Day 30 : Building a November Palette
I decided to refresh the colors in my paint palette for my tiny daily expression paintings. Toward the end of October, I began feeling limited by the colors I’d been using. I was craving deeper blues, softer grays, and a few richer, warmer tones in contrast. So I pulled out all my tiny pans of paint (I’ve gathered quite a collection over the years) and put together a set that felt just right for this moment in time.
Almost all of my paints and supplies come from the one and only Case for Making. It was through their online painting classes during the early days of the pandemic in 2020 that I first returned to watercolor, something I hadn’t touched since my Waldorf school days, where I watched indigo and vermillion swirl together across large sheets of wet paper.
Case for Making has a really wonderful Palette Builder tool that lets you digitally arrange colors and order your own custom set delivered right to your door. I didn’t use it this time, but I’m tempted to play with it next time I build a new palette.
My final paint selections for November.
My messy pallet.
While it’s nice to have many paints to choose from, I often find that too many options can feel overwhelming. Limiting myself to this curated set of fourteen gives me a sense of focus. With fewer choices, I can get to know each color more intimately, and I get to discover the unexpected ways they mix and play together to create new tones and opportunities for expression.
A fresh grid to hold a month’s worth of tiny daily expressions.
One of the reasons I love this creative practice so much, and why I continue to return to it, is because of how simple and low-stakes it is. It offers this gentle way to connect with myself and to acknowledge the continual passing of time. There’s no need to reach a conclusion or find meaning beyond the act of showing up, being with, and expressing the layers of the day.
