Some painters were invited to describe their palettes and the way they organize them, as well as their preferences regarding brushes, paint brands and medium formulas. Their replies follow.
Paul Cezanne
The colors on Cezanne's palette, according to Emile Bernard:
Yellows:
brilliant yellow
naples yellow
chrome yellow
yellow ochre
raw sienna
Reds:
Vermilion
red ochre
burnt sienna
rose madder
carmine lake
burnt lake
Greens:
emerald green
viridian
green earth
Blues:
cobalt blue
ultramarine
prussian blue
peach black
lead white
Christopher Chippendale
When working with a full range of colors, I lay out my paints along the top edge of my palette from left to right in the order listed below. I generally rely on Winsor Newton colors:
Foundation White
Cadmium Lemon
Yellow Ochre
Cadmium Yellow
Burnt Sienna
Cadmium Red
Alizarin Crimson (Permanent)
Cobalt Violet, or Dioxazine (‘Winsor’) Purple
French Ultramarine
Cobalt Turquoise Light
Cadmium Green Pale, or Permanent Green Light
Sap Green (Permanent)
Raw Umber
Ivory Black
Addenda:
Sometimes I paint with two whites. I lay out some Titanium white just below the Foundation White in the upper left hand corner of my palette.
Other colors I work with on occasion:
Naples Yellow
some kind of iron red
Phthalo Blue
as well as any other color I’m interested in
Paint Medium
My paint medium is a blend of Odorless Mineral Spirits and Stand Oil mixed in ratios of 3:1 to 5:1—depending on the weather and my mood. My palette cup is clipped to the upper right edge of my palette at the end of my line of colors.
Brushes
I use bristle brushes and prefer filberts. I rely principally on Robert Simmons’ ‘Signet’ series. I do most of my painting using two #8 filberts, but I will range down in size sometimes to as small as a #2, and up to a 40mm flat.
Susanna Coffey
Simple palette:
cad red light
cad red med
cad red dark
alizarin
ultramarine blue deep
pthalo blue
cobalt blue
permanent green light
cad orange
cad yellow
cad yellow light
cad lemon
titanium white
I used to use Gamblin and W&N, but recently switched over to Robert Doak paint in Brooklyn. Bristle brushes of all sizes, large palette knives. I buy stretchers and stretch preprimed linen on them. I cannot use medium because of chemical sensitivity, which is why I switched to Doak paint — a little looser and so I can get by without any medium. (I used to use half refined linseed, and half odorless)
I use many colors and many brands, a lot of Vasari paints. I do not use a restricted palette and if I see a new color I buy it. Take cobalt violet — it is a very different color for each brand.
I use what works in a particular context.
Medium: 4 parts turpentine to 2 parts oil, unless ground demands more.
Cremnitz White - Old Holland (only)
Lemon Yellow
Cadmium Yellow Medium
Indian Yellow - Michael Harding
My palette is as follows:
I use a mix of paint brands -- mostly Winsor & Newton, Blockx, Holbein and Maimeri (Puro).
titanium white (Holbein is my preferred brand of titanium)
blue Black
ultramarine Blue
cobalt Blue
cerulean Blue (I love Blockx but I usually use the cheaper WN)
oxide of Chromium (WN)
yellow ochre
naples yellow (W or Holbein)
cadmium yellow pale
cadmium yellow med
cadmium orange
cadmium red scarlet or cad red orange Blockx
cadmium red deep or cad red purple Blockx
cobalt violet
ultramarine violet (Blockx)
burnt umber or burnt sienna
occasional colors: alizarin crimson or Quinacrodone red
permanent green
Brushes: I use a mix of brushes, including: long filbert bristles (Silver Grand Prix 6, 8, 10)
sables flats and filberts (Italian Art Store brand)
synthetic flats, rounds (W&N, Monarch)
I get 90% of my supplies at Italian Art Store (New Jersey) on-line or catalog.
They have excellent pre-stretched canvases
Alex Kanevsky
Harold Reddicliffe
My palette is as simple as I can make it.
