# Preparing your palette



## pslane1 (Apr 24, 2021)

I learn a lot by watching YouTube. I see that the artists always prepare their palettes by filling the wells with all their colors. I have never felt the need to do this and I just fill the wells as I need them for each project.
But those of you who do this, please tell me the benefits of it? Is it always possible to re-activate your mixed paints even if you wait a long time before going back to them? I don't want them to get hard and dry and cracked.

Also what is the main benefit/reason for painted swatch charts?


----------



## picassolite (Dec 10, 2016)

Hi Pslane1,

*'I learn a lot by watching YouTube. I see that the artists always prepare their palettes by filling the wells with all their colors. Why?*'

What you are really seeing is - a nod towards what we call a 'signature look.'

Should you google - Fabio Cembranelli, Anders Zorn, Anne Ducrot, Donna Walker, Judi Betts, Frank Webb or John Pike --- you will notice their paintings exhibit a consistent 'signature look.'

_Artists who are attempting to build a following of collectors work towards developing a 'signature look.'_

Momentarily put yourself in the shoes of the collector while at an art show.

If Zorn is your taste - you'll recognize it immediately. Same with a Judi Betts, a Frank Webb or a Cembranelli.

These artists are actually filling their palettes with 'particular' colors ~

1- to ensure their paintings stay within their 'signature look.'
2- it makes the actually painting process go easier and quicker.
3- should the artist want to 'wash over' a particular passage - it will work.

*Now comes THE BACKSTORY ...*

Before you found these artists - they did in fact paint in every style possible.

_It is the marketplace that determines the artist's 'signature look.'_

Ie.- over the years the artist paints and exhibits in umpteen styles/ looks. When the artists sits down

at the end of the year and crunches the numbers - they see that _one particular style/ look_ stands 

head and shoulders over the others -_ the look_ that has caught the eye and most importantly - 

_the look that has caught the pocketbook of their collectors._

It is like finding a gold nugget in one of three streams. Guess which stream our miner will go back

to the next day. Same with artists who paint for a living.

Best regards,
Picassolite


----------



## pslane1 (Apr 24, 2021)

picassolite said:


> Hi Pslane1,
> 
> *'I learn a lot by watching YouTube. I see that the artists always prepare their palettes by filling the wells with all their colors. Why?*'
> 
> ...


But I am too amateur to have a Signature Look.


----------



## picassolite (Dec 10, 2016)

Hi Pslane1,

Here's the thing. You - the artist will be the _last_ to know when you have a 'signature look.' 

Sometimes being an amateur is a _good_ thing.

Get your work up on Ebay and see what sells. Won't cost you anything to list. Ebay takes a % when something sells.

What sells the most is - your 'signature look.'

Best regards,
Picassolite


----------



## pslane1 (Apr 24, 2021)

Thank you. 
pslane


----------



## noah (Oct 17, 2020)

When painting, using a watercolor palette helps you arrange the color family you want for your artwork. It is far more practical to utilize a tiny palette with all of the colors you want to use rather than a large palette with 50 distinct hues when you only intend to use a handful.
Palettes are also handy for mixing colors, so it’s needed if you want to experiment and create custom hues with your existing paints.


----------



## Mullanphy (Apr 25, 2020)

pslane1 said:


> ... artists always prepare their palettes by filling the wells with all their colors. ... please tell me the benefits of it?
> Is it always possible to re-activate your mixed paints even if you wait a long time before going back to them? I don't want them to get hard and dry and cracked.
> Also what is the main benefit/reason for painted swatch charts?



Not sure if you are referring to pans or wells. I, for one, fill pans in a box/palette with the colors I intend to use. In the second photo I've filled most of the pans with colors in the set shown in the first photo, and diluted some of the New Gamboge with water and sap green in one of the wells. Next step will be to darken the mix to obtain darker tones to give the painting depth. I might used another empty well to work up some browns, etc. Plutting the same paint in the same pan/position helps build the habit of knowing what is where so the artist doesn't have to guess or stop to try to recall which way is up.
I have some ten year old Grumbacher student paints that I just dug out a couple weeks ago and they re-wet nicely. Other paints I use have shown no hesitation to turn usable after considerable storage time. So, I'd say just about any watercolor paint, no matter how dried or cracked, can be re-wet and used successfully.
Swatch charts, shown in the third and fourth photos show the artist how their paints work in real life. Printed charts will never replace a personal hand made color chart/swatch. After some time using W&N Cotman series student grade watercolor paints, I am just now trying Winsor and Newton Professional watercolor paints. The second, larger, chart shows many of the combinations possible so I can mix with confidence instead of experimenting each time I paint with them.


----------

