Palette 2011
From 2011 onwards I am using a different palette, exploring the "colour gamut" approach to paint mixing (as different to the "split primary" approach). This means I will be moving away from a particular theoretical palette and settling down on creating my own from experience. For example, I seem to prefer transparent paints over opaque ones, and I will start 2011 with a transparent palette. Opaque paints can be achieved by adding titanium white to a transparent paint, if needed.
Below is a list of paints which I will be using in 2011. Most of the paints have been selected attending to several important criteria:
- location in the colour gamut space (I am aiming for the lesser amount of paints possible, which comes down to some seven basic paints to cover the traditional three primary and three secondary colours, plus the extension of the tonal range with black and white)
- their transparency (I have a preference for transparent colours over opaque ones)
- single pigmentation in the paint composition
- their availability in the Winsor & Newton's acrylic paint range (I am trying not to mix acrylic paints from different manufacturers, in case they are chemically incompatible with each other)
- previous experience on hues which I use the most (which form an extended, rather convenient, palette)
| Basic "transparent gamut" palette | Brand | Lightfastness | Transparency | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PB29 - Ultramarine blue | Winsor & Newton | Excellent (I) | T | Possibly, the most luminous violet blue. |
| PB15:3 - Phtalo blue green shade | Winsor & Newton | Excellent (I) | T | The closest to transparent process blue I could get within the W&N range |
| PR122 - Quinacridone violet | Winsor & Newton | Excellent (I) | T | Possibly, the most luminous violet red, ideal to cover the violet range when used with PB29. Should be the closest hue to process magenta. |
| PR209 - Quinacridone red | Winsor & Newton | Excellent (I) | T | A supporting red to help extend the range of transparent red hues. |
| PO73 - Pyrrole orange | Winsor & Newton | n/a (very good) | ST | Possibly, the most luminous orange in W&N's acrylic range. It is semi-transparent and its permanence has only being asserted by W&N, probably because of the rather young age of pyrroles. |
| PY3 - Lemon yellow | Winsor & Newton | Very good (II) | ST | Possibly, the most luminous yellow I could find in the (semi) transparent range. |
| PG36 - Phtalo green yellow shade | Winsor & Newton | Excellent (I) | T | Possibly, the most luminous transparent green in W&N's acrylic range. |
| PW6 - Mixing white | Winsor & Newton | Excellent (I) | SO | A white I may use for tints, in order to preserve as much transparency as possible. |
| Extended transparent palette | Brand | Lightfastness | Transparency | Notes |
| PB15:1 - Phtalo blue red shade | Winsor & Newton | Excellent (I) | T | A hue which I have used extensively in the past. I may prefer the red shade of PB15:1 to the green shade of PB15:3. |
| PV23 - Dioxazine purple | Winsor & Newton | Very good (II) | T | A convenience violet which may be easily made by mixing PR122 with PB15:3. |
| PY150 - Nickel azo yellow | Winsor & Newton | n/a (very good) | T | An orange yellow, yet the most luminous yellow I could find in the transparent range. However, it could be easily mixed from PY3 and PO73. |
| PG7 - Phtalo green blue shade | Winsor & Newton | Excellent (I) | T | A green which could be easily mixed from PG36 and PB15:3 without loss in luminosity or transparency. Yet, it is a hue which I have used extensively in the past and I may prefer it to the PG36. |
| PBr7 - Burnt umber | Winsor & Newton | Excellent (I) | T | A convenient hue for mixing luminous darks, as well as an starting point for mixing flesh colours. |
| PBr7 - Raw umber | Winsor & Newton | Excellent (I) | T | A convenient hue for mixing some darks and, perhaps, for mixing flesh colours. |
| PBk31 - Perylene green | Winsor & Newton | n/a (very good) | ST | A black which I may use for shades (if necessary), in order to preserve as much transparency as possible. |
| Extended opaque palette | Brand | Lightfastness | Transparency | Notes |
| PW6 - Titanium white | Winsor & Newton | Excellent (I) | O | An all round and well known white. I need it for tints (if the mixing white doesn't work as intended) as well as for adding opacity to other hues, if required. |
| PB35 - Cerulean blue | Winsor & Newton | Excellent (I) | O | I hue which I have experience with, and which may come handy when mixing greens. It is an opaque paint and it is here rather for convenience. |
