#30×30, 2025, Day 25: Inspiring Color

This one is a bit of an unusual palette – mostly Indigo Blue and Transparent Orange Oxide; two of my favorite watercolors. Indigo is probably a Pthalo + Black mix? someone can correct me – but it’s really a great complement to this rusty-red kind of color.

Though, I was running low on Transparent Oxide in my paintbox, so I’m also using some Shin Han Red Brown – PBr25 Benzimidazolone Brown – also labeled as Permanent Brown in the Daniel Smith line. Which is not really a proper replacement. That’s like taking a burnt sienna and using a maroon red instead.

Not sure how I did these rocks? Dirty water and maybe some Bloodstone Genuine? Sorry :)

I am finding it a little hard to get my favorite colors in my local stores, (nobody seems to carry all my preferred brands in one place).

I don’t actually like this PBr25 pigment that much – it’s a bit lacking in character, being transparent and dye-like, with no granulation, which I suppose makes for a clean color, but not what I’m looking for in an earth. I’m probably also mixing (on the paper) with Goethite, Naples Yellow and Olive Green. (All fairly opaque-ish watercolors).

I feel like if you alter the colors in your paintbox it might take you a dozen paintings to get used to them. Overall, I like this grey-blue/rust brown palette quite a bit so it worked out in the end!

~m