favorite paints This photo relates to the previous post--because my paint tubes end up so grubby, I usually can't read the label when I run out of something and may wonder exactly what it was. And I use so many colors and brands of paint, it's not easy to ID everything by sight. I started this little chart as a sort of checklist, so I could be sure of keeping certain ones on hand.

I have favorites made by a number of different companies (all are oils, and all professional grade.) Williamsburg earth colors, Sennelier Chinese Orange and Antique Red, many paints by Old Holland, and Holbein (especially the transparent paints, and various gray combinations) all play big roles on my palette.

I know and respect some wonderful painters who use a very limited range of paints, even staying with one brand. At the other end of the spectrum (so to speak) are painters like me who can't resist a beautiful color no matter who made it or how closely it resembles something else already on the paint table...paint purists may (correctly) point out that you can replicate many of the specialized colors on the market yourself using a limited and basic selection of paints. There is a beauty to this disciplined approach, not to mention the deep knowledge of color that it shows.

But I'm not one of these disciplined types, I'm afraid--I happily give in to the lush, sensuous beautiful colors ready for purchase, and then further mix these already-mixed colors with each other for endless variations. Whatever the approach, for all of us painters, the play of color as our work evolves is surely one of the most basic and satisfying pleasures in what we do.  ¶ 8:55 AM