vs Colors To sum up this section very briefly: pigments are universal, while colors (and paints) are individuals. And by that, I mean that specific pigments are the same chemical substance and very often have the same properties no matter which paint it is mulled into. You should be aware, however, that some pigments, like Red Iron Oxide PR101 can appear with different shades and properties based on how the chemicals are treated. Pigments might be marketed under different color names, and these are often fancy or cute names like “Sunshine” or “Ruby”. Paint makers – both big and small brands – should always include information on the pigments that went into the color they’re selling. If this information is not available on either the packaging, in the catalogue or on their website, you should not feel like a nuisance when contacting the maker directly to ask for pigment information. Another important thing to notice is that some paints contain more than one pigment. These are often called “convenience colors”. You should be able to mix these yourself if you have the single pigment paints on hand, but it might be convenient to have a premixed color at hand if you find yourself using that particular mix a lot. Sap Green is probably the most widely known and produced convenience color, since no single pigment with the color sap green exists. Other multi pigment paints aim to achieve special effects, like pigment separation, by mixing pigments that don’t blend smoothly with each other. If this is not the desired outcome, knowledge and expertise is required to create multi pigment paints that behave consistently. Lastly, some paints contain multiple pigments to create a hue – a substitute for a pigment that is toxic or no longer available. It might even be a case of cheaper pigments mixed together to mimic the color of a more expensive, more sought-after pigment. This topic will be discussed more thoroughly in a future post, since it is a very interesting one. Pigment Properties Pigments come in all sorts of colors, and artists might feel like they’re walking into a bright and colorful candy store whenever visiting their local art supplies shop. But in addition to looking for your favorite colors in the store shelves, you should also know that pigments have important qualities and properties that affect how they handle, and how well they keep up appearances over time. The information on each of the following properties should be available for all paints by all makers, the same way pigments should always be listed. Again: don’t ever be afraid to ask watercolor makers about the qualities of the paint you consider spending money on. Lightfastness This is the most important property of your paints and it is determined by the behavior of each pigment that went into the paint. It tells you whether your paintings will fade. And if you plan on hanging your originals on your walls – or even sell them – you want to know that the colors will not lose their vibrancy when exposed to light. If you mainly use your originals to create digital copies or prints, you might not care about lightfastness. All watercolor makers should have a system for marking their products with permanency, and you should always check the rating of a certain paint before buying it. If you know which pigment the paint contains, you can always look up the lightfastness of this pigment in official databases. Remember – pigments are chemical substances with fairly consistent properties no matter where they come from. Staining Pigments will, to different degrees, stain the paper – and your brush, and the adjacent pages in your watercolor journal, and your palette. Other pigments, on the other hand, are non-staining can be lifted from the paper by using a clean wet brush or towel, and you are left with clean, white paper again. This is useful for a lot of purposes, including creating highlights or fixing mistakes. Transparency Watercolors are often wanted for their delicate, luminous transparency, but there are many pigments in use that are actually opaque. Most of them are transparent when diluted with water. Transparent watercolors can be built up to their full strength by adding several layers of paint, while opaque watercolors might hide the layers beneath it. The entire color spectrum of pigments contains both transparent and opaque colors, and you should know the difference before choosing which pigments to get. Granulation A most interesting property of pigments that happens when heavy particles sink through the water and settle in the physical texture of the paper. This can create exciting effects and delicate patterns. But if you want smooth, even washes you should look for pigments that are non-granulating. Keep in mind that the same pigment can be more or less granulating depending on how it is processed by the maker, and you should ask the maker about their specific paints if the amount of granulation is important to you. Toxicity I’ve added this section to briefly inform you that some pigments are toxic to animals and plants. Because of the tiny amount of pigment in your half pan or paint tube, this does not mean that your paints are dangerous to either use or store in your home. It shouldn’t be a problem to rinse your water jars in your kitchen sink, either. But for the people who make the paints – and therefore work with