Why Every Watercolor Artist Should Make Color Swatches

If you’re learning watercolor, one of the simplest but most powerful ways to set yourself up well is by making color swatches of your palette. Artists of all levels, from beginners to experienced painters, use swatches to understand color behavior, improve mixing, and speed up their workflow.

Here are the benefits of creating color swatches...

Understand Your Colors Better

Every watercolor brand and pigment behaves differently. Making swatches lets you see:

• True color on paper

• Transparency and opacity

• Granulation and texture

• How the color looks when wet versus dry

This is especially helpful for beginners learning how to predict paint behavior.

Improve Color Mixing

When you create swatches, you can test two or more colors side by side. This helps you:

• See which colors mix cleanly

• Avoid muddy color combinations

• Plan harmonious palettes for paintings

Over time, you’ll develop intuition about mixing, reducing trial-and-error during actual painting sessions.

Save Time While Painting

Swatches are a visual reference. Instead of guessing which mix to use mid-painting, you can glance at your swatch chart and grab the right tone immediately. This saves time, keeps colors consistent, and prevents frustration.

Experiment Safely

Swatching encourages experimentation without the pressure of a finished painting. You can try:

• Layering techniques

• Gradients

• Light vs. heavy water application

• New brands or pigments

This makes swatching a low-stakes way to expand your skills.

Document Your Palette Over Time

Swatches serve as a record of your favorite colors and combinations. They help you track:

• Pigment fading or changes over time

• Personal palette evolution

• Seasonal or project-specific palettes

Artists often keep swatches handy during plein air painting to maintain consistency across multiple sessions.

Beginner-Friendly Exercise: Make Your First Swatches

1. Choose 10-12 colors from your palette.

2. Apply each color in a small square on watercolor paper.

3. Label each square with the pigment name and brand.

4. Add a second row with color mixes you like.

5. Note observations about transparency, granulation, or flow.

   
   

Over time, expand your swatch sheet with more pigments and mixes.

Want to really get to know your colors? Swatch all of them and then mix all of them! Use my free watercolor mixing templates below to create a handy chart mapping how your palette colors interact.

Here are two free templates for creating your own watercolor paint colors mixing chart.

Want to know my favorite brands of watercolor paint? See this post.

Final Thoughts

Color swatches are more than a reference, they’re a skill-building tool. They improve mixing, speed up workflow, and deepen your understanding of watercolor behavior.

For beginner and intermediate artists in Maryland (where I live!) and beyond, swatches are a must-do practice for skill development and consistent painting results. Take a few minutes to swatch your palette, and you’ll learn so much and benefit over and over from having this reference.