If you’ve ever opened your paint box, looked at all the colours, and thought:

• “Which blue should I use?”
• “Why does this lovely mix turn dull on the paper?”
• “Do I really need all of these tubes?”

you’re not alone.

Colour mixing is one of the most confusing parts of watercolour – but it doesn’t have to be. In fact, one of the simplest ways to get fresher, more harmonious paintings is to use fewer colours, more thoughtfully.

Let’s look at how a limited palette and a few simple ideas can help you avoid mud and gain confidence.

Why less colour often looks better

It’s tempting to think that more colours will provide more possibilities. However, in practice, it often leads to some or all of the following:

• Mixes which look confusing and incoherent
• Hues which clash and jar
• Areas that look dull and overworked

When you choose to limit your palette to just a few well-chosen colours, something lovely can happen.

• Your paintings can begin to feel more harmonious.
• You find that mixing the shades you want becomes simpler and more predictable.
• You have more time to focus on what you are painting and less on what colours you are trying to create.

Terry Harrison often worked with a modest number of colours, using them in different combinations to create a wide range of scenes. Fiona Peart does the same in her florals and botanicals – a few colours, used well, go a very long way.

Warm and cool: A simple way to think about colour

There is a LOT of literature out there on colour theory – whole books have been written on it! However, you don’t need to memorise colour wheels or know the ins and outs of complex theory.

A simple starting point is to notice and understand that some colours lean warm (towards yellow, orange, red) and some lean cool (towards blue, green, violet).

• A warmer blue might lean slightly towards green to deliver that warmer view – such as a shallow tropical sea.
• A cooler blue might lean slightly towards violet – such as the deeper middle of the ocean.
• A warmer red leans towards orange (sunsets); a cooler red leans towards pink or violet (sunrises).

Why does this matter?
Because using warm and cool mixes to subtly alter the feel of a pigment can often give you more interesting, lively colours. The pitfalls of mixing too many different pigments together is a greater risk of muddier and dull colours.

The Power of a Limited Palette

Try this experiment with just three colours:

• A blue (such as Terry's Ultramarine)
• A red (such as Terry's Wild Rose)
• A yellow (such as Terry's Yellow Gold)

On a piece of watercolour paper try the following mixes. You can draw a grid for comparison if you like.

• Mix blue + yellow in different proportions (to create cooler and warmer greens)
• Mix red + yellow (to create oranges and warm earthy tones)
• Mix blue + red (to create strong violets, deep greys, and shadow colours)
• Mix all three together in varying amounts (to create neutrals and soft greys)

You’ll quickly see how many colours you can create from just a few pigments – and how naturally they sit together, because they all come from the same “family”.

Our custom watercolour paints are designed to mix cleanly and predictably, which makes this kind of limited palette work especially well.

Avoiding Mud: A Few Gentle Guidelines

Mud usually appears when:

• Too many different pigments are mixed together in the same area
• Colours are layered repeatedly without letting them dry
• We keep “fixing” the same passage over and over

Here are some simple ways to avoid that:

1. Mix on the palette.
   There’s nothing wrong with colours blending on the paper – it’s one of watercolour’s charms. But if you find everything is turning the same grey-brown, try pre-mixing more of your colours on the palette first.
   You’ll have a clearer idea of what you’re putting down, and you can test a small swatch before committing to the painting.
2. Use transparent layers.
   If a colour isn’t quite right, it’s tempting to keep brushing and stirring it on the paper. That usually makes things worse.
   
   Instead:
   Let the area dry completely and then glaze a transparent wash of another colour over the top to adjust the temperature (warmer or cooler) or deepen the value of the colour you want.
   This keeps the surface fresher and avoids an overworked look.
3. Limit how many pigments you use in one mix.
   As a general guide, try to keep most mixes to two, occasionally three colours. Once you start adding a fourth or fifth, the risk of mud increases dramatically.
   If you’re unsure, ask yourself:
   “Can I get close to this colour with just two of my existing paints?”
   Often the answer is yes.

How Our Custom Paints Can Help

Because our watercolours are formulated with high quality pigments and contain low volumes of fillers, they:

• Mix cleanly
• Stay vibrant even when diluted
• Layer well without turning chalky

This makes them particularly well-suited to limited palette work, where you rely on a few reliable colours to do a lot of the heavy lifting.

In both the Terry Harrison film library and Fiona Peart’s courses, you’ll see:

• Exactly which colours are used for skies, foliage, shadows, and florals
• How to adjust a mix slightly warmer or cooler, rather than reaching for a new tube
• How a small, well-chosen selection of paints can cover an impressive range of subjects