Frequently Asked Questions
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Watercolor artists are typically very particular about the specific colors they use. They often use different color palette selections depending on the subject they plan to paint. For instance, in Hawaii, the palette may lean more towards blues and greens, whereas in the desert southwest, it’s more likely that reds and earth-tones will predominate. Palettes that are sold commercially pre-filled, also typically include black and white. While useful on occasion, most artists would not include them as part of their color palette. This is why an empty palette is a welcome sight!
The Portable Painter Classic includes 12 half pans (W&N size) so that artists can easily interchange them and customize their palette. We offer special Custom Expansion Pans that are engineered to fit in the brush slot of the Classic. These allow the Classic to hold 15, 16 or even 18 colors, with no increase in size or weight! The pans can be secured with reusable adhesive disks that are included.
Please visit our Tips & Techniques section of our site. You will find useful recommendations from professional artists, on color choices, pigment types, watercolor papers and other handy tips.
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A smaller brush head is stored in the back end of the larger brush. It is quite a tight fit. To open, firmly grasp the body of the main brush and the end of the smaller brush insert, then twist and pull. Both parts will separate and the double brush can be assembled.
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Small disks of reusable adhesive are provided for the Half Pans and Custom Expansion Pans. They affix the pans in the palette, but can still be removed. Just slip the tip of a palette knife or dull butter knife down the edge of the pan and the adhesive seal will break. The pans can then be removed and reattached as needed.
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The half pans in the Classic Palette are W&N size, which are smaller than standard half pans. We offer extra sets of our half pans for artists who need them to customize their color palettes. A set of twelve come complete with reusable adhesive disks.
* Please note that half pans for the Classic Palette will not fit in the Micro Palette.
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The Classic Palette comes complete with a silicone band. This can be used to retain the aluminum clasp when the palette is in use. The clasp can be inserted under or snapped onto the band. The band can also attach brushes, pens and pencils to the water containers while the palette is in use. Simply slide them behind the band when the band is attached to the water container.
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Watercolor artists are typically very particular about the specific colors they use. They often use different color palette selections depending on the subject they plan to paint. For instance, in Hawaii, the palette may lean more towards blues and greens, whereas in the desert southwest, it’s more likely that reds and earth-tones will predominate. Palettes that are sold commercially pre-filled, also typically include black and white. While useful on occasion, most artists would not include them as part of their color palette. This is why an empty palette is a welcome sight!
The Portable Painter Micro includes 6 standard half pans so that artists can easily interchange them and customize their palette. We offer special Custom Expansion Pans that are engineered to fit in the Micro. These allow the Micro to hold 6 to 16 colors, with no increase in size or weight! The pans can be secured with reusable adhesive disks that are included.
Please visit our Tips & Techniques section of our site. You will find useful recommendations from professional artists, on color choices, pigment types, watercolor papers and other handy tips.
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Watercolor artists are typically very particular about the specific colors they use. This is all the more important when using a 'Limited Palette' of six colors. It's remarkable how many colors can be mixed from six of the right basic pigments.
There are many benefits to using just six colors: They teach the artist how to blend pigments to reach the exact colors they need. For instance, greens and purples will almost certainly need to be made from a mixture of blues and yellows and blues and reds. They also tend to create a more harmonious look to the finished work since all the colors stem from the six basics.
However, a 'limited palette' by definition requires a lot of color mixing, so sufficient mixing wells are vital. That's where the Micro shines. It has a huge surface area available for blending colors. This includes some deep mixing wells that can handle a lot of liquid. The most common six color combination is two sets of primaries, with one a cool shade and the other warm (such as Daniel Smith’s Essentials.) But even within the two sets of primaries there is still a lot of variation possible. Artists often use different color palette selections depending on the subject they plan to paint. For instance, in Hawaii, the palette may lean more towards blues and greens, whereas in the desert southwest, it’s more likely that reds and earth-tones will predominate. It's worth experimenting to find exactly the range that suits your eye and subject matter. This is why an empty palette is a welcome sight!
Please visit our Tips & Techniques section of our site. You will find useful recommendations from professional artists, on color choices, pigment types, watercolor papers and other handy tips.
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Please visit our Tips & Techniques section for recommendations on limited palette strategies by World famous colorists including Jane Blundell.
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The lip is there to create a little more separation between the pans. This can help minimize colors accidentally mixing between adjacent pans.
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Small disks of reusable adhesive are provided for the Full Pans, Half Pans and Custom Expansion Pans. They affix the pans in the palette, but can still be removed. Just slip the tip of a palette knife or dull butter knife down the edge of the pan and the adhesive seal will break. The pans can then be removed and reattached as needed.
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We offer a set of 6 additional half pans and 3 full pans that are perfectly sized for the Micro.
*Please note that pans for the Micro Palette will not fit in the Classic Palette (which holds slightly smaller W&N size half pans).