If you’ve ever wondered how to spark creativity before starting a watercolor painting, DANIEL SMITH Monday Mixes Take Over Posts by Alison Pinto offer one of the most inspiring ways to explore color. More than just simple color swatches, these weekly mixing sessions celebrate experimentation, discovery, and the joy of watercolor.
What Are Monday Mixes?
Monday Mixes is a creative watercolor take over posts by DANIEL SMITH Brand Ambassador Alison Pinto. Each week, she selects two or three watercolor pigments and demonstrates how they interact, revealing beautiful blends, unexpected granulation, and harmonious color combinations. The concept is wonderfully simple: wet the paper, add fresh paint, and watch the pigments create magic.
Rather than focusing on perfect paintings, Monday Mixes encourages artists to enjoy the process of exploration. It’s a reminder that every great artwork begins with curiosity.
Discover eight of the very best Monday Mixes, handpicked to spark your creativity.
Lunar Violet, Naples Yellow, and Quinacridone Rose
Inspired by the vibrant Summer Set 5ml Triad, Alison swapped Ultramarine Turquoise with the dramatic Lunar Violet. Together, these pigments create a glowing sunset palette filled with warm peachy hues and soft, hazy violets.
Coral Reef, Opera Pink, and Carbazole Violet
Kingman Green Turquoise Genuine and Nickel Azo Yellow
Kingman Turquoise is a beautifully mineral-based hue that feels open and almost weightless. Nickel Azo Yellow brings a warm, sunlit glow, while the Turquoise keeps the mix soft and balanced rather than overpowering. The result is a luminous, almost translucent palette that evokes light dancing across shallow water.
Cobalt Blue Violet and Anthraquinoid Scarlet
These two make a vibrant mix. Instead of turning muddy, because the pigments “fight” a little, they tend to keep some separation! You will see flashes of pink-red veining through cooler violet specks. Heavy cobalt settling, scarlet floating which makes this mix feel alive… you get edges, blooms, and textural play that look intentional and artistic. Great for florals, drapery, atmospheric effects.
Transparent Pyrrol Orange and Sodalite Genuine
This is a gorgeous mix. Dropped together onto damp paper, Transparent Pyrrol Orange moves fast and clean, laying down a glowing warm wash. While with Sodalite Genuine the granules sink and separate, breaking the orange into smoky neutrals with flashes of warm light still coming through.
Mayan Blue Genuine and Buff Titanium
At first glance, what do these colors say to you? Mayan Blue Genuine + Buff Titanium is one of those pairs where the granulation and opacity of Buff Titanium play beautifully against the delicate, mineral blue, making it perfect for atmospheric work. Some parts the combination morphs into soft, textures that look straight out of an old wall or pottery shard. The mix is also reminiscent of the sea.
Quinacridone Burnt Scarlet and Mayan Blue Genuine
Quinacridone Burnt Scarlet has that transparent rusty terracotta/old brick, oxidized warmth rather than heavy earth, which I love! Mayan Blue Genuine is a wonderful almost-weathered blue. It has that slightly mineral, historical quality – near chalky in feel, but luminous.
Nickel Azo Yellow, Pyrrol Orange, and Ultramarine Turquoise
When mixed with transparent, non-granulating pigments like Nickel Azo Yellow or Pyrrol Orange, the Ultramarine Turquoise can create slightly textured edges, so you’ll see speckled textures where it resists blending, especially with Pyrrol Orange. Nickel Azo bridges the gap nicely, as it leans into the orange to make rusty tones and leans into the turquoise to make slightly olive-y, moody greens.
Alison Pinto’s Monday Mixes remind us that watercolor is as much about exploration as it is about finished paintings. Through simple combinations of carefully chosen colors, she inspires artists around the world to experiment, learn, and enjoy the creative process.
Whether you’re new to watercolor or an experienced painter, these weekly color studies offer endless inspiration. They demonstrate that sometimes the most beautiful discoveries happen when you let the pigments flow naturally.
If you’re looking for a creative boost, try your own Monday Mix using just two or three DANIEL SMITH colors. You may discover your next favorite palette—and perhaps your next masterpiece.
We’d love to see your own Monday Mixes! Share your creations on social media and tag @DanielSmithArtistsMaterials so we can celebrate your color explorations and inspire fellow artists around the world.
About Alison Pinto
Alison Pinto is an avid watercolorist and photography buff from India, known for her watercolors drawn from nature. She is the State Head, Maharashtra and Operations Manager for International Watercolor Society, India division. Alison has exhibited in 13 countries around the world and has won prizes in local shows.
With a background in design, she often focuses on textures and details from the most exquisite, as well as the most ordinary, things in nature. However her work is not about what you see at first glance -it’s more about the emotional connection she has to her subject. Alison believes that art is a very personal experience and that her work should speak for her.
Her watercolor florals and scenic settings have garnered appreciation and respect from art lovers and peers in the field.