Most of my painting is done with white (Permalba) and a primary triad (cad. yellow med., cad. red light, and ultramarine blue).
I augment that when necessary with cool varients of each of the three (cad. yellow light, cad red med., and phthalo blue (actually Winsor blue, cool shade). When specific local colors in the set-up I'm working from require them, I also might also add viridian, phthalo green, Winsor blue (warm shade), and quinacridone red.
The brushes I paint with are Utrecht Rhenish Kolinsky red sable rounds in a range of sizes.
John Singer Sargent
Flake white
Naples yellow
Yellow Ochre
English red
Vermilion
Ivory black
Prussian blue
Stuart Shils
Here is my palette, all Old Holland oils:
titanium white
naples yellow
cad yellow lemon
cad yellow deep
cad red scarlet
cad red deep
yellow ochre deep
light red
caput mortem
terre verte
viridian
ultramarine blue deep
manganese blue
ivory black
I usually start with a very limited palette (titantium white, yellow ochre, light red, caput mortem, terre verte, ultramarine) and bring in the other colors only as needed. I use a Swedish cold-pressed linseed oil from Kremer Pigments mixed with turps or Gamsol for a medium. My preference is to use as little as medium possible. I use a variety of brushes--I tend to start the painting with large bristle flats and filberts and end with kolinsky sable rounds (# 4 and 6) and sable flats. I do find these preferences are always a bit in flux.
Christopher Chippendale
When working with a full range of colors, I lay out my paints along the top edge of my palette from left to right in the order listed below. I generally rely on Winsor Newton colors:
Foundation White
Cadmium Lemon
Yellow Ochre
Cadmium Yellow
Burnt Sienna
Cadmium Red
Alizarin Crimson (Permanent)
Cobalt Violet, or Dioxazine (‘Winsor’) Purple
French Ultramarine
Cobalt Turquoise Light
Cadmium Green Pale, or Permanent Green Light
Sap Green (Permanent)
Raw Umber
Ivory Black
Addenda:
Sometimes I paint with two whites. I lay out some Titanium white just below the Foundation White in the upper left hand corner of my palette.
Other colors I work with on occasion:
Naples Yellow
some kind of iron red
Phthalo Blue
as well as any other color I’m interested in
Paint Medium
My paint medium is a blend of Odorless Mineral Spirits and Stand Oil mixed in ratios of 3:1 to 5:1—depending on the weather and my mood. My palette cup is clipped to the upper right edge of my palette at the end of my line of colors.
Brushes
I use bristle brushes and prefer filberts. I rely principally on Robert Simmons’ ‘Signet’ series. I do most of my painting using two #8 filberts, but I will range down in size sometimes to as small as a #2, and up to a 40mm flat.
Susanna Coffey
Usually I use a 10"x 24" glass palette
lower right counterclockwise
white
zinc yellow
cad yellow lemon
perm yellow greenish
cad yellow light
cad yellow medium
cad yellow deep
cad yellow extra deep
chinese yellow
acd orange
alizarin yellow or indian yellow
cad red med cad red deep
cad red purple
quinacridone red
alizarine crimson
quinacridone magenta
egyptian purple
kings blue
ultramarine blue
cobalt blue
verditer
indathrone blue
cerulean blue
indigo blue
viridian
courbet green
cinnabar green deep
turkey umber
bohemian earth
davys grey
paynes grey
black
I may add or subtract to these a bit but I do use a lot of colors —
lower right counterclockwise
white
zinc yellow
cad yellow lemon
perm yellow greenish
cad yellow light
cad yellow medium
cad yellow deep
cad yellow extra deep
chinese yellow
acd orange
alizarin yellow or indian yellow
cad red med cad red deep
cad red purple
quinacridone red
alizarine crimson
quinacridone magenta
egyptian purple
kings blue
ultramarine blue
cobalt blue
verditer
indathrone blue
cerulean blue
indigo blue
viridian
courbet green
cinnabar green deep
turkey umber
bohemian earth
davys grey
paynes grey
black
I may add or subtract to these a bit but I do use a lot of colors —
want especially to get temp. in darks and neutrals.
Lois Dodd
The colors in my folding easel at the moment include:
titanium white
unbleached titanium
ivory black
mars black
cadmium yellows (light, medium and deep)
cadmium reds (light, medium and deep)
cadmium orange
lemon yellow
ultramarine blue
cobalt blue
cerulean blue
pthalo blue
mars yellow
mars orange
mars teal
mars violet
alizarin crimson
yellow ochre
raw sienna
burnt sienna
raw umber
egyptian violet
cadmium green
veronese green
pthalo green
chrome green
olive green
viridian green
(and other greens as I find them)
I have no order as to placement on the palette and tend to squeeze them out as needed.
I have mostly Winsor Newton and Williamsburg, but others as well.
I use stand oil and turps 50%-50% — when the turps evaporate too much, I add a little. I know what I like the feel of in a medium — it’s a little like cooking without a recipe.
My brushes are mostly brights of many sizes, an occasional round and some sable brights as well.
titanium white
unbleached titanium
ivory black
mars black
cadmium yellows (light, medium and deep)
cadmium reds (light, medium and deep)
cadmium orange
lemon yellow
ultramarine blue
cobalt blue
cerulean blue
pthalo blue
mars yellow
mars orange
mars teal
mars violet
alizarin crimson
yellow ochre
raw sienna
burnt sienna
raw umber
egyptian violet
cadmium green
veronese green
pthalo green
chrome green
olive green
viridian green
(and other greens as I find them)
I have no order as to placement on the palette and tend to squeeze them out as needed.
I have mostly Winsor Newton and Williamsburg, but others as well.
I use stand oil and turps 50%-50% — when the turps evaporate too much, I add a little. I know what I like the feel of in a medium — it’s a little like cooking without a recipe.
My brushes are mostly brights of many sizes, an occasional round and some sable brights as well.
John Dubrow
cad red light
cad red med
cad red dark
alizarin
ultramarine blue deep
pthalo blue
cobalt blue
permanent green light
cad orange
cad yellow
cad yellow light
cad lemon
titanium white
I used to use Gamblin and W&N, but recently switched over to Robert Doak paint in Brooklyn. Bristle brushes of all sizes, large palette knives. I buy stretchers and stretch preprimed linen on them. I cannot use medium because of chemical sensitivity, which is why I switched to Doak paint — a little looser and so I can get by without any medium. (I used to use half refined linseed, and half odorless)
Emily Eveleth
Upper left, descending to bottom:
alizarin crimson
perylene red
quindacridones
dioxazine purple
ultramarine blue
phthalo blue
prussian blue
indanthrone blue
phthalo green
viridian
sap green
Top, horizontal, left to right:
quindacridones
dioxazine purple
ultramarine blue
phthalo blue
prussian blue
indanthrone blue
phthalo green
viridian
sap green
Top, horizontal, left to right:
fanchon red
cadmium red
napthal red
mono orange
cadmium red
napthal red
mono orange
cad orange
cadmium yellow (light and medium)
lemon yellow
Upper right:
titanium/zinc
Upper right:
titanium/zinc
My medium is one part stand oil to two parts odorless paint thinner.
I use all sorts of brushes, large (22 - 24 size) filberts, big flats that aren't too thick and house painters, 3 inch wide.
Janet Fish
I use many colors and many brands, a lot of Vasari paints. I do not use a restricted palette and if I see a new color I buy it. Take cobalt violet — it is a very different color for each brand.
I use what works in a particular context.
Medium: 4 parts turpentine to 2 parts oil, unless ground demands more.
Brushes: usually sable but also others and many worn out ones that can still be used for certain kinds of marks
Varnish: Soluvar, one coat.
Israel Hershberg
Varnish: Soluvar, one coat.
