March 2024 Palette

 

Since the massive paint exploration of 2020 and 2021, the palette has mostly settled into a comfortable routine by now. Some of the paints have a couple options that I use, mostly because I over-bought paints and need to try and use them all! The frequently used ones like yellow, I buy a fresh tube every year or so. Here are some details on the paints.

1. Yellow Ochre (PY43) by Da Vinci. It was not until this paint that I realized the full power of yellow ochre. Importantly, it is a very yellowish, almost with a green cast, which differs from most other yellow ochres that have an orange cast. 

2. Umber (PBr7) by ShinHan. There are dozens of paints called umber, this one is the colour of tea with milk. It appears to be similar to green umber. For location painting in Montreal this colour is essential because half of the city it dull beige, the colour of worn out concrete!

3. Burnt Umber (PBr7) by Schmincke. 'Burning' a pigment is a chemical process where it is heated in a giant furnace. When this is done to umber it gets darker and redder, like roasted coffee. In truth, the pigment is probably a blend but the manufacturer only has to list PBr7. 

4. Red Ochre (PY43, PBr7 and/or PR101). This one is the colour of rust, quite literally brick red since the same pigment is used in bricks. I have many tubes of this, and either use the Burnt Yellow Ochre from Daniel Smith, or a blend of Red Brown from Sennelier with Antique Red Ochre from Holbein. They all look exactly the same. 

5. Perylene Maroon (PR179) by Holbein or Deep Scarlet (PR175) by Daniel Smith. When wet they look just like blood, but dry with a brownish cast. The two paints look identical, but the Holbein formula activates better and the colour is a bit darker red. 

6. Quinacridone Violet (PV19) by Schmincke or Quinacridone purple (PV55) from Daniel Smith. The former is like red wine, the latter like grape juice. They are both dark red-magenta colours that can be used interchangeably, although I prefer the purple variant. 

7. Indothrone blue (PB60) from Daniel Smith. After dropping Ultramarine Blue due to its instability in acids, I found the perfect replacement with indo blue. Its a real workhorse, I use it in many mixtures. 

8. Phthalo green blue shade (PG7) by Holbien. Its one of the original paints I had many years (decades) ago when I started painting. A vital paint to have, I was sad when it ran out and got a big tube to replace it. Its almost identical to the old viridian pigment but much stronger. 

9. Perylene green (PBk31) by Daniel Smith. One of the biggest finds of my paint exploration, I use this all the time for foliage and tree shadows among other things. 

10. Phthalo green yellow shade (PG36) by Daniel Smith. The phthalo green paints have chemical differences, in this case it is lighter and slightly more greenish than the blue shade variation. The company almost doesn't matter, all brands have these and they are quite similar. 

11. Yellow (PY154, PY97). I had so many yellows over the years I lost track, currently its PY154 by Da Vinci and Holbein, and PY97 by Daniel smith. They are all the same really, too bad I could not get the 37mL size from Da Vinci. 

12. indo yellow (PY110) by Daniel Smith. This one is the colour of a school bus or lines on the road. I use it to make olive greens or tanned darkish yellows. 

13. Yellow, the same as position 11, but I use it for making warms. You need two blobs of yellow one for mixing greens, and one for mixing warms. If you have just one blob of yellow it gets mucky, and yellow mixes are finicky. 

14. benzi orange (PO62) by Schmincke. Its a bright pleasant orange, great for warm highlights and orange objects.... like pylons. 

15. Pyrol orange (PO73) by Winsor and Newton. One of the few Winsor and Newton paints I have, they are too expensive, but this pigment is superb from them. I use it for night skies, or for painting traffic pylons which is another essential Montreal colour. I want to call this Montreal orange. 

16. Pyrol red (PR254) by Holbein. Occasionally I use the slightly warmer pyrol vermillion (PR255). Pretty much just for red highlights. It mixes poorly with other colours, and the paint needs to be clean to have an effect. Its my only middle red on the palette. 

17. quinacridone magenta (PR122) by Schmincke. Its the hot pink you see on a flamingo. When you need this colour you gotta have it on your palette. I try not to mix with it much to keep it clean. 

18. phthalo blue red shade (PB15) by Holbein. The phthalo names are odd, this one sounds like it should be purple but its a true blue. Since I abandoned cobalt blues a long time ago, this is my main blue, I only use it for the sky, and for some blue highlights. From other companies, this paint is a putrid mess due to dispersants in the formula, so I only go with Holbein- their formula is a lot tamer than the other companies.

19. Carbon (lamp) black (PBk6). Also had this from various companies, Daniel Smith and Da Vinci. Not for beginners, you need to understand the power of this pigment before unleashing it on you palette. Its good to paint monochrome with it for a bit to see how it dries. For locations this is great for shadows and detail. It makes a good moody sky on a grey day. In mixes it can reduce value without affecting hue angle of a coloured paint.