large amounts of pigment at a time – it is important to be aware of the risks of inhaling, ingesting or unsafely disposing of toxic pigments. Some artists also prefer not to contribute to the continued use and distribution of toxic art supplies and choose to avoid buying this type of pigment. Daniel Smith, one of the largest watercolor brands, have stopped making paints with cadmium pigments, instead offering similar hues with non-toxic substitute pigments. To sum it up Get to know your paints and their behavior! Make up your own mind and find your personal favorites Always look for pigment information about the paints you want to buy Don’t be afraid to reach out to watercolor makers to ask for more information (Keep in mind: this is not the same as asking for their paint recipe) Make conscious choices about which paints to get, based on your painting style and what purpose you want the paints to serve. Useful resources - Handprint.com Helpful tools to choose watercolors for you palette: http://handprint.com/HP/WCL/wpaint.html An overview of all the common pigments currently in use: http://handprint.com/HP/WCL/palette1.html A color wheel that places the different pigments based on hue and saturation: https://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/CIELAB.pdf - Color of Art Pigment Database Updated, extensive database of pigments and their properties http://www.artiscreation.com/Color_index_names.html#.XiWY9MhKhPa

Hi! My name is Ilse and I’m the artist behind the Instagram page @ilsea.art. Stacey has been so kind to let me write a bit about watercolor, pigments and color theory – my absolute favorite subjects to talk about! She also made me extremely happy when she invited me to join her creative team, and I’m very proud to be representing her wonderful brand of watercolors! Recently I found myself with a major artistic blockage, and no matter how much I looked at all my paint, I couldn’t figure out what to do with it. The solution came to me when I ordered a pocket-size palette and had to decide which colors to put in it. Limiting my palette made me look at my options in a different way; and having to argue which colors to keep made me appreciate each of them more than I did before. I began a project of exploring and presenting all my favorite colors, and in the process learned that other people was interested in this, too. The main question I’ve gotten so far comes from people who are ready to invest in artist grade paints, and they want to know “what colors should I get first?”. Many artists find themselves with a limited budget, and choosing the right colors to begin with might be the difference between a blooming art journey, and a lot of frustration as your paints won’t do what you need them to do for your personal art style. Always when faced with questions like these, I default back to primary color theory – the color wheel most of us got to know as children. Red and yellow makes orange. Blue and red makes purple. And so on. Primary Color Theory The real science of primary color is a bit beyond the scope of this article, but we’ll focus on the part of it that’s most important for artists. The basic assumption is that there are some colors that can’t be achieved by mixing other colors, and that the rest of the colors of the spectrum can be mixed from these base colors. However, primary colors must not be confused with single-pigment paints. When talking about primary colors we’re focusing on the color of the paint, and not the pigments it is made with. A primary yellow paint can consist of multiple pigments and still be within the limits of what we would call a primary color. This is because there are lots of different colored chemicals – pigments – that reflect yellow light. There are no primary pigments that you can mix to get any other pigment, the theory only applies to the actual color of the paint. Which is why it’s important to know the difference between colors and pigments, and why the pigments listed at the end of this post are simply suggestions for paints to use for mixing. You can read more about pigments in the next post of this series. Another thing to keep in mind is that the theory doesn’t account for pigment particle behavior, or how paints interact with each other. But the theory should give us enough knowledge to utilise our paints in a more effective way. Red, yellow and blue When talking about primary colors, most people can identify these as red, yellow and blue. The theory goes that if you have these three colors in your palette, you can mix absolutely every other color in the world by adjusting how much of each primary color you include in your mix. But if you have tried to mix a seemingly pure red – think blood red, or ladybug red, the type of red that’s always included in a small packet of crayons – with a pure blue, you know that the purple that comes out of it is often dull and brownish. Why doesn’t this “primary red” yield the mixing result we expect from it? And which are the colors that actually mix purple? Warm and cool colors As painters we often come across an expansion of this principle which is called the “split primary” color palette. This theory is supposed to help us mix more vibrant colors, and it recognises that there are warm and cool shades to choose from. A cool yellow leans toward blue and might remind you of sour