Israel Hershberg
Cremnitz White - Old Holland (only)
Lemon Yellow
Cadmium Yellow Medium
Indian Yellow - Michael Harding
Cadmium Orange Light
Cadmium Red Light
Alizarin Crimson
Burnt Siena
Raw Umber
Windsor Violet - Windsor & Newton
Provence Violet Bluish - Williamsburg
Cobalt Blue
Ultramarine Blue
Phthalocyanine Blue Lake - Michael Harding
Vert Aubusson - Lefranc & Bourgeois
Veronese Green - Lefranc & Bourgeois
Cadmium Green
Cadmium Green Light
Diana Horowitz
Cadmium Red Light
Alizarin Crimson
Burnt Siena
Raw Umber
Windsor Violet - Windsor & Newton
Provence Violet Bluish - Williamsburg
Cobalt Blue
Ultramarine Blue
Phthalocyanine Blue Lake - Michael Harding
Vert Aubusson - Lefranc & Bourgeois
Veronese Green - Lefranc & Bourgeois
Cadmium Green
Cadmium Green Light
Diana Horowitz
My palette is as follows:
I use a mix of paint brands -- mostly Winsor & Newton, Blockx, Holbein and Maimeri (Puro).
titanium white (Holbein is my preferred brand of titanium)
blue Black
ultramarine Blue
cobalt Blue
cerulean Blue (I love Blockx but I usually use the cheaper WN)
oxide of Chromium (WN)
yellow ochre
naples yellow (W or Holbein)
cadmium yellow pale
cadmium yellow med
cadmium orange
cadmium red scarlet or cad red orange Blockx
cadmium red deep or cad red purple Blockx
cobalt violet
ultramarine violet (Blockx)
burnt umber or burnt sienna
occasional colors: alizarin crimson or Quinacrodone red
permanent green
Brushes: I use a mix of brushes, including: long filbert bristles (Silver Grand Prix 6, 8, 10)
sables flats and filberts (Italian Art Store brand)
synthetic flats, rounds (W&N, Monarch)
I get 90% of my supplies at Italian Art Store (New Jersey) on-line or catalog.
They have excellent pre-stretched canvases
Alex Kanevsky
Here is the short list of what I actually use every day
in no particular order:
raw umber
raw sienna
vermilion red
cadmium yellow
cadmium orange
ultramarine blue
cerulean blue (french)
cobalt blue
titanium white
titanium buff
alizarin crimson
viridian green
sap green
cinnabar green
naples yellow
transparent oxide brown (several different ones)
permanent madder brown
royal blue light
naples yellow red
vandyke brown
I don't place them in any particular order on the palette.
raw umber
raw sienna
vermilion red
cadmium yellow
cadmium orange
ultramarine blue
cerulean blue (french)
cobalt blue
titanium white
titanium buff
alizarin crimson
viridian green
sap green
cinnabar green
naples yellow
transparent oxide brown (several different ones)
permanent madder brown
royal blue light
naples yellow red
vandyke brown
I don't place them in any particular order on the palette.
Whatever ends up in my hand goes on next.
The paints are made by Rembrandt, Mussini, Triangle Coatings,
The paints are made by Rembrandt, Mussini, Triangle Coatings,
Art Guerra, Williamsburg.
I like to use Raphael brushes - both synthetic and bristle brights.
I like to use Raphael brushes - both synthetic and bristle brights.
Also cheap Chinese flat 2" and 3" brushes.
Liquin is the medium.
Liquin is the medium.
