Watercolor Pans vs Tubes - Is one better?

In my last blog post (HERE), I talked about how I'm painting a new watercolor series, called "Dreamscapes". As I'm going through the series, I'm learning new lessons. Lessons about my own preferences, lessons about composition, which supplies and techniques work for me and which don't, and what I love about watercolors the most. As someone who owns several different sets from different brands of watercolors, I'd always been confused about which ones to use when. Should I use Winsor and Newton, or Sennelier? Should I use wet on wet, or wet on dry?

One thing I've definitely figured out about my technique is I like to mix my own colours, and this applies to all mediums. And maybe this is super specific, but made a big difference for me is: how different the experience is between using watercolors from tubes vs pans.

With tubes, you squeeze out these little blobs of pigment, which do look gorgeous, but are kind of hard to control. You have to be super careful while mixing, because if your brush accidentally picks up too much paint (or wanders too close to the blob), your entire colour mix can shift way more dramatically than you wanted. I've ruined a few delicate washes that way, by just touching the wrong spot or grabbing more colour than I intended to.

Pans, on the other hand, feel so much more... intentional! You activate just the amount of paint you need, and it's easier to build up the pigment slowly, adjusting as you go. The mix stays predictable, and somehow, it feels a little more peaceful. Like you're gently coaxing the colour into place, instead of wrestling it :)

If you're new to watercolor and feeling like you are fighting your paint, this small switch might be worth trying!

I document my entire process of creating this beautiful series on my Instagram, so do make sure you follow me on there! And I'll be back here with more things I learn during the process!

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