Setting Up Your Palette: A Painter's Guide
When starting a painting, it's important to have all your colors on your palette, not just the ones you anticipate needing. Arrange them around the edges of the palette in a logical sequence, making it easy to locate each color. Consistently organizing your colors in the same order that suits you will help you quickly find them when you need them.
The Role of White on the Palette
Place a small amount of white next to each color pile. If you rely on a single pile of white, it may become contaminated with other colors, negatively affecting your color mixing. Try to delay adding white to your mixtures as long as possible, as white paint can make mixtures look chalky and muted. If you do need to add white, do so sparingly and counterbalance its effect by incorporating colors like yellow or red that can enliven the mix.
The Essentials of Color Mixing
Colors are made for mixing—color mixing is at the heart of painting. It’s rare to use colors straight from the tube. Make sure to mix enough paint (ideally, a generous amount!). While high-quality oil paints can be costly, you can’t paint effectively with just turpentine fumes or overly diluted colors. If you have leftover paint from a particular mix, it can be stored for future use.
Selecting the Right Paint Grade
Always opt for artist-grade paints. This will be noted on the tubes. Student-grade paints or any paint labeled "HUE" contain various additives that result in dull, muddy colors. Only artist-grade paints will provide the rich, vibrant colors you need. Take the time to learn about the properties of different paints.
Mixing with a Palette Knife
Use a palette knife to mix your colors, not your brushes. The knife blade should be at least 10 cm long. Over time, you may develop the skill to mix with a brush, but initially, stick to the knife (eventually, you might prefer the knife because it produces cleaner, more precise mixes). The advantage of using a knife is that it can be easily cleaned between mixes, preventing unwanted color contamination and leading to better results.
Steering Clear of Black and Brown
Avoid darkening colors with black or brown. It’s best not to have black on your palette at all. If black is necessary, mix it yourself. For example, combine Alizarin Crimson (red) with Viridian (green) or Ultramarine Blue. You can adjust the temperature of the black by varying the proportions of the mixed colors. Experiment with adding different colors to black to see the results.
Simplifying Your Subject by Squinting
When observing your painting subject, try squinting. Squinting reduces the complexity of what you see, breaking it down into simple shapes and varying color values. This technique helps train your observational skills and your ability to translate this basic information into a painting. If the shapes and values are correct, the illusion on your canvas will be convincing. If they are off, adding more details won’t fix it; the painting will lack vitality. Focus on finding the right relationships between color values and correctly positioning and angling the main shapes.
Creating Grays and Browns
Don’t apply brown straight from the tube or mix black and white to make gray. Instead, mix your grays and browns using complementary colors that neutralize each other. (Remember, gray and brown are tertiary colors, meaning they include all three primary colors—red, blue, and yellow. The difference between them is in the proportions of these colors.) Master the art of color mixing. Try complementary mixes like Cadmium Red with any green, Ultramarine Blue with light Cadmium Red or Cadmium Orange, and any yellow with any purple. Adjust the proportions to achieve warm, cool, or neutral tones. Since we live in a world where browns and grays are prevalent, mastering these mixes will make your paintings richer and more compelling.
Avoiding Earth Tones Initially
At the beginning of your painting journey, it’s advisable to steer clear of earth tones (like ochres, siennas, and umbers). These colors can dull your mixes, leading to lifeless tones. It’s often recommended to avoid Raw Umber entirely, except in cases of necessity.
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