limes. A warm yellow leans toward red, and warm sunshine and sunflowers might come to mind. If we look at the red section of the color wheel, the “pure” red we talked about earlier would be considered a warm red, leaning towards yellow. The cool version would lean towards blue and we might call it magenta, or rose. A warm blue would be the classical ultramarine, leaning towards red. And a cool blue would lean towards yellow, maybe as far as being a turquoise. This means that we would get different color wheels depending on which type of primaries we choose – warm or cool. In the two color wheels below I’ve split my primaries in two sets and painted out the secondaries and tertiaries I could get from mixing the primaries. The warm primaries make some wonderful oranges, but the greens are very dull and the purples almost non-existent. The warm red and the warm blue has almost neutralized each other completely. Which might actually be a good thing, if you want to mix browns and greys. The cool primaries, on the other hand, makes some brilliant greens, and lovely shades of purple. It still gives you some good oranges, but if this was an even cooler yellow, you’d get even duller and weaker oranges. Split primary color mixing Now on to the good parts. The whole point of this split primary theory is that you can supposedly achieve brighter secondary colors by mixing the primaries that lean toward each other. A warm yellow and a warm red will produce a clear orange, since they are both on the orange side anyway. They don’t contain any blue at all, like a lime yellow and a magenta red does. And we all know that yellow+red+blue = brown, or mud. The clearest greens would come from a cool yellow mixed with a cool blue, none of which contain any red at all to dull down the mix. If we were to put all of this together in one color circle, we’d have to split the primary spots into two, and mix each color with the primary closest to it. The color circle below has a whole new dimension of deep and brilliant colors that you probably wouldn’t be able to easily achieve using only three primaries. My personal favorite mixing trio But I also want to show you an alternative to this six-color palette of warm and cool primaries, that takes us back to the original primary color theory. My personal favorite of primaries is a combination of the following three colors: The cool yellow we’ve already looked at. To me this is the perfect primary yellow. In my eyes it does not lean towards neither red nor blue, and therefore it creates both oranges and greens that are clear and vibrant. The cool blue from before. Even if it is a turquoise shade, you’ve seen that this blue can give you pretty good purples in addition to vibrant greens. A rose red. Warmer and softer than the vibrant magenta, but cooler than the warm red. This middle-of-the-road rosy red will mix wonderful purples in addition to warmer oranges. You can see the whole rainbow of colors I got from this trio in this pretty color circle! Materials The paints used in this post are: Cool yellow: Winsor Yellow by Winsor and Newton, made with pigment PY154 Warm yellow: Yellow Orange by Schmincke made with pigment PY153 Cool red: Quinacridone Magenta by Winsor and Newton, made with pigment PR122 Warm red: Cadmium Red Light by Schmincke, made with pigment PR108 Rose red: Quinacridone Rose by Daniel Smith, made with pigment PV19 Cool blue: Phthalo Turquoise by Winsor and Newton, made with pigment PB16 Warm blue: French Ultramarine by Winsor and Newton, made with pigment PB29 You do not have to get these exact colors to achieve the different shades in the color wheels. But keeping in mind that there are different versions of primary colors that have different properties will make it easier to find paint that suits your needs. My main tip is to look for paints made of single pigments that are rated with high light-fastness (to avoid fading in daylight). Also: The pigments listed will often go by different color names in the different paint brands’ collections. So you can look for these pigment codes within other brands if you want to get these exact colors from your favorite brand of watercolor. If this talk about pigments and paint properties is confusing you – don’t worry! I have a whole post planned about this subject, so stay tuned and I will enlighten you! Hopefully you’ll be left with a good idea of what paints and colors will suit your needs, without getting the entire Winsor and Newton catalogue worth of colors (since that is a very expensive approach to filling your color needs..). Stacey and I will also work on bringing you perfectly good alternatives of handmade watercolors to fill your tin, without ever compromising on quality, colors, vibrancy or smoothness! Until then: Lots of colorful love, Ilse Note: The colors in the pictures may differ from their originals, based of the quality of my scans, and the screen settings on your computer/phone/tablet etc. Color Wheel Template Links http://www.workwithcolor.com/artist-color-wheel-chart-template-05.pdf http://www.dreamhomedecorating.com/printable-color-wheel.html https://www.carrie-lewis.com/color-wheel-template.jpg http://howwikipediaworks.com/printable-color-wheel/printable-color-wheel-free-mixing-blank-chart-colour-templates-primary-pdf-download-template-worksheet-poster-for-artists-tertiary-worksheets-and/