My first experience with using watercolour tubes was not great. I bought a cheap paint set thinking I could use them in the studio and also be able to refill my old paint palette. Well my first mistake was buying cheap paint. I filled them up and then when it dried it cracked! I did a bit of research and found that you could use glycerine to help keep it wet so that it dries smooth. I went to about 3 different shops before I could find glycerine and then when I tried it again, rewetting adding a drop here and there, it didn’t do the job. I gave up and did more research and then came across Jane Blundell’s post about her ultimate mixing palette where she’s recommended alternative colours using the Daniel Smith Watercolour sticks. She paints off them just like you would with a normal paint palette but it’s a lot more portable. I also saw how she was able to DIY her own palettes using old pill cases and thought this would be a great way to make a tiny palette by cutting some of the sticks, I could also cut part and just smoosh it into my existing palette to refill it. No more cracked pans and no mess.
Managed to buy some and used it to make my own – I used a magnet to attach it to a giant paper clip so I can hold my moleskin A6 watercolour journal with it. As you can see I created a palette by cutting off 2cm of each watercolour stick and using a bit of water to ‘glue’ it to the pill box.
The basic colours I chose to start with were – Ultramarine Blue, Cerulean Blue Chromium, Quinacridone Gold, Hansa Yellow Medium, Buff Titanium and missing is the Quinacridone Rose. These are the basic colours you can use to mix any colour however as you can see there’s not much room to mix. I used a hot glue gun to create mini wells in the lid and then spray painted it white. I then cut a bit of my other palette with a stanley knife other colours from my Winsor and Newton pan. I also bought more of the sticks adding – lunar black, sap green, undersea green, panes grey as these were colours I use a lot.
I also added the watercolour sticks to my Winsor and Newton Cotman compact set in the middle where normally a travel brush sits. It’s a great way to add colour quickly to your set however I found that too much water the colours tend to run together, so these were quickly folded (squashed) into the existing pans with similar colours.
This is the Art Tool kit palettes I ordered direct from Jane Blundell – the pocket palette was prefilled with Daniel Smith tubes (was that scarred I didn’t want to risk filling pans from tubes, plus at $20-30 a tube it’s a great way to test out the colours and brand to see if it was worth the money. The ultramarine was from another company called Da Vinci because they well 37ml tubes so were more cost effective. When I read up about Da Vinci they have a good reputation for creamy watercolour tube paint that never cracks. After using the paint prefilled I was amazed at the vibrancy of colour with just a touch of the paint. It was much easier to rewet. So when Da Vinci had their black Friday sales it was a lot cheaper than buying Daniel Smith in Australia even after factoring in USD to AUD conversion and shipping. I bought a whole set . I have to say the Daniel Smith paints seem to be more vibrant, however Da Vinci is good quality and does the job.
The Demi palette below has about 0.5-1mm of the Daniel Smith watercolour sticks cut own and were great to start. However, when I received my Da Vinci tube paint, this palette was quickly smooshed into my other pans (where it would fit, and this was repurposed for use with my new Da Vinci tube paint.
Top row: Buff Titanium, Hansa Yellow Medium, Quinicridone Gold, Pyroll Scarlett, Pyroll Crimson, Quinacridone Rose, Da Vinci Ultramarine, Creulean Blue.
Second row: Jane’s Grey, Raw Umber, Indian Red, Burnt Sienna, Goethite, Phthalo Green BS, Phthalo Blue GS.
Right – Daniel Smith Watercolour Sticks 0.5-1mm cut:
Top row: Buff Titanium, Hansa Yellow Medium, Quinacridone Gold, Quinacridone Red; Middle row: Colbolt Teal Blue, Creulean Blue, Ultramarine, Quinacridone Violet; Bottom Row: Phthalo Green Blue Shade, Sap Green, Undersea Green, Lamp Black.
Overall the Daniel Smith watercolour sticks have worked well, and I love how flexible they are you can cut them to any size. I would definitely recommend them to beginners. There is still a bit of mucking around, having to cut the sticks to size, otherwise you can use them straight off the stick.
Rachel Fong Art 