My Favorite Watercolor Paint Colors
I’m a self-taught artist who loves sharing tips and tutorials for painting with watercolor and gouache, and using the Procreate app on the iPad.
My favorite watercolor paint colors are a huge part of my art style. I love combining bold and pastel hues to create my whimsical art. These are my current favorite colors.
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I made the video below just to share my favorite paint colors, but I got so much more out of it.
Making this video made me realize I have the perfect color palette for my art style. Rather than scrambling for the right colors, I can just use these.
Color palettes can be so hard to get right, but choosing my favorite colors solved that problem for me. Why fix what isn’t broken?
It was such a happy discovery.
I share my entire palette in this video. It hasn’t changed much, but I’m including a few colors that aren’t in the palette. I just added them to the tray to use when I need them.
Watch the Video
My Current Favorite Watercolor Paints
A bold color palette is an easy way to add whimsy to your art. These are my current faves.
Daniel Smith Nickel Azo Yellow
I love a warm yellow, and Nickel Azo Yellow is perfection to me. It’s not too mustardy or brown. It’s lovely at full strength or diluted.
Daniel Smith Quinacridone Coral
Quinacridone Coral is my favorite red. It’s somehow warm and cool at the same time. So perhaps it should be described as neutral. When diluted, it creates a pretty pink.
Holbein Shell Pink
Speaking of pink, Shell pink is one of my favorite colors, period. It’s a warm pink paint with white pigment. It can still be diluted enough to be transparent, though.
Holbein Bright Rose
Opera Pink used to be my favorite, but bright rose is my new fave. It’s a bold hot pink that leans cool. Despite it being a fluorescent color, it scans just fine.
I also really love it for mixing. I share some of my favorite color mixes in the video.
Holbein Lavender
Lavender is another color that contains white, but I just love it. It’s as close to purple as I get. It’s a pale blue-purple that is so pretty.
Daniel Smith Indanthrone Blue
Indanthrone blue is so dreamy. It’s dark, but it’s still very blue. (Indigo can look black at times.)
Daniel Smith Cobalt Blue
Cobalt Blue is a great standard blue color. I picked it because it’s currently in my palette, but I like Ultramarine Blue just as much. They’re pretty similar, but Cobalt Blue is a bit softer. It also granulates.
Daniel Smith Cobalt Teal Blue
Cobalt Teal Blue is my absolute favorite color. It’s the perfect aqua blue color with soft granulation.
Sennelier Phthalo Green Deep
Phthalo green has gone from my least favorite color to one of my favorites. It’s great in mixes, but where it really shines for me is when it’s diluted. It makes the most perfect mint green. I just really love pastels, in case you can’t tell.
Daniel Smith Green Gold
Green gold is a lovely, bold yellow-green color. It’s perfect as is, but it can be mixed to make other colors as well. When diluted, it almost glows.
Daniel Smith Sap Green
Sap Green is my favorite green overall. It’s a warm green that’s perfect for plant foliage. The Daniel Smith version is my favorite. It’s muted and lovely.
Winsor and Newton Paynes Gray
I’m obsessed with Payne’s Gray. I have one by Daniel Smith in my palette, but I prefer the Winsor and Newton version. It’s not in my palette because I bought a tube after I made the palette.
The Winsor and Newton version is a bit bluer than most versions. At full strength, it’s a nice alternative to black. It’s lovely diluted as well.
What are your favorite paint colors?
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