Art Tip #102

The Beauty of a Limited Palette

How many paint colors are on your palette?   I have 6 plus white.  A warm & cool of each primary.  I mix my own dark/black which is also the base of my greens.  I can usually obtain any color within 3 mixes and thereby avoid muddy or dead colors.  Having so many tubes of paint doesn't make it easier to get the right color, it fact makes it more difficult.  You can get overwhelmed with too many choices.  My limited palette is like having a good basic cake recipe.  You can mix it without thinking and then have the ability to make different cakes from that basic recipe.

I don't think of my palette as limited but as unlimited because I know how my paints react & compliment each other.  I've yet to come up with a color I can't mix.  I'm a much more confident painter with my limited palette.  What about you?