I thought it would be a smart idea to pick out the paints I use the most - separate them from all the others and put them in a tray at hand. In addition to this I then painted all the tops of my paint white and then again with each of their individual respective colours. I then gave all the tops a quick coat of clear varnish to stop me rubbing the paint off over time as I keep popping the lids to use them. My reasoning behind this was that I would now be able to easily see at a glance what the actual colour will look like used raw when it is dry (on a White ground), making (I hope) selecting the right colour a modicum easier.
I tend to mostly use Liquitex soft body or W&N Acrylic Paints in combination with Daler FW Acrylic Inks these days. I find using the ink to enhance and support the thicker acrylics makes for more versatility as it is possible to increase the fluidity of a thicker colour without desaturating it (which can be handy at times), and I also find very tight detailing easier to manage with slightly thicker acrylic when there is a little ink mixed with the paint too (it makes the paint cover and flow REALLY well when applying tiny strokes!).
In addition to organising my Liquitex paint set in the manner described above, I also made myself a full 'At a glance' Colour Sheet of all my FW Inks too.
Hopefully making these small changes in this area will help me to choose, and use, the paint I have at hand a little more effectively.
"Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young."
- Henry Ford (American Industrialist, 1863 – 1947)
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