Hello everyone, Lianne here
Welcome to my desk
Today we have a Roman Szmal Aquarius palette
A curated set for Urban Sketching
I don't see many palettes specifically with Urban Sketching in mind
Based on the colours, this might also be a good introduction set
It's the first time I see Aquarius offering half pans
In a compact, travel friendly, metal box
Aaaaah ... no unwrapping!
With a good fill level
Aquarius is a handmade honey based watercolour
The least sticky I've come across
Only Sap Green Light reminds of honey's presence
I typically carry more than 12 when heading out
The ability to add 6 more colours gives a lot of flexibility
It fits nicely!
Let's check out the colours
An uncommon yellow pigment, clean and brilliant
Harmonic with greens and a strong performer in mixes
A saturated orange red that dries beautifully
Perfect for bold accents or mixing with Ultramarine for variety in shadows
A key mixing colour for creating stunning purples, oranges and deep crimsons
I like this particle size for sketching Granulation is not overpowering in mixes
A readymade realistic sky colour
Convenience is king for plein air work
Although I prefer Przybysz's Grey for quick shadows ...
... this is a more balanced choice for the set and less pigment separation to consider
A realistic and useful green for vegetation
For speed, I tweak this for more varied greens instead of mixing from scratch
One of the gems in the Aquarius line
Perfect for darker foliage and also deep enough for shadows in between
Great for beaches, sandstone and creating pastels
Not a regular for me due to my choice of painting subjects
Aquarius offers a comprehensive set of earth pigments
The delicacy of this yellow earth is perfect in mixes
A workhorse in architectural settings for bricks, roofs and in mixes
I also use this to tone down high keys for more realistic shades
The least red Burnt Umber I have A likely new favourite!
Balances well with the earth selection and useful for a quick black mix
Here they are dry
Let's look at the colour selection
The balanced primary triad allows us to mix anything we need
Also, there's a nice earth triad to play with
How cohesive are the convenience greens?
Let's try them!
First: Quinophthalone Yellow
Add Sap Green Light gradually
and some Aquarius Green
These three go well together and are well thought through
Let's check the other varieties of green
Next: Quinophthalone Yellow and Ultramarine Intense
Next: Quinophthalone Yellow and Sky Blue
Next: Gold Ochre and Sky Blue
Great range of greens here!
Lastly, let's try one of my regular mixes: Ultramarine Intense and Burnt Sienna
Since both are on the neutral side, it's less dramatic than expected
So, how workable is this palette?
Now, a month has passed ... with only these 12 colours
Apart from Buff Titanium, they all got good use
I found them versatile enough for a variety of Urban Sketching subjects
No mixing - just three colours on the building
Used all the earth colours here alongside Sky Blue
A study with minimal colour
The plants were quick with the convenience greens
Highlighted with one mixed green
Pyrrole Scarlet for pop Earth and Ultramarine mixes add a moody vibe
Capable of making most colours with ease
Pyrrole Scarlet and Quinacridone Magenta enable bright bold colours
Shadow Grey looks a little dull when glazing
Same here when used for overlaying shadows
But, I do like the colour when used straight ...
... and great in monotone studies instead of black
Gold Ochre and Sky Blue mix for the roof Only Burnt Sienna for the body
Here I warmed up Burnt Sienna with Pyrrole Scarlet
Burnt Umber made an appearance here
Also used here, nearly neat
Over a graphite figure study
I enjoyed this palette very much It fulfils my sketching needs nicely
It could also be a good starter set for anyone
Thanks for watching Happy Sketching!