Dear Readers,

Sorry to be away from the keyboard for so long. I've been doing taxes and other "fun" stuff. Actually some has been fun. My darling wife and I have been working in our garden. We've planted potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, made two new raised beds, and added wood chips to the paths to keep weeds down. I still have a lot to do in my garden, but more importantly, I've been painting. I've got several paintings finished and I need to photograph them and share them with you.

Thanks for reading! I like conversations, so feel free to ask questions or make comments.

Thanks!
Donald

My Pallet, for what it's worth... :) If you know me, you know I like to joke around and laugh. Sometimes I will say things as a joke and people take me serious. I'm a little like Rush Limbugh, you have to listen to me for six weeks to really understand him. You have to get to know me to understand some of my jokes as well. I really am a pretty punny guy. GRIN

I took a few moments, and wrote on some tape the colors I use and the order I place them on my pallet. I don't normally have the cobalt blue on there, but I LOVE a cobalt blue sky much more than I like an Ultra Marine Blue sky. With a warm and cool color of each primary, I can mix some amazing colors. Greens that will knock your socks off, which this time of year is okay because it's warming up and the floors aren't as cold.

For grins and giggles I lightened  the Phalo Blue and Cobalt blue to see how they compared to each other for use in the sky.

 

If you can see the two blue piles on my pallet, take a guess which one is which? Don't worry, I wont keep you guessing. You have a 50/50 chance of getting it right the first time. Cobalt Blue is on the right. To me, they look very similar. So, when my tube of cobalt is used up, I may not buy anymore. Time will tell. That's one of the fun things about painting, experimenting, constantly trying to improve. I can always change my mind.

Until next time, have fun painting, and God bless.

If you want to see more of my art, please go to http://www.ArtByDonaldSmith.com 

Today I will tell you about my current pallet choice. I'm using a warm and cool of each primary, then mixing the secondaries with them. I do cheat a little and use Cadmium Orange. I arrange them from light to dark, and I put them in the same spot so I will always know where they are. On the top left is Titanium White, Lemon Yellow, Cadmium Yellow Medium, Cadmium Orange, Cadmium Red Light, Alizarin Crimson, Pthalo Blue, Ultramarine Blue. Next I take equal amounts of Alizarin Crimson and Ultramarine Blue and mix them to make my purple. Greens are mixed from combinations of Lemon Yellow, or Cadmium Yellow Med and one of the blues. Lemon Yellow is a cool blue, mix it with Pthalo Blue and you get a REALLY BRIGHT green. Mix Cad. Yellow Med and Ultra M Blue and you get a grayed down green. Each of course can be adjusted to the value and intensity you need for your painting. Pthalo Blue is a cool blue and VERY powerful. When you use it, use a small amount. You can always add more, but you can't take it out if you put in too much.
TIPS:
1) If you need a light value color, then start with light colored paint. Use white only if you don't have a paint light enough for the value you want. Too much white can be a bad thing.
2) Mix your greens rather than use a tube. You end up with a larger variety of greens which makes your painting look more interesting.
3) The purple I mix from the Alizarin Crimson and Ultra M Blue can be modified with Cad. Orange and a touch of Cad Red to make a NICE Burnt Sienna. Add some Cad. Yellow Med and a little white to that and you get Yellow Ocher.
4) Use the purple, and a touch of Cad Orange and a little Ultra M. Blue and you get Burnt Umber.

Sometime soon I plan on showing photos and how the colors mix to make the colors I've discussed.

For now, I plan on going to my studio and working on a painting. I will show a few step by steps of my process in my next post.

Until then, have fun painting,
Donald