Chris Saper's Palette

[Brenda Ellis]

Thank you, Chris.
I've ordered that book. I'm not much for paint chemistry either. But for a minute there, it seemed like I'd have to learn it in order to be a painter!

Thanks for the suggestion about the book.

[Elizabeth Schott]

Brenda thanks for bumping this up!

It gives me a chance to ask if anyone else finds Dioxazine Violet, seems too get more intense in color as it dries?

I'll use it and walk in the studio the next day and whoa... that is some violet!

[Lacey Lewis]

Hi,

I don't mean to bring up a point that was already touched on by Brenda, but would you mind listing the complements within your palette listed above? I am not personally familiar with many of the colors on your palette and would benefit from any pairing up you could do.

[Chris Saper]

Dear Lacey,

Let me do my best here...I am putting together as best I can the charts from "Color Choices" (1989) and Steven's recent color wheel (2000). If there has been a reprinting of "Color Choices" It may use the newer information.

Cadmium lemon (Winsor-Newton) -- Mauve (Holbein)
Cadmium scarlet (W-N)- Winsor Blue (W- Pthalo Blue)
Permanent Rose (W-N)- Veridian Green (W-N)
Alizarin Crimson permanent(W-N) Permanent Green Deep (no brand available)
Dioxazine Violet (optional)
Ultramarine Blue (Utrecht) Cadmium Orange (W-N)
Pthalo Green (Utrecht) Alizarin Carmine
Thalo yellow-green* (Grumbacher) no brand available

Titanium White (Utrecht)
Ivory Black (Optional) (Utrecht)

And although this is bit late and probably $5 short, I have changed my palette since to more closely resemble Bill Whitaker's/Daniel Greene's. I still use the Cad lemon periodically, but all the other above colors are still on my daily palette. I have added a few, mainly earth colors:

Asphaltum
Transparent Earth Red
Raw Sienna
Yellow Ochre
Raw Umber
Gamblin's flesh
Gamblin's Portland Gray Medium.
Flake White (which I use predominantly)
Caput Mortuum Violet
Studio Products' Pyrrolo Red