Home › Forums › The Learning Center › Color Theory and Mixing › Hall of Fame › The color palette of Richard Schmid …in his own words…
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August 3, 2001 at 12:25 pm #982875
Here is the complete list of the oil pigments I use today. I don’t use all of them each time I paint—my palette would have to be unduly large, and I never require such a huge selection for my paintings. An asterisk (*) marks those that are always on my palette (my basic color group). I use the others for colors in my subject that are beyond the range of my everyday needs:
Windsor & Newton: Cadmium Lemon*
Cadmium Yellow Pale or Aurora Yellow*
Cadmium Red*
Cadmium Scarlet
Cadmium Orange
Yellow Ochre Pale* (I add Cadmium Yellow Pale to this.)
Terra Rosa*
Venetian Red
Permanent Alizarin Crimson
Rembrandt (Talens): Cadmium Yellow Deep*
Transparent Oxide Red*
Viridian*
Cobalt Blue Light*
Ultramarine Deep*
Gamblin: Alizarin Permanent*
Lefranc: Titanium White*
Schmincke: Cobalt Violet Light (Transparent and Opaque)
Cobalt Violet DeepI come now to the tantalizing new “Modern” colors (as opposed to the time-tested mineral pigments)—the wonderfully brilliant organic paints with designations such as quinacridone, perylene, napthol, dioxazine, indanthrene, and so on. Such high-tech names intimidate me because I am not a chemist and I don’t understand them. More importantly, from the standpoint of permanency, they have only been around for a relatively short time, and we have only the manufacturer’s reassurance that their new colors will withstand the test of centuries as well as some traditional pigments have.
My problem (if you can call it that) is with the allure of the modern colors. Some of them are definite improvements over the old standard colors, and very desirable additions to my palette (yours too, perhaps). I would like to be able to use them with the same complete confidence as I do the traditionally reliable mineral pigments. To reassure myself, I have subjected some of the new dark transparent reds (designed to replace the old Alizarin Crimson) to my own accelerated light tests—exposing color charts of them to intense sunlight for a year or more (a brutal thing to do to oil paint) to note any change. I’m happy to report that Gamblin™ Alizarin Permanent, and Windsor Newton™ Permanent Alizarin Crimson, have shown not the slightest signs of fading or cracking. I have added both to my current palette.
Robert Gamblin, a painter as well as a color maker, modestly describes his Alizarin permanent oil color as a close approximation to traditional Alizarin, but as far as I can tell, it is a perfect match, and superb not only by itself, but for creating a range of quality reliable blacks when mixed with Ultramarine Blue and Transparent Oxide Red. It also yields excellent purples when mixed with blues, and a nice selection of deep reds when combined with the Cadmium Reds or earth reds. I feel that it closes the “permanence gap” that existed on my palette—that I now have a dependable transparent red that I can use without any hesitation or worries about color loss or cracking.
The W&N Permanent Alizarin is, in fact, a different transparent red from the traditional Alizarin. It is lighter in value, warmer, and far more brilliant as it comes from the tube. It retains its brilliance in mixtures with white or other colors, and thinned with medium as well. However, it lacks the deep value afforded by traditional Alizarin, but it too allows for a very nice spectrum of violets and pure dark red mixtures.
Windsor & Newton materials are available just about everywhere, but Gamblin is not as widely distributed. You can contact them directly at: Gamblin Artists Colors Co., P O Box 625, Portland, OR 97207. The phone there is: 503 235-1945, or on the Internet at http://www.gamblincolors.com. (By the way, you might want to check out their brochure on reducing or eliminating solvent levels in a painting studio.)August 4, 2001 at 10:03 am #998570Hi Llis,
I discovered Schmid about a year ago and when I first viewed his work I was speechless in comtemplating this man’s mastery. I believe he is one of the true living masters of today. His personality is easy, not full of himself and has that rare ability to teach others.
I use his palette today because it makes sense. After reading Alla Prima, his book, I decided to do his color charts only because he stressed over and over again the importance of this procedure in the journey of really learning about color. If one looks closely at Schmