what's on my palette

I'm often asked about my favorite colors and brands of paint, and today I picked up a selection from what was lying about closest to my palette and made this chart:

(I've left out a few basic colors such as titanium white and raw umber that I always have on hand, which do not vary much by brand name.)

Although there are some colors that remain on my palette year after year (see this post from 2008) I am always interested in trying new colors, and I'm not loyal to a particular brand. I have a range of brands on hand; I'm not choosy as long as they are of professional quality. As I am rather a thrifty person, at any one time I may have one or another brand in great quantity because of what I have found on sale (I must have hit a good price on Williamsburg at the time of my earlier post--some of the most beautiful but priciest paints!) Speaking of thriftiness, I buy the largest sized tubes I can for certain colors. Such a savings!

Perennial favorites include certain Daniel Smith quinacridones, Holbein Monochromatic Tint Warm, Sennelier Chinese Orange, and various versions of the color called Stil de Grain (notice the variations underlined on the chart from different manufacturers.) My palette tends to be earthy rather than bright, but I begin many paintings with colors that are far brighter than what appears obvious on the final surface. These colors play a role in influencing subsequent layers, and bits may show through, revealed by scratching and solvents.

But the colors that move me most are rich transparents and warm opaque earth colors, including many variations of white that I mix on the palette.

A perk of teaching workshops is being introduced to colors that the artists bring to class. Some of my current favorites, including Olive Green (Winsor Newton) and Juane Brilliant (made by many companies) came to me this way. In return, I'm always happy to hand out a dab of this or that from my own palette. In that spirit of sharing, I would love to know your favorites!