I can't believe it's been over 2 months since my last post but I'm excited to share my new palette with you. Since moving to California, I've wanted to scale down my palette from 6 colors to 3 (plus white). Well, I almost succeeded. I'm down to 4 but really liking the results. Finding that I like mixing the secondary colors myself. It's more personalized. I can quickly mix a warmer or cooler version of any color. Initially, I started with Cad. Yellow Light, Cad. Red Light & Ultramarine (from my previous palette) but quickly found that the Cad. Red Light just didn't give me the range for bluer reds that I needed. I needed a more true red. Pyrol Red (Blue Ridge Oil Paint) resolved the issue but I still felt a lack of punch to my palette. In the past, I've added Phthalo Blue on occasion but when I went to place an order, no one had it in stock. So I tried Pthalo Turquoise Blue. Thank goodness that everyone was out of Phthalo Blue. Below is a color chart I did with Phthalo Turquoise. I always do quick color charts when I add to my palette. It gives me a good sense of how a new color will fit in with my existing palette. I was surprised by some beautiful blues that I got from the study. So far I'm really liking the results and having fun.
I've taught many classes on color and students always complain about doing color charts but in the end they walk away with so much knowledge about color. Buying a book of color charts or color "recipes" doesn't teach you about color. It's when you experience with your palette of colors that you truly see how the magic occurs. So go grab a palette knife and mixing.
