Little Palette Book

Little Palette Book

Wondering how I would use my latest little pocket sketchbooks, since this one with the cool print of a Japanese book had heavy Fabriano paper, I decided I would put an end to dragging out various color charts and have my current palette all in one place.

Some charts had colors from specific brands, others had notes of pigment characteristics squeezed in around the colors. This book served the purpose perfectly. First to have a larger surface of color where I could observe the pigment behavior in water. Next, to have a reference for levels of staining, granulation, transparency, permanence and the pigment numbers. It’s helpful because some colors look similar with the same pigment number with different names from different companies but have different characteristics like Winsor Newton Alizarin Crimson and Holbein Rose Madder. Some from the same company like Daniel Smith are different like Quinacridone Red and Quinacridone Rose but have the same pigment number and the same characteristics. Huh? Obviously, I have a lot more to understand. But now I have grounded evidence of how they look, at least on Fabriano paper.

A few years ago I was enamored by Holbein Antique colors. Many of them contain PW, short for Pigment White. This makes them more of a qoauche since the addition of white makes them somewhat opaque. I could only find the pigment characteristics for the Holbein watercolors, of which I have many.

Some colors from different companies have similar names like New Gamboge and Gamboge Nova with different pigment colors and look different. Yellow has always been problematic for me, so using different yellows in combination with blues are showing me the range of green, another problematic color. Choosing a color that has only one pigment name gives better results.

Antique Jasper, Viridian Hue and Winsor Green are all PG 7, look similar and behave differently.

The Gem pigments I use from Daniel Smith are granulating. Sleeping Beauty Turquoise is dreamy. The Amethyst actually sparkles, but my iPhone photo failed to capture it. The Lapis Lazuli is so weak and tricky to manipulate that I doubt I will use it much. It makes me curious when I remember that Lapis Lazuli was the original pigment used to make ultramarine.

At the end I realized I had the book upside down. No problem to cut the binding and rebind it right side up except the key is now upside down. Maybe it’s a coyote on the cover, not a wolf.