I am a plein-air (open-air) painter and usually find my "Painting Stations" while on bike. Consequently I need to travel lightly. I use a Guerrilla Painter ThumBox, a pochade box. See the photo below:
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| Pochade box in action |
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| Pochade box folded |
I can carry only a minimal amount of tubes of paint. This compactness of the pochade box has led me in an ongoing search for the minimal amount of tubes of paint to take with me.
At first I tried a so-called Beginners, or Basic Palette which consisted of Thalo Green, Ultramarine Blue, Thalo Blue, Alizarin Crimson, Lemon Yellow, Cadmium Yellow Medium, Cadmium Red Light, Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber, and Titanium White. However that was 11 tubes of paint--too much; my little pochade box was packed!
Furthermore, I am a fan of the Impressionists and wanted to paint in a Neo or Post-Impressionist manner.
So, I looked up Monet's palette and it is said that he used these colors: Chrome yellow (the modern equivalent is Cadmium Yellow Light) ,Cadmium Yellow ,Viridian Green, Emerald Green, French Ultramarine Blue, Cobalt Blue, Madder Red (modern equivalent is Alizarin Crimson), Vermilion (or Cadmium Red Light) and Ivory Black (Black only if you're copying a Monet from before 1886--he later banished the black).
That is 9 tubes--not bad!
The following link is to Monet's palette info and his painting techniques, etc.
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| Monet's palette |
So, to sum up Monet's palette, he used a light and dark version of the primaries of red, yellow and blue as well as a light and dark green; with the addition of white.
With these colors one can make every color that is found in nature. These are the rainbow colors that are found in refracted light.
Yet, I found I could cut even more tubes of paint if I used what is called The Double Primaries Palette.
The double Primaries Palette consists of a warm and cool version of each of the primary colors: red, yellow, and blue. One can make their own greens, dark and light, as well as browns and oranges and purple.
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The Double Primaries Palette Simply click on this thumbnail to see the colors listed. |
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| All the tubes I need for The Double Primaries Palette. |
Instead of Thalo Blue Tint I can use a Cobalt Blue and make it into a tint by adding a little white.
The Double Primaries Palette that I am now using is, RED: Cadmium Red Light, Alizarin Crimson, YELLOW: Cadmium Lemon Yellow, Cadmium Yellow Medium, BLUE: Cobalt Blue (tint), and French Ultramarine Blue. Plus Titanium white.
That is 7 tubes of paint!
As I experiment and learn more about color I will share it here. To see my paintings one can go to my Flickr photostream at http://www.flickr.com/photos/43692916@N03/
Now, let's go paint!
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