I'm starting a new series of paintings. At the beginning I find it very helpful to have a basic colour palette to work from. It just takes away some of the decision making during the painting process if I have a few premixed colours to choose from. Over the course of painting a series the colour palette will evolve as I add other colours into the mix and adjust my premixed colours.
Find colour inspiration
When I’m developing a colour palette I look at my mood board to find inspiration. I already had certain colours I was naturally drawn to when I created the mood board. On my mood board muted tones like rusty reds, dusty pinks, soft blues and a lot o creamy white colours dominate the images.
Select colours to mix from
For my colour palette I usually choose one type of primary colour (red, yellow, blue), a dark colour and white. Your primaries can be warm, cool, or a muted version. As red you could choose, for example, cadmium red as a warm version, magenta as a cool version, or burnt sienna as a muted version. For the dark colour you could use black, or any other dark colour like a brown or payne’s grey.
These are some examples of colour combinations I have mixed previously:
Mix all the colours
It’s a great exercise to choose different variations of this kind of colour palette of primaries, dark and white, mix them and see which combinations you like.
I had previously done this with various combinations, so I already had an idea which base colours go well with my mood board. I decided on a combination of yellow oxide, magenta, ultramarine blue, raw umber and white.
First, I mix two primaries together, which gives me very saturated colours. I then add white to these.
Next, I mix each primary with the dark colour, in this case raw umber. Again, I add white to these mixtures.
Then I combine two primaries plus my dark colour. Of course I add white to these too.
Lastly, all primaries mix together. And white too!
Preselect colours
Once I mixed my swatches I compare them with my moodpboard. Which colours appear on my mood board? Which ones complement nicely? I make a preselection of colours I like, and make sure I have a good range of values, meaning darks, lights and mid tones.
Paint on larger swatches
When I’ve made my initial selection I paint these on larger swatches. I use cartridge paper, that I’ve cut into approx. 10 x 7 cm. On the back of each card I write which colours I use to mix this particular colour. A handy tip is to write the colours on the back before you paint on the other side, so you don’t have to wait until the paint is dry, by which time you have probably forgotten what went into the mix.
Final selection
I get my mood board out again and compare all colour cards I made with it. It’s up to you how many colours you choose, but I like to keep it fairly minimal, around six colours. Again, I make sure to have a range of values (darks, lights, mid tones).
If I feel like colours are still missing, for example a more saturated colour, or another dark colour, I go back to my initial swatches and choose some more mixtures to paint onto swatch cards.
Keep in mind that you can change your colours over time. You can always add in another colour, intermix your premixed paints, or add some more of your base colours (primaries, dark, white).
Batch mixing
I like plastic takeaway containers for keeping my premixed colours. They are flat but very wide, so great for dipping large brushes into. I mainly use Daler Rowney System 3 Acrylic Paint, which already has a good consistency. It’s not heavy body, also not too fluid, so I can apply it thicker, but also easily water it down when needed. I still like to add a little bit of Jackson’s Acrylic Flow Medium to my mixes, which makes the consistency just slightly more fluid.
Labelling your containers is optional, but helps if you are a few weeks into painting with your new colours, and you can’t remember what is in them.
Watch the video on my process below.
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