What Type of Palette Do You Use?
I use a traditional wooden palette.
The Paint Colors/Brands I Use
I first choice is Lukas paints. I have a rather expanded palette, and am trying to cut back, with no luck! Yellows: Lemon, Cadmium Yellow Med, Indian Yellow. Reds: Alizarin Crimson, Cadmium Orange (I know, a secondary, but that's where I put it!), and Vermillion. Blues: Cerulean, Ultramarine, Prussian. Miscellaneous: Sap Green, Thalo Green, Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber, Purple, and Mixing White.
I am considering dumping the Burnt Umber.
Why I Use These Colors
I've been painting about two and a half years. I've bought more and more and more and more oil paints... overload! Now I am trying to standardize with a mixture of warm/cool primaries and a few secondaries, and two earth colors. Put them in the same place on my palette all the time, learn how to use them, see what they can do. At times, I do dip into my paint drawer and use one of the bazillion colors I have if I can't mix it just right. I think I've picked the right colors, but I'm still mighty concerned about the greens.
Tips and Tricks
- I lay them out from Lemon Yellow to Prussian Blue, along the long side of my palette. The greens and earths and purple are lined against the bottom, mixing white in the other corner. The yellows and reds are from cool to warm. Blue is the exception because although cooler than Ultramarine, Prussian is so dark it just yells to be at the end of the line!
