New Watercolors

This morning I made color swatches for my swatch library of the new watercolors I bought yesterday. As you can see from the photo, I like earth tones. Three of the five new colors are earthy ochers and umbers. I joked with the gal at the store that I’m seeking the perfect Ochre/Umber. I don’t know why, it just seems a thing with me. ;-)

In the photograph I’ve placed the new colors alongside several other watercolors I have of similar color and value. I did my best to color correct the photo but I’m afraid the subtleties of the shades are somewhat hard to see. 

Here’s what Daniel Smith has to say about each of the new colors I bought.

Mars Yellow -  To avoid instant mud in your watercolors, select lightfast Mars Yellow. A wash of Mars Yellow adds gentle granulation to passages. Color-coordinate paintings using Mars Yellow with a Violet for subtle, muted warm grays.

Goethite (Brown Ochre) - Rich and warm, DANIEL SMITH Goethite is a dark tea color in masstone and washes out to a rich, warm tan. Goethite (Brown Ochre) is named after Johann Wolfgang Goethe, the German philosopher, poet and mineralogist.

German Greenish Raw Umber - A cool, earthy neutral brown with a hint of green, German Greenish Raw Umber is a natural for landscapes of all kinds.

Perylene Maroon - In the mid-yellow to red zone of the color wheel is this exciting find, Perylene Maroon is a semi-transparent super staining dark red-brown. Perylene Maroon allows glowing washes that can emanate from a saturated source emerging into sunlight patches. As with other staining pigments, create organic textures with salt application and lift pigment for highlights.

Black Tourmaline Genuine - Can be as dark as night or as pale as a wispy fog. This intriguing PrimaTek® color is made from a semi-precious stone thought to bring luck, dispel negativity and promote clarity of purpose. In washes, especially on rough paper, it displays exciting granulation with delicate settling and a tracery of spidery runs. Intensely black in mass tone, it lets down to a beautiful pearl gray.

I can’t wait to try them all out in a painting!