Years ago, I was given a set of Sennelier Watercolours that came with eight tubes of paint. I never really used much of it because I knew it was expensive and artist-grade which made me value it even more. It wasn't until a few years ago that I finally brought it out and used them. Up until that point, I had only been using beginner and student-grade watercolours. I never had a problem with them and never felt like I wanted my colours to do more. However, I instantly fell in love with these Sennelier artist-grade watercolours because they're just so vibrant and pigmented. I was happy with my student-grade watercolours but these.... THESE make me want to paint. THESE make me want to sing from the mountain tops! Just the swatches alone make me happy but when you mix the paints.... oh glory! They produce such beautiful colours! I especially like Sennelier for their transparent quality. I don't need to worry about my line art being covered by the pigments.
I have a love for many colours but I find it particularly fascinating the combinations of colours I could create by myself when using a limited palette ( a few select colours). One thing that I adore with this set is that the cool red produces beautiful purples whereas my former student-grade paints weren't able to. This was primarily due to a lack of a magenta-y cool red.
Please find the colours I used below. Two yellows, two reds, and two blues; marked by the thicker-lined black squares.
Clockwise
578 Sennelier Yellow Light PY153
517 Indian Yellow PY154 PY153
675 French Vermilion PR242
671 Quinacridone Purple PR122 (a.k.a. Helios Purple)
315 Ultramarine Deep PB29
344 Cinereous Blue PB15:3, PW
I love the Sennelier Yellow Light because it's bright yet not as 'green' as the common lemon yellows we get in student-grade paint sets. The Indian Yellow I also like because it's a tad lighter than some gamboge hues. The French Vermilion is extremely vibrant and a rich primary red colour. The Quinacridone Purple may look like a deep magenta but if used correctly could create beautiful pinks and purples. The Ultramarine Deep is a very nice pigmented true ultramarine colour as you would expect. The Cinereous Blue gives is a vibrant light blue, gorgeous for skies.
This was absolutely a joy paint. Again, I just love how two colours mix to create new interesting colours. A few points to note... The Indian Yellow makes such beautiful dark greens perfect for foliage or landscapes. The Ultramarine Deep just has to be my favourite with its pigmented vibrancy. French Vermilion Also neutralised very well with the Cinereous Blue. Of course this only shows two colour mixes so I went ahead and tried a few three colour mixes on the right side. The third and fourth dark squares from the top (1,4,5 and 1,3,5 combinations) have a green undertone to them.
Check out my corresponding videos below.
limited palette
mixing chart