I’m extremely picky when it comes to my watercolor paints. I don’t really care about the brand – but rather the overall feel and look of the paint on the page. I love colors that are bright and smooth in appearance (meaning very little to no granulation). I also love colors that mingle or merge easily with one another, especially in wet-on-wet situations.
So below is a list of my favorite paints, as well as the brands that I use on a daily basis. Since I’m a nerd when it comes to my paints – I’ve also included my paint resource chart – laying out the make-up of each of my paints below.
Note: I do earn a small bit of affiliate commissions from the Amazon links below (as folks have asked me to provide them with the links), but these are all paints I have tested and use. Thanks.
So Here Are My Favorite Watercolors
1. Brilliant Opera Rose – Schmincke
2. Shell Pink – Holbein
3. Scarlet Lake – Winsor & Newton
4. Cadmium Orange – Winsor & Newton
5. Indian Yellow – Winsor & Newton
6. Juane Brilliant No. 2 – Holbein
7. Cadmium Yellow – Winsor & Newton
8. Cadmium Yellow Lemon – Schmincke
9. Green Gold – Winsor & Newton
10. May Green – Schmincke
11. Winsor Green (Blue Shade) – Winsor & Newton
12. Cobalt Turquoise – Schmincke
13. Horizon Blue – Holbein
14. Winsor Blue (Green Shade) – Winsor & Newton
15. Quinacridone Magenta – Winsor & Newton
16. Mauve – Winsor & Newton Cotman Series
17. Yellow Ochre – Winsor & Newton
18. Gold Brown – Schmincke
19. Burnt Umber – Winsor & Newton
20. Payne’s Gray – Winsor & Newton
21. Neutral Tint – Winsor & Newton
Other Paints I’m Testing
So those are the main colors, but I’m also testing a couple of new watercolor paints. Personally, I’m not a huge fan of pan paints when it comes to watercolor – but these paints caught my eye. They aren’t considered traditional watercolors – but their color payoff is really good for an inexpensive pan paint. But I will say – some of their blues and greens aren’t that great. So you may want to substitute some tube paints for the colors that don’t have as great of a color payoff.
Kuretake Gansai Tambi Watercolors, 48 Colors
Other Info About My Main Palette
If you’re a nerd like me – you like to know everything about your paints. So here’s a little list that I put together on some basic info on my paint colors and their make-up. :)
