How Many Colors Do You Use In Your Palette?

This is one of my most colorful with over 109,000 unique colors.

Obviously it will be a bit hit and miss at first, but we should be able to refine the process and methods used as we go along, such as statistics for percentages of the primary colors etc.

This one a little over 120,000 unique colors. Obviously lots of shades of a small number of colors.

Just found this one by Joyce Owens with stunning variation of color, over 170,000 unique colors.

Here is another good example.not sure my method of counting the colors is quite accurate, so please post your colorful interpretations regardless of the numbers.

And another by Debra Hurd.

i don't know if this is 1, 2 or 3 colors...

About 8 colors on my palette board.

It works really well though Ed!.

Here is one by one of my favorite palette knife artist Leonid Afremov.

Thanks Michael... it's 3 layers of cut vinyl ... 48 x 48 inches

The main reason for starting the thread is because most of my work is engineering related and tends to be more metallica like chrome and steely colors and I need to start expanding on the range of color and move out of my limited palette. I am looking for the good variations on usage and range of colors to get me moving and am hoping that some of the examples will give me some idea's.

I love this painting of yours Lutz, the style really appeals to me. Hope you are well!.

Hello, maybe you are not in need of more colors but to change the mood and surface treatment of your palette?

You may be right Lutz, and maybe a combination of both color and texture!. As well as this exercise, I am also going to download the thumbnails of all the artwork I have put in my favorites over the last 7 or more years on FAA and see if I can pick up on what appeals to me in some of the other artists works that I can take on board.

You just rung a bell in my head Lutz about better use of the space and texture when I think back to when I used to follow Dale Witherow with his abstract works.

Hi, Michael,

It was my love of, and fascination with, color that first pulled me toward photography, and later, to digital art. I'm not sure if this abstract is my most colorful, but it definitely ranks up there. #CrazyForColor

Here is the Palette of Ireland Michael, I think I used about 30 colours and shades, A lot of palette knife work.... Enjoy.

I'm not sure I understand the method of counting - do slight variations of light/dark count as separate colours?

While we're on the subject, could somebody explain the difference between colour and hue?

Whether painting plein air or in my studio I'm usually using about 6 different tubes of paint (not including Titanium White) which allow me to create an almost unlimited number of any other colors I need. I don't usually use any black on my palette preferring instead to mix Ultramarine blue with Sienna.



Bill Tomsa

http://billtomsa.blogspot.com/

Jane, 'color' and 'hue' mean the same thing. It's when you get into tints, tones, shades, etc. that things get complicated.

This link will help:

http://www.color-wheel-artist.com/hue.html

I have been waiting for a discussion like this. I love color. I couldn't tell you how many colors are in this. I love this painting!

Thank you so much, Wendy, that's just what I need! Have bookmarked your link.

Happy to assist, Jane. :-)

When working in oil I will often have as many as 18 to 25 different colors or tubes of paint on my palette which I then mix for the painting. I do not use a limited palette obviously.

This one is a pastel and I honestly don't know how many sticks of pastel were involved.

This one was painted using only three colors.
Rose Madder Genuine
New Gamboge
Cobalt
All the colors created were from mixing those three colors together.



I keep the colors I use fairly simple.
I paint for a punch of color and not with a bunch of colors.

Here is my second attempt at adding more color to my normally greyscale metallic fabrications.

No limited pallete in this piece.

Hard to say how many colors in oil painting.

I usually start with about 10 different colors and add from there.