My Palette

I have learned so much over the past few years as I've taken workshops and classes from so many different artists.  Each of them has his/her own preferred palette of colors.  Kevin Menck has 4 colors - titanium white, cad scarlet, cad lemon, and ultramarine blue.  Kathie Odom has 20 different colors - about 6-8 different reds, blues, and yellows. As I have painted more and more, I've settled on colors that I seem to use more.  I've developed the palette layout that works best for me. It's what I use when I'm at home or doing plein air painting on my own. When I take a class from another artist, though, I tend to use that artist's palette so that I can follow his/her guidance more easily.

I remember hearing an artist that I admire very much comment last year that he can always tell when an artist uses a limited palette because there isn't much vibrancy to the painting. I don't agree with that, but I DO enjoy more colorful paintings. I have proven that I can use a limited palette - and using one has helped me understand color much better.  However, for my own use, I prefer to have more color choices. I like having a couple of each primary color - plus a brown (burnt umber or Van Dyke Brown) and a black (Payne's Gray or Ivory Black), a yellow ochre, and light gray/blue.

On my palette, I place titanium white along the far upper right. Then across the top, I usually keep a cool and a warm red, and a cool and a warm yellow, and, on the top left side, I put a cool and warm blue. Although I can mix purple, I like to have at least one purple simply to save time and  make it easier. And last on the left side are a couple shades of green. The four colors along the bottom are what I call my "modifiers." I use them to modify (darken, lighten, cool down, warm up) other colors.

I keep those basic colors at these locations on my palette.  Then occasionally I switch out colors or add other colors, depending on what I'm painting.  This palette works very well for me.

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