Bite the Bullet.

If I see one more dried up, twisted tube of watercolor paint in a student's tackle box, it will be too many. The supply list for my class is simple: just 8 colors, a couple of brushes, a palette, paper and water containers. Beginners often bring in materials that someone gave them or they inherited. More experienced artists may not have painted for years, so they haul in everything they used eons ago. Most watercolors have a pretty decent shelf life. But often the old tubes are hard as rocks. Some are made of lead. I set these aside and tell them they should dispose of them, but invariably I see the tubes going back into their kits. Why? I can't imagine.

Some artists slit the tube, spread it open and dab color from the hard chunk of paint inside. They risk ruining good brushes. If you can get chunky paint out of the tube, put it in a palette well with a couple of drops of gum arabic. It may become useable again. But if it's gritty, there isn't much you can do to restore it to its original consistency. There are artists who regrind the paint, mixing it with binder to a creamy consistency. Wouldn't you rather paint?

Another problem with using old paint is that there are a some colors that undergo chemical changes in the tube and become discolored. Also, you won't find discontinued colors on the market, so why use colors you can't replace?

Paints that dry up and become crumbly are usually student colors. Buying student paint is a false economy. The tube may be larger or cost less, but you'll need more paint to achieve anything near the intensity of good quality artist pigments. So, ante up and get the good stuff. You'll see the difference in your watercolor paintings.

Please, throw away those wretched, rock-hard, twisted tubes and use fresh, good-quality paint.

I'll have a rant on paper soon.