My list of watercolor paints in my new tray, as organized like the color wheel (as of early 2025)

1. Hansa Light (Cool yellow for mixing greens; semi-opaque; creamy)

2. Cadmium Light – Essential  (Opaque; great mixer)

3. Azo Yellow – Neutral yellow (neither warm nor cool; transparent)

4. Nickel Quinacridone Gold – Essential (Transparent; great mixer)

5. Gamboge – Essential (semi-transparent; convenience color for yellow-orange)

6. Azo Orange – (true orange; creamy and opaque; hard to mix this color)

7. Scarlett Pyroll – Essential (Semi-opaque; strong red)

8. Quinacridone Rust – Essential  (Transparent; great mixer; superior to Burnt Sienna)

9. Naphthol Red – Essential (Transparent; mixer; liftable)

10. Quinacridone Red – Essential (Transparent; makes wonderful violet with cool blues)

11. Quinacridone Rose – Essential (Transparent; great mixer)

12. Quinacridone Magenta – Essential (Transparent; great mixer)

13. Alizarin – (Transparent and lovely)

14. Maroon Perylene (Transparent; fabulous mixer)

15. Quinacridone Pink (unnecessary/ will eliminate in future)

16. Opera (Holbein) – Essential (Transparent; great mixer; unable to mix for yourself)

17. Lavender (Daniel Smith) – unique and weird

18. Dioxozine Purple – Essential (Transparent stainer; true purple; mixer)

19. Ultramarine Blue – Essential (Granulating; liftable; mixer; favorite all-purpose blue)

20. Phthalo Blue – Essential (Transparent stainer; mixer for greens)

21. Anthraquinone Blue (blackish blue)

22. Cobalt Teal – Essential (Opaque; unique; unable to mix for yourself)

23. Cerulean – Essential (Semi-transparent; great mixer; nature palette)

24. Sap Green (convenience color; earthy)

25. Cobalt Green (true green and very thick)

26. Phthalo Green – Essential (Transparent stainer; great mixer for various greens)

27. Permanent Green Pale – Essential (Semi-opaque; mixer; convenience color; hard to get)

28. Lamp Black or My Own Mixed Black – Essential (when you need it, you need it)

29. Titanium White – Essential (Creamy; mixable; for pastel colors when toning)

30. Burnt Sienna (Earth color; fabulous mixer with Ultra Blue for warm and cool grays)

31. Raw Sienna (will eliminate from tray in future)

32. Ochre – Essential (Earth color; mixable; non-staining; liftable)

 

NOTES:

• 32 Colors total; 20 essential to me; the non-essential colors are nice to have and in the tray because  there are extra wells for more colors (better to be there than in the tube not getting used)

• Most of these colors are from M. Graham and are made with honey. Other brands are noted which are not M. Graham paints. (I am not paid to endorse.)

• Other colors I wish I had room for? Janet’s Violet Rose (American Journey); Shadow Violet (Daniel Smith); Peyne’s Gray (for mixing); Cobalt Blue.

• When thinking about what colors to put in your tray, think about your palette and define it. How do you like to paint? Do you prefer primaries (reds/yellows/blues) or do you generally paint with a secondary palette (greens; purples/violets; and oranges)? What is your subject matter? If you paint portraits, then you want to use transparent colors. If you paint landscapes, you will want earth colors (usually tertiaries like burnt sienna and raw sienna) which also granulate. Define your priorities and make selections for your tray accordingly.

• Have multiple trays to house colors you can’t live without. Some people use two trays with one having warm colors and the other having cool colors. More room for more colors.

• Generally speaking, you will want two of each primary—a warm one and a cool one.

• I favor pure primaries (the quinacridones and the phthalos are pure primaries, clear transparent powerful colors from the science lab which can mix into a thousand gradations of color). Your paintings will look better if your colors do not look like they came straight out of the tube. Always favor the colors you mix.