First Day at the Beach - 16x20 Oil on Linen
by Kevin MacPherson 
Before I start painting I like to plan my strategy and my palette. I do have a set palette of colors that I use regardless of what I am painting, but I try to keep an open mind to experimentation and a more limited palette.
Kevin MacPherson is an artist that I truly admire. He can take 3 or 4 colors and make a rainbow of colors for his paintings that are harmonious and true to the scene that he is trying to depict. He is a mix-em-up genius. He knows his mixes and he knows his palette, and he, apparently, does not feel the restrictions to having a limited palette either. That takes great discipline and experience.
Cottonwood Canyon - 30x40 Oil on Linen
by Kevin MacPherson
Experience with a limited palette doesn't come easily, and for me, I tend to gravitate back to my more advanced palette and 20+ tubes of paint. I'm a sucker for great colors in a tube that require no mixing. On the other hand, I do realize that you can't just pick up a great color in a tube and expect it to blend with your other palette colors - you must consider the other colors on your palette so that your paintings are harmonious in cool and warm hues and a balance around the spectrum of colors you choose for your palette. That takes introspection on the part of the artist before they pick up - say - neon orange or princess pink.
To keep my student mentality fresh, I like to try something new. No, not new colors out of a tube, but new mixes. I used to limit the amount of time and paint I used to practice mixing because of the cost, but there are ways to preserve your palette of paint for a month or more after squeezing it out of a tube, so practicing mixing now and then is a good thing and shouldn't be a cost issue anymore.
That said, I encourage everyone to try new mixes, even a few that seem otherwise completely ridiculous. You may be surprised what colors you come up with by opening your mind and trying something new. Also, various shades of gray can be created by mixing complimentary colors and some of your own recipes for mixing. These grays are wonderful for toning down the high intensity of a color, or for adding dimension to a painting. Remember, nothing makes your colors sing better than a gray.
Here are a few easy mixes that most of you probably already know, but here they are just the same. Oh, and don't let Monet talk you out of "black" on your palette. It makes the best greens you will ever have on your palette. Thanks to black, I have more harmonious and natural looking greens than when I squirted them out of a tube.
Mix black with various shades of yellow (lemon yellow, cadmium yellow light, cadmium yellow medium, naples yellow - makes great greens!) Experiment with different amounts of each color. Mix the yellows, then mix them with a bit of black or a lot of black. See how many different greens you can come up with with black and then various mixtures of each yellow. Have some fun!
Susan
Quote: "Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep." - Scott Adams
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