36. My Week of Colour Experiments
Why less really can be more in watercolour
Hello everyone!
What a week it's been! Between juggling the kids during summer holidays and making progress on my sketching guide, I wasn't sure I'd manage much time for creativity. But then I had the wonderful opportunity to lead a sketching session for Artist in Residence (an online art membership group), which reminded me why I love experimenting and discovering alongside fellow sketchers.
Artist in Residence: Three-Colour Experiment
This week's session was all about proving that you don't need dozens of colours to create beautiful work. I put together a few photo’s from my Cornwall holiday to sketch using just three colours: yellow, red, and blue. No convenience greens, no ready mixed shadow greys, no safety net colours.
The idea came from something I've been pondering while working on my pocket palette project - how limitations actually free us up creatively rather than hold us back. I was curious to see what the group would make of this limited palette challenge.
Here's what we discovered: with just those three primaries, we can create everything from sea blue/greens and sandy yellows to the warm stone tones of Cornish cottages. It was often quite challenging not having the "perfect" colour ready made, I especially missed my Paynes Grey! But there was a lot of fun in discovering what we could (or couldn’t!) mix with such a limited palette!
The Power of Creative Constraints
These three-colour experiments capture something I've been discovering through my pocket palette set up:
Constraints don't limit creativity - they focus it.
Back when I was packing for Cornwall with my Sendak Mini full of nearly every possible supply, I was overwhelmed by choice when out in the field. But when I stripped back to just the essentials in my Lihit Lab case, suddenly sketching became easier, not harder. The same thing happened in this session - with just three colours, I stopped overthinking and started mixing, experimenting, playing.
Pocket Palette Mini Update
Speaking of constraints, I did manage some quick testing with my pocket palette this week! The six carefully chosen colours performs brilliantly my quick daily sketch captures. I can even paint with my feet up on the sofa!
I'm saving the full field test report for a future newsletter - I want to give it the proper testing with family camping trip next week! So far though, the compact size is definitely winning over any colour limitations!
What Three Colours Revealed
Working with just three colours this week was quite an eye-opening experience. Mixing my way through my Cornwall scenes with nothing but yellow, red, and blue, I kept pondering about how universal our sketching challenges really are - the overwhelm of too many choices, the fear of "getting it wrong," the search for confidence.
It's reinforced something important about the sketching guide I'm working on. After years of experimenting with my own sketching journey and now realising how liberating constraints can be, I'm putting together a comprehensive guide for anyone wanting to start or restart their sketching journey with confidence.
What I keep discovering is that you don't need more complexity, you need more confidence. You don't need twenty different greens, you don’t even need to understand how to mix the green you actually see in front of you. You don't need perfect techniques, you need permission to embrace wonky lines and happy accidents.
The Artist in Residence session reminded me why I'm so passionate about wanting to help people start their sketching journey - we all face those same initial challenges and breakthroughs. Which is exactly why I'm working on this guide for anyone wanting to start or restart their sketching journey with confidence.
Your Three-Colour Adventures
I'd love to hear about your own experiences with limited palettes!
And if you're feeling adventurous, why not try the three-colour challenge yourself this week? Pick any photo (holiday snaps work brilliantly) and see what you can create with just yellow, red, and blue, or pick your own limited palette of three colours! I guarantee you'll surprise yourself with what's possible.
Hit reply and tell me about your colour mixing experiments - I'd love to start sharing some of your experiences in future newsletters.
Looking Ahead
Next week, I'll hopefully be back with the complete pocket palette field test results. I'm planning some proper family adventure sketching to really put those six colours through their paces.
Join my new subscriber chat
This is a conversation space exclusively for subscribers—a bit like a group chat or live hangout. I’ll post mini challenges and updates that come my way, and you can jump into the discussion.
I’ve kicked this chat off by sharing some of my Cornwall photos so you can try the three-colour challenge yourself - would love to see what you create!
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Keep sketching!
Emma x
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I totally agree that constraints are oddly liberating- reducing all the choices reduces the overwhelm and can make you sketch much more! I’ve been opting for simply one or two colours (generally just a Tombow colour brush pen) along with a simple black fineliner for nearly all of my sketches at the moment and I am finding that as a default it is actually building my confidence and making me sketch more! Can’t wait to see your sketch guide 😍