Catherine Kehoe
Catherine Kehoe's palette
lower right: foundation white (WN)
upper right: palette cups for medium (1 part stand oil, 4 or 5 parts solvent) and solvent (odorless thinner, Gamsol or Turpenoid)
lower left, ascending vertically:
indian yellow (WN)
cadmium yellow pale or lemon (WN, Old Holland or Williamsburg)
cadmium yellow (WN, OH or WB)
cadmium yellow deep (WN)
cadmium orange (WN)
cadmium scarlet (WN)
cadmium red deep (WN, OH or WB)
alizarin crimson
dioxazine violet (WN)
ultramarine blue (WN, OH or WB)
cerulean blue (only Utrecht)
cobalt teal (Gamblin)
cobalt teal (Gamblin)
viridian
cadmium green pale (WN)
turning the corner, left to right:
sap green (WN)
raw umber
burnt sienna
new additions:
perylene crimson (WB)
quinacridone red (WN)
quinacridone violet
pthalo blue
pthalo turquoise
cobalt teal or turquoise
Brushes: Utrecht brand Kolinsky sable brights, sizes 10-16. These allow for crisp, narrow lines as well as broad shapes of color.
While I don't use earth colors much, I do have a few on my palette. Raw umber is used almost exclusively to mix with ultramarine blue to make black. I have no black on my palette, so far.
David Kelley
Painting palette:
titanium zinc white
cadmium yellow medium
cadmium orange
cadmium red medium
alizarin crimson
phthalo green
phthalo blue
cobalt violet deep
ivory black
Brushes: one brush, inexpensive, smaller (round and soft) for small paintings, larger (flat and firmer) for large paintings.
A small palette knife was used to paint my small dessert still life paintings. Surfaces: wood panels for small to medium paintings, stretched canvas (cotton duck) for larger works. Favorite surface: prior paintings. Oil paint: Vasari, WN, Gamblin, Williamsburg. Acrylic: Golden (heavy body). On paper or wood panel.
Collage palette: color cut from art magazines arranged
in trays of like colors (thousands of colors).
Glue: Lineco Neutral pH adhesive.
Susan Lichtman
Dik F. Liu
Titanium White
Cadmium Yellow
Cadmium Orange
Cadmium Red Light
Quinacridone Red
Alizarin Crimson
Dioxazine Purple
Ultramarine Blue
Thalo Blue
Thalo Green
Ivory Black
Paint brands: I look for paints on sale. Otherwise, Utrecht is a lot of bang for the buck. Gamblin's Dioxizine Purple is my workhorse purple. Brushes: For the past year, I use mostly number 8, 10, and 12 flats; all bristle and natural curve. They are usually Princetons, Utrechts, and Robert Simmons. Medium: Safflower oil, with a few drops of clove oil in the summertime to extend the drying time. When I feel like getting fanciful, I add some stand oil to the mix.
Sangram Majumdar
Nancy McCarthy
cad lemon yellow
cad yellow med
cad red light
quinacridone red
quinacridone violet
pthalo turquoise
ultramarine blue
dioxizine purple
pthalo green emerald (I think it's tipped to a yellower version)
Some guests:
Cad Orange deep (a little redder than Cad orange)
Raw Umber
Pthalo blue
Prussian blue
My white is Titanium-Zinc
Mostly I use Gamblin brand paints
I use galkyd lite when outside
and the weber resin gel when inside
cad yellow med
cad red light
quinacridone red
quinacridone violet
pthalo turquoise
ultramarine blue
dioxizine purple
pthalo green emerald (I think it's tipped to a yellower version)
Some guests:
Cad Orange deep (a little redder than Cad orange)
Raw Umber
Pthalo blue
Prussian blue
My white is Titanium-Zinc
Mostly I use Gamblin brand paints
I use galkyd lite when outside
and the weber resin gel when inside
Tim Kennedy
My palette stays pretty consistent. Colors do occasionally get added or dropped. These are the colors I am using now:
Cadmium Yellow Light
Cadmium Yellow Medium
Naples Yellow
Mars Yellow
Raw Sienna
Mars Orange
Rosso Veneto
King’s Blue
Raw Umber
Red Umber
Cadmium Red Light
Cadmium Red Medium
Alizarin Crimson
Dioxozine Purple
Thalo Blue
Ultramarine Blue
Thalo Green
Terre Verte
Chromium Oxide Green
Mars Black
Flake White #1
Titanium White
Titanium/Zinc White
