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Palette

25/01/10 - Lot of opinions here. I used to have a nice off the hip understanding and feel for the palette via professors, instructors, others, study & practice. It's been twenty five years and I just found myself googling the difference between ivory and lamp black so I'm just going to note reference palettes and preferences here.

My favorite painting instructor from college had me on the only palette I ever really knew. I don't remember exactly what it was but I still have the old tubes of paint.

Palettes

min:

  • yellow ochre
  • alizarin crimson
  • ultramarine
  • titanium

min deeper:

  • yello ochre
  • cad red
  • prussian blue
  • van dyke brown
  • titanium

primary:

  • yellow ochre/cad light
  • cadmium red/crimson
  • blue ultramarine/cobalt/cerulean
  • green - viridian/cad
  • burnt umber/sienna/ivory
  • titanium

large:

  • titanium white
  • titanium buff
  • naples yellow
  • cadmium yellow
  • yellow orchre
  • raw sienna
  • vermillion
  • venetian rouge
  • cadmium red
  • burnt umber
  • alizarin crimson
  • ultramarine
  • cerulean
  • cobalt blue
  • veridian
  • phthalo
  • cobalt green
  • chomium oxide
  • raw umber
  • ivory black ⚫️

classic:

  • yellows - Orchre/Naples
  • blues - Ultramarine/Prussian
  • reds - Vermilion/Rose Madder
  • greens - Terra Verte
  • dark - van dyke/ivory

split primary ( warm/cool)

  • yellow - cad / lemon or naples
  • red - cad or vermilion / crimson or quinacridone
  • blue - ultramarine / cerulean
  • ivory/titanium

portraiture:

  • yellow - orchre / cad
  • red - cad/crimson
  • blue - ultramarine / cerulean
  • burnt/raw umber & sienna

Colors

White:

  • ✅ titanium - more powerful - covers better
  • zinc - stiffer brittle - tints and mixes better

Black:

  • ✅ ivory - warm strong
  • lamp - close to ivory but cooler bluer
  • mars - opaque deep - fast dry
  • chromatic - darkest mean to emulate mixed blacks
  • mixed
    • burnt sienna/ultramarine
    • sap green/alizarin crimson
    • phthalo emerald/ quinacridone

Grey:

  • payne's - coolest blue - shadows
  • van dyke brown -