Monday, October 3, 2011

Color Palette Update

I recently received a question from a reader of BIG ART, small canvas who had a really good question about how to make sense of all the colors in each of the palettes. So here goes:


Color Theory for Complementary Palette

I have an update for the three complementary palettes that I've been using. They are in my book on pages 27-29 of Big Art, Small Canvas. As some of you may know Daler Rowney doesn't make Chrome Green anymore. Or rather they have renamed it Yellow-Green. I also substituted a couple of colors since another palette color was close enough. Some colors are not substitutable but to make purchasing easier I looked for ways to reduce the number of colors needed. Also, using Winsor Violet Dioxazine is much less expensive than Bright Violet by Old Holland.

There is a reason for each color used for each of the three palettes.

There is a true color, a warm version of the true color, a cool version of the true color, a light neutral version of the true color and a dark neutral version of the true color.

I also included a favorite color for a certain reasons (which I will explain in the palette).



In the ORANGE/BLUE palette:

For the oranges: Cadmium Orange is the true color

Chrome Yellow hue is the cool color

Cadmium Red deep hue is the warm color

Naples Yellow is the light neutral

Mars Violet Deep is the dark neutral color

For the blues: Cobalt Blue is the true color

Winsor Blue hue is the cool color

Mauve (blue shade) is the warm color

Violet Grey is the light neutral

Indigo is the dark neutral color



In the RED/GREEN palette:

For the reds: Cadmium Red Deep Hue is the true color

Permanent Rose is the cool color

Cadmium Orange is the warm color

Indian Red is the light neutral

Purple Madder is the dark neutral color

For the greens: Permanent Green Light is the true color

Winsor Green is the cool color

Sap Green is the warm color

Yellow-Green is the light neutral

Raw Umber is the dark neutral color

Permanent Green Deep is used for making black



In the YELLOW/PURPLE palette:

For the yellows: Chrome Yellow Hue is the true color

Yellow-Green is the cool color

Cadmium Yellow Deep is the warm color

Naples Yellow is the light neutral

Raw Umber is the dark neutral color

For the purples: Bright Violet (or Winsor Violet Dioxazine) is the true color

Ultramarine Violet(or Mauve Blue Shade) is the cool color

Permanent Rose is the warm color

Violet Grey is the light neutral

Mars Violet Deep is the dark neutral color

Purple Madder is a favorite and used as a dark warm

4 comments:

Gary said...

Hi Joyce --- you know, I hadn't really understand the 'palettes' until you posted today. Now it makes a lot more sense. I couldn't make head nor tail of why you had chosen sometimes quite odd colours and then called them orange or whatever.

Hope you are keeping well. We are having spring in autumn, with strong winds and falling leaves together with plants that don't usually flower until mid spring.

Was the terrifying fire (Carol Marine)anywhere near where you live? The states is just toooooo big for us to take in.

Gary in Little Wales.

Anonymous said...

Hi Joyce! I paint big paintings,but while in a art store yesterday I started reading your book Big Art small canvas and found it so engaging that I bought it.
I love those beautiful painterly brush strokes and will learn a lot from your book. I am 74 and mostly a knife painter and if you would like to see my art,just type my name Ralph Legros into Google and click on Impressionism.

Have a really great day Joyce!

Ralph

Chris said...

Although I've used oils for many years and painted various sizes of pictures, I have always felt comfortable with the smaller formats. I recently bought your book for two reasons; (a) I wanted to see how you approached using what is essentially a quite thick medium on such a small size and (b) what colours you worked with.
This is a very interesting approach to colours and I shall be looking forward to experimenting!
I tried a small 4x3 picture yesterday using a very direct approach; quite different from my usual detail-itis; and I really enjoyed working it, even though the result was a little messy. It really does demand clear thinking and planning; thank you for writing the book.
Chris, England.

Joyce Washor said...

You all just made my day so much brighter! Glad you are getting so much out of the book!
Gary, the fire in Texas is REALLY far from NYC! Over 1,000 miles. We did have some storms here where we lost a lot of trees but nothing life threatening like what happened to Carol.
Ralph, i will check out your work.
Thanks again for your comments,
Joyce