I use a combination of Williamsburg, Gamblin and Winsor Newton paints. My attitude toward mixing color has changed over the years. When I began painting I tended to start with saturated color and mix down. Now I will tend to take that natural level of brightness in a color such as Mars Orange and sweeten it if I need to. Very simple tints can have beautiful subtlety that can read completely different in different contexts. Raw Umber is an example of a color like this. I keep two Umbers on my palette. I have a palette for my colors and a palette for mixing. Lately, as I set up I might mix a number of tints using Flake White to keep on the mixing palette and work off of them. I use Mars Black because I have had problems in the past with how Ivory Black effects the oil content in the painting (I have gotten dry spots). It is very seldom that I add black directly to a color but I do mix Mars Black with Cadmium Yellow Light, which produces a beautiful dark green. Flake White is a fairly recent addition for me (in the last five years). I use Winsor Newton’s Flake White #1 which is their stiff variety. It doesn’t have as much tinting strength as the other whites, but it is a beautiful, dense color that gives the paint real body. Sometimes I will give the tint a little extra jolt with one of the other whites if I need to. I paint on both linen and canvas. I use heavy-duty stretchers up to four or five feet, but will build a stretcher for anything larger. I use rabbit skin glue sizing and a Titanium oil primer from Williamsburg, which I apply with a knife. I use a variety of brushes – bristle, nylon, sable. I have been using more soft brushes in the late stages of a painting recently. I probably use more rounds than other shapes. It is difficult to find soft brushes that will hold up – price seems to have nothing to do with whether I find a good brush. I use a variety of knives. A shape called an Eclose knife is particularly useful. A medium I have used consistently for about ten years is made of one part Venice Turpentine, two parts Sun Thickened or Stand oil and two parts Damar Varnish. As a medium it can actually be a little sticky, which in some circumstances can be nice, but can also be thinned further.
Ken Kewley
titanium zinc white
cadmium yellow medium
cadmium orange
cadmium red medium
alizarin crimson
phthalo green
phthalo blue
cobalt violet deep
ivory black
Brushes: one brush, inexpensive, smaller (round and soft) for small paintings, larger (flat and firmer) for large paintings.
A small palette knife was used to paint my small dessert still life paintings. Surfaces: wood panels for small to medium paintings, stretched canvas (cotton duck) for larger works. Favorite surface: prior paintings. Oil paint: Vasari, WN, Gamblin, Williamsburg. Acrylic: Golden (heavy body). On paper or wood panel.
Collage palette: color cut from art magazines arranged
in trays of like colors (thousands of colors).
Glue: Lineco Neutral pH adhesive.
Susan Lichtman
A limited palette allows me to hold together a picture with a lot of disparate elements. My favorite card game is gin – and I think of a limited palette as being like a hand that one is dealt. The challenge is to make something happen with a restriction of possibilities.
I use three primary colors and white for each painting. The Red might be venetian or cadmium, the Blue might be a cobalt or ultramarine or black or even a green; and the Yellow might be yellow ochre or a cadmium. Lately I have been using titanium/zinc white. I might add a fourth hue, i.e. use both black and blue, or both yellow ochre and cadmium yellow light.
For oil painting I use a glass palette, many different brands of paint, and a variety of brushes. What I cannot live without is: my diamond shaped knives and the ingredients of Marogers medium: black oil and mastic varnish which are mixed together to make a gel. Sometimes I mix marble dust and wax into the paint.
For oil painting I use a glass palette, many different brands of paint, and a variety of brushes. What I cannot live without is: my diamond shaped knives and the ingredients of Marogers medium: black oil and mastic varnish which are mixed together to make a gel. Sometimes I mix marble dust and wax into the paint.
