Experimenting with my limited color palette

John Singer Sargent, Claude Monet and Anders Zorn: some of the most famous painters highlighted the advantages of working with a limited color palette. Working with fewer colors not only helps me to proceed with the painting process with greater clarity. It also creates contrasts and color harmonies that are pleasing to the eye. 

To make a limited palette work well, a version of each primary color (yellow, red, and blue) plus white needs to be incorporated. In this female oil portrait, I’ve experimented with the four colors yellow grey, purple brown, ivory black and titanium white. Here, ivory black works as my blue primary because of it’s  blueish-cool color temperature.

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