You may be ready to invest in a set of quality tube watercolors. There are many brands to choose from! Winsor and Newton makes a very good paint that I used for years. I've recently begun using Daniel Smith and have a few tubes of M Graham. The pigment load in any of these brands is excellent.
Don't waste your money on the Student grade watercolors. The pigment load is dismal in these paints. Sakura Koi is a decent pan watercolor set. The pigment load is better than the Prang and the price is decent. I use this set for traveling.
Here is a basic palette to get started with in the tube watercolors. Note that the purple made wiith this palette is a bit muddy. That is because the Permant Red is a warm red (tends towards orange).
This is a alternate basic palette. Note that the green is a bit muddy. The Quin Rose tends towards the purple.
Here are three colors that will extend your palette further after you've purchased Basic A and Basic B. From this point, it is subjective. I find greens more difficult to mix and this gives more options.
The Dead Palette is neutral earth colors. Here are a few examples. Yellow Ochre is missing here and is a good addition. These colors soften and neutralize the basic primary palettes and provide you opportunities to mix a more sophisticated range of color.
Here is a video showing the Koi watercolor set. The giveaway is long over (sorry ...)
Love watching your videos, tutorials!
Posted by: Meghan Thimjon | 09/09/2011 at 01:50 PM
I'm still enjoying the pens, thank you! I certainly see why you like them so much.
Posted by: Marilyn Weyman Kegg | 09/10/2011 at 11:23 AM
thank you for all the information you have shared through the Watercolor Primer series :-) it is so helpful to have words AND images to explain the properties of colors and how they 'play' with one another.
Posted by: PennyA | 09/12/2011 at 01:48 PM
enjoying your watercolor series. your "pallets" are giving me ideas, thanks :)
Posted by: Laura Stadig | 09/13/2011 at 02:36 PM
So glad you are enjoying the primer, Meghan!
Posted by: Diana Trout | 09/14/2011 at 04:21 PM
My daughter is home for a bit between jobs and has become completely addicted to those pens!
Posted by: Diana Trout | 09/14/2011 at 04:24 PM
Aha! Hopefully, that would be ideas of the painterly kind :) Thanks for you comment, Laura
Posted by: Diana Trout | 09/14/2011 at 09:06 PM
such fun...loved your watercolor video too...came from Altered Page today to discover you having all kinds of fun. Thanks for the tips about watercolors from kids sets to the big guys tubes...all so interesting to someone like myself who is just getting started in Water color painting. I have that little Koi field set...and another one too but forget the brand, Reeves student tubes...and another big Dry set called Transparent Watercolours that comes out of Holland. I'm having fun painting with all of them.
Posted by: lynn | 09/25/2011 at 11:39 AM