Limited Palette Watercolor Painting

Have you ever experimented with limited palette watercolor painting? It’s an approach I’ve been exploring in some of my more recent paintings, both for realistic watercolour and when I’ve been painting in a relaxed, sketchy style, and I’ve really been enjoying the process.

For many of my realistic watercolour paintings I use 10 paints on my palette, as I do find I can reach that little bit more vibrancy and nuance with them.

But it’s certainly been satisfying to scale back my palette to six paints and still be able to achieve such a wide range of hues and tonal values. I think you’d enjoy giving it a try too. It’s surprising how many colours you can create!

Why did I try limited palette watercolor painting?

I’ve written before about how watercolour is already an amazingly low-cost hobby. This is especially true when you follow my painting method because you allow the paints to dry on your palette and then use the tiniest amounts of pigment each time you paint. There’s practically zero waste, and the paints you buy will last years.

I’m always looking for ways to lower the barrier to taking up watercolour painting because I want as many people as possible to feel the wellbeing effects that come from having this creative hobby in their lives.

But the quality of supplies you use makes a huge difference to the potential of your results, before you even start. If you’re using student grade paints, your results are not a true reflection of the beauty you’re capable of achieving on your paper. It’s one of the biggest mistakes beginners make.

Why should you try limited palette painting?

If you’re new to watercolor, or you’ve decided it’s time to upgrade your supplies, starting with a limited palette can be an accessible first step.

Four of the six paints I use in my limited palette are the ones we use to paint the pear in my free class. If you already have those, then by buying 2 more paint colours, you’ll have all 6 and be able to paint a wide variety of nature subjects.

If you haven’t tried limited palette watercolor painting before, you might imagine this feels limiting. But actually, when you have the right selection of paints, there aren’t many colours you can’t achieve, as I show you in the video.

Watch the mini class:

You’ll find a few of my more recent mini classes use these 6 paints, and quite a few of the future ones I have planned for you work in a limited palette too. Check out the Cosmos flower, opening Rose and Snake’s Head Fritillary sketch for starters.

If you’re tempted to invest in some paints after watching this, please, please make sure you buy artist’s quality transparent paints and not student grade paints. You’ll end up needing to replace them otherwise.

You can find buying links and more details about supplies here.

I’d love to hear from you in the comments if you’ve tried painting with a limited palette before. Which colours did you use? How did you find it? Was it easy or a challenge? Please share your experiences with us!

With love,