# Identifying loose paints



## Lexyqu (Mar 21, 2018)

Hi,

I've recently gotten back into watercolors. I have a Talens Art Creation set of 12 plus some loose pan paints that I got as a present years ago. I want to try and identify the loose pan paints since they're quite nice but I'm not having any luck. There are simply too many, highly similar colors. Does anyone have any tips or is this a lost cause?


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## KHasson (Apr 9, 2018)

Is it possible to post a picture?


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## Scott R Nelson (Jun 26, 2013)

Lexyqu said:


> I've recently gotten back into watercolors. I have a Talens Art Creation set of 12 plus some loose pan paints that I got as a present years ago. I want to try and identify the loose pan paints since they're quite nice but I'm not having any luck. There are simply too many, highly similar colors. Does anyone have any tips or is this a lost cause?


I have an art notebook (actually a notepad) where I write down things I've learned and do simple test drawings. One thing I do in there is note every new color when I get it and paint a sample in the book so that I can look it up later. I'll then add notes about how well it mixes with other colors and stuff like that.

You should do something similar with all of your paint. Then try making a color wheel where you can compare similar colors. That should help you a bit.

I've also mixed complementary colors in a bar going from, say, red to green, to see if I can get a decent grey from them. I'll then use the good ones when I need grey instead of getting some sort of grey out of a tube.

All you can really do is fool around with the colors until you understand what you can do with each of them.


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