Dik F. Liu
Titanium WhiteCadmium Yellow
Cadmium Orange
Cadmium Red Light
Quinacridone Red
Alizarin Crimson
Dioxazine Purple
Ultramarine Blue
Thalo Blue
Thalo Green
Ivory Black
Paint brands: I look for paints on sale. Otherwise, Utrecht is a lot of bang for the buck. Gamblin's Dioxizine Purple is my workhorse purple. Brushes: For the past year, I use mostly number 8, 10, and 12 flats; all bristle and natural curve. They are usually Princetons, Utrechts, and Robert Simmons. Medium: Safflower oil, with a few drops of clove oil in the summertime to extend the drying time. When I feel like getting fanciful, I add some stand oil to the mix.Sangram Majumdar
Cadmium Lemon
Indian Yellow
Lemon Ochre (my favorite new color!)
Yellow Ochre
Cadmium Red Light
Indian Red
Pyrol Red or Quinacridone Red
Cerulean Blue
Cobalt Blue
Indigo
Ultramarine Blue
Viridian
Nancy McCarthy
WN Foundation White
WN Ultramarine Blue
Utrecht Cerulean Blue
Williamsburg Turquoise (cobalt)
WN Diox purple and/or WB Egyptian Violet
Williamsburg Courbet Green
Williamsburg Oxide Green
WN Cadmium Green Light
WN Cadmium Lemon
WN Cadmium Yellow Medium
WN Cadmium Yellow Deep
WN Cadmium Orange
WN Cadmium Red Medium
WN Alizrian Crimson
WN Burnt Sienna
WN Burnt Umber
WN Raw Umber
WN Yellow Ochre
Sennelier Peach Black
WN Ultramarine Blue
Utrecht Cerulean Blue
Williamsburg Turquoise (cobalt)
WN Diox purple and/or WB Egyptian Violet
Williamsburg Courbet Green
Williamsburg Oxide Green
WN Cadmium Green Light
WN Cadmium Lemon
WN Cadmium Yellow Medium
WN Cadmium Yellow Deep
WN Cadmium Orange
WN Cadmium Red Medium
WN Alizrian Crimson
WN Burnt Sienna
WN Burnt Umber
WN Raw Umber
WN Yellow Ochre
Sennelier Peach Black
George Nick
Since I am right-handed I have the palette cup with medium in the upper right corner. In the upper left corner I have my white and below that I have my warm colors and to the right of the white I have my cool colors.
The white is Old Holland, Lead White
Warm colors in order from white:
Lasur violet, translucent violet (Mussini made by Schmincke)
Burnt Carmine (Rembrandt)
Cad. Red Deep Rembrandt or Gamblin
Persian Rose (Williamsburg)
Cad. Red Light (Rembrandt)
Gold Ochre (Rembrandt)
Indian Yellow (Mussini)
Cad. Yellow Medium or/and Light (Rembrandt) The so-called cool colors to the left and in order from the white, are:
Radiant Green (Gamblin)
Yellowish Green (Mussini)
Emerald or Veronese Green (Rembrandt)
Thalo or Prussian Green (any)
Cobalt Turquoise Light (Winsor Newton)
Cobalt Blue Deep (Rembrandt or Williamsburg)
Ultramarine Blue Deep (Rembrandt)
Ivory Black (Rembrandt)
PLUS: I will add any color anytime that catches my fancy.
The medium is stand oil (1 part oil to 4/5 parts good turpentine) depending on season, and/or temperament. The medium is put into the palette cup and mixed into the white according to viscoscity needs and the season.
I also use alkyd resin and put a little poppy seed oil (to slow up the drying process)
This is ONLY put into the white mixture every morning for the days' painting. Brushes: I only use one brush. Actually I end up having several, because as they wear out they become another brush. It is the #8 Filbert, pig bristle — Edgar Degas (Grumbacher)
(Winsor Newton) (Unknown Italian)
Richard Raiselis
I start with a few colors and expand as needed: white, black, ochre, dull red (roman palette).
white in the left upper corner, then along the top edge after white:
The white is Old Holland, Lead White
Warm colors in order from white:
Lasur violet, translucent violet (Mussini made by Schmincke)
Burnt Carmine (Rembrandt)
Cad. Red Deep Rembrandt or Gamblin
Persian Rose (Williamsburg)
Cad. Red Light (Rembrandt)
Gold Ochre (Rembrandt)
Indian Yellow (Mussini)
Cad. Yellow Medium or/and Light (Rembrandt) The so-called cool colors to the left and in order from the white, are:
Radiant Green (Gamblin)
Yellowish Green (Mussini)
Emerald or Veronese Green (Rembrandt)
Thalo or Prussian Green (any)
Cobalt Turquoise Light (Winsor Newton)
Cobalt Blue Deep (Rembrandt or Williamsburg)
Ultramarine Blue Deep (Rembrandt)
Ivory Black (Rembrandt)
PLUS: I will add any color anytime that catches my fancy.
The medium is stand oil (1 part oil to 4/5 parts good turpentine) depending on season, and/or temperament. The medium is put into the palette cup and mixed into the white according to viscoscity needs and the season.
I also use alkyd resin and put a little poppy seed oil (to slow up the drying process)
This is ONLY put into the white mixture every morning for the days' painting. Brushes: I only use one brush. Actually I end up having several, because as they wear out they become another brush. It is the #8 Filbert, pig bristle — Edgar Degas (Grumbacher)
(Winsor Newton) (Unknown Italian)
Richard Raiselis
I start with a few colors and expand as needed: white, black, ochre, dull red (roman palette).
white in the left upper corner, then along the top edge after white:
cad yellow
ochre
cad red
oxide reds (PR101)
black spinel
left side vertical from white:
left side vertical from white:
greens:
chromium oxide
viridian
thalo
cobalt teal
WN winsor blue red shade
ultramarine
ultramarine violet
maybe quinacridone red or magenta
Medium is stand oil and solvent, in various proportions
Canvas is linen with oil ground
Preferred brushes are Simmons Signet bristle rounds, but I buy really crummy kids' brushes too, and cheap Asian hog brushes, as well as excellent housepainters' flats for painting and varnishing.
Canvas is linen with oil ground
Preferred brushes are Simmons Signet bristle rounds, but I buy really crummy kids' brushes too, and cheap Asian hog brushes, as well as excellent housepainters' flats for painting and varnishing.
Harold Reddicliffe
Most of my painting is done with white (Permalba) and a primary triad (cad. yellow med., cad. red light, and ultramarine blue).
I augment that when necessary with cool varients of each of the three (cad. yellow light, cad red med., and phthalo blue (actually Winsor blue, cool shade). When specific local colors in the set-up I'm working from require them, I also might also add viridian, phthalo green, Winsor blue (warm shade), and quinacridone red.
The brushes I paint with are Utrecht Rhenish Kolinsky red sable rounds in a range of sizes.
John Singer Sargent
Flake white
Naples yellow
Yellow Ochre
English red
Vermilion
Ivory black
Prussian blue
Stuart Shils
Earth red (maybe pozzuoli, venetian, or english red light)
Quinacridone Red
Winsor Red
Permanent Red Medium
Cad Red Light
often, Raw Sienna
Yellow Ochre
Yellow Ochre Light
Indian Yellow (W&N)
Permanent Yellow Deep
Permanent Yellow Medium
Perm Yellow Light
Hansa Yellow or Winsor Yellow
Viridian
Ultramarine Deep
Cobalt Blue
Cerulean Blue
Ivory Black
Susan Jane Walp
Here is my palette, all Old Holland oils:
titanium white
naples yellow
cad yellow lemon
cad yellow deep
cad red scarlet
cad red deep
yellow ochre deep
light red
caput mortem
terre verte
viridian
ultramarine blue deep
manganese blue
ivory black
I usually start with a very limited palette (titantium white, yellow ochre, light red, caput mortem, terre verte, ultramarine) and bring in the other colors only as needed. I use a Swedish cold-pressed linseed oil from Kremer Pigments mixed with turps or Gamsol for a medium. My preference is to use as little as medium possible. I use a variety of brushes--I tend to start the painting with large bristle flats and filberts and end with kolinsky sable rounds (# 4 and 6) and sable flats. I do find these preferences are always a bit in flux.
