Very limited palette

[Michele Rushworth]

Hey, VanGogh used to eat his paints. Wonder if that was before or after he went off the deep end....

[Marvin Mattelson]

No wonder he was so Flake(y). You are what you eat.

[Margaret Port]

Raspberry jam, indeed. Marvin!!

In my part of the world, if the ants didn't get it, the cockies would, and failing that, the mouse loves peanut butter! Imagine the mold! A hole new perspective on art!

Has anyone had the pleasure of sampling the chocolate portraits on display on a sidewalk somewhere in New York? Now there is a palette I am very partial to.

[Margaret Port]

The yellow is called Spectrum Yellow.

To Linda,
yes it seems you can get a good range of greens with these limited colours. I have more experimenting to do at this stage but my mauves, pinks, ochres etc are beautiful.

[Timothy C. Tyler]

The benefit to a limited palette is uniformity. I think it's very good for all artists to be able to use one. To know enough about color mixing to make a few colors work.

The down side is range of hue etc. Too much color-too much over-use of colors can make a work "hard to look at" - busy & garish. I like to have as many options as there are and then use judgement in their employment. My palette is different for every subject. I own 60 or 70 hues and admixture (hues) but use only 12-16 for most pictures-less even for some.

[Denise Hall]

I am and have been since studying with Marvin Mattelson - still using his simplified palette of terra rosa, indian red, yellow ochre pale, yellow ochre, ivory black and raw umber. I use flake white #2 also. I am continuously amazed that I stick with this palette and find every skin value I could possibly need as well as intensity and color while using this palette for skintones. I may add colors for fabrics, furniture, etc. but rarely have to add many.


I have said it many times - but one more time is never enough - thanks to Marvin - I have confidence in what I am painting and am selling my work as a result.

After all - Marvin did all the homework for me - so the least I can do is thank him many times over - and this is very sincere!

Denise

[Wilma Hill]

I hope I am not intruding on the original post here. I am presently learning many things at once in oils. Layers technique etc. I am about to reach the stage of my color layers in a portrait and have chosen this palette, looking for something very simple for one who does not have that much confidence in mixing oils. I would like to give a description of my palette for your critique and all critiques will be most welcome. Better to find out the weaknesses before I start.

My palette will center around nine values of neutral gray plus black and white. Those grays will be mixed with White, Raw Umber and Black, using some red if needed in the lower values.

I have chosen Yellow Ochre for the first color to be laid out in a horizontal row and mixing values to correspond with the neutral grays above it. The same procedure will be used for my second color, Cadmium Red.

I will mix my flesh tones in vertical rows, there by leaving me free to concentrate on intensity, temperature etc. of my mixes without having to worry about losing the value I have chosen for a specific area.

For the clothing and background I will proceed with the same palette making extra horizontal rows beneath the flesh colors with colors that are needed.

It

[Timothy C. Tyler]

Wilma, I welcome your post and it's an interesting idea. Let me say some general things first. What you must learn to do is understand what all the colors can do for you. I am not a habit guy. I am not a rule guy. There are many basics you can learn, but as you learn them deeply you'll begin to dismiss them. It is like using recipes or really knowing how to cook. The chefs know, so they don't use recipes. I have a basic palette on my site and a secondary list of extras you may find helpful.

For example, you can make many neutrals but it's nice to have some of them from the tube. Thalo blue you may very rarely need.

There are as many palettes as there are painters. You will find one that fits your own style.

[Marvin Mattelson]

Denise, I'm so happy that the palette is giving you the control that you were seeking. I know that keeping your color in check was an issue of great concern and I'm thrilled that you have overcome this problem and are selling your work. The satisfaction I receive from hearing stories like yours always warms my heart. I understand how important getting more proficient is for my students and I take the responsibility of giving them my all quite seriously. I'll gladly accept your praise any day.

Wilma, the palette you propose is very similar to the palette I use and have shared with my students, so I applaud you on what I perceive to be your great instincts. The results, like those stated by Denise, are pretty much universally shared. If people follow my lead and give it a sincere effort they can achieve great things in a short amount of time. You can check out the works of bothTim Mensching and Joe Daily who both use my palette.

The difference between what you propose and what I use is in the reds. I eschew cadmiums in the flesh as did the vast majority of painters before the twentieth century since cadmiums weren't available. Masters such as Lawrence, Raeburn, Bouguereau and Velasquez didn't use cadmiums in their complexions. Neither did Paxton, who although he had access to cadmiums, employed earth reds instead and produced the most luminous and lifelike complexions I've ever seen.

I use two strings of reds, one mixed with Terra Rosa and the other with Indian Red. These combined with the ochers (darkened with raw umber) and neutrals can provide me with all the nuances of flesh in natural light. Other colors can sometimes be required to depict reflected lights in the shadows. As Denise said I do add other colors but I find that the addition of Ultramarine Blue, Viridian and Alizarin Crimson Permanent I can achieve a myriad of color possibilities. I am constantly amazed at how much more I am able to squeeze out of this simple arrangement with each ensuing painting.

It is my opinion, based on my experience as an artist and teacher, when it comes to color, more is indeed not better. I pursued a non cadmium palette because I found that my students struggled with trying to contain the overpowering strength of cadmiums and I looked to those painters I admired the most to see what they used. It worked for me and the rest, as they say, is history.

Good luck to you.

[Timothy C. Tyler]

What would you say was the difference between those two reds; Indian Red and Terra Rosa? Marvin

Of the "brick" reds which one do you use most? Many painters find the earth reds lead to flat , dull colors due to their opaque nature. Sargent used only one for example then sparingly. Sargent used Mars Orange and cadmium red. Earth reds also tend to cost the painter transparency in the halftones and darks. Many artists have dropped the color completely from their palettes because of these traits.

This Godward for example has little earth red color in it.