I’ve always been like the square peg in a round hole: never really seemed to fit in. Until one day in college, when I decided to embrace it. That’s when, of course, I found my kindred spirits among my fellow art majors. Since then I’ve been doing what I do best, standing out from the crowd & bringing a new perspective to work, friends and life.

So why should I be surprised that I watercolor unlike most others?
A number of crafters have been showcasing their styles, tools & techniques lately and I love seeing them as a reminder of how different I am, which isn’t such a bad thing.

This is my trusty watercolor palette. We’ve been together since 1999.

It has a lid and over 14 years’ worth of custom color remnants, cracks and memories. While not always the most travel-friendly, it certainly is helpful in a pinch when I want to do some painting. I haven’t seen another of these outside of my college art classes.

These are my paints. They generally make me very happy.

I also don’t usually use those dry compound paint pots. I get myself bonafide artist’s water colour tubes from art supply stores & occasionally from Michaels. If you have the cash and the time, I recommend playing with them. Vibrant colors & fun to mix!

This is what the paint looks like out of the tube.

I really cannot say enough about the Grumbacher paints. For a so-called “color guru” these are fantastic because I can mix my own custom color shades. If you’re worried about what happens when they dry on the palette, don’t be: the nature of watercolors allow them to be used over and over by re-wetting them, so you can come back to your paints days or months later and use them again. Brilliant, right? 

Look at that saturation. LOVE IT.

Another brilliant thing about the palette is that each compartment is sloped, which allows me to grab my colors on the side or in the bottom of it at whatever saturation I desire. Any extra water runs down to the bottom and catches there. I usually mix my colors on the middle palette so they don’t ruin the principle color, but sometimes I mix on the slope, too. There’s a lot of versatility in this little plastic palette and I love it!

A great tool for keeping your colors pure: spray bottle. Works like a charm!

I also really love my basic spray bottle that I keep with my palette. I keep it empty (one too many accidents during travel) and fill it when I get to my destination. I spray my palette to activate the paints & it keeps my water bowl cleaner longer plus it protects my paints & helps to keep them pure. When I want some striation or other paint effects on my paper, I spray it with the water bottle to make everything easier. Excellence.

The Prang set I received in 1996. Thanks, Ms. Bethune!

Sometimes I just want a quick wash or a bold, pre-mixed color. In those cases I go to my trusty Prang case & use those color pots. My super awesome, amazing art teacher in HS (Ms. Bethune) let me have the pots that were slated to be trashed way back when. As a result, I have a big bag of partially used color pots just waiting to be popped in. <3

And of course, I can’t work without my loyal sidekick and trusty muse looking over my shoulder. Finn loves to jump onto the back of my chair while I work. Adorable!

If you have any questions about the paints I use or my methods, feel free to comment here or drop me a line. I’ll be back another time with some of my techniques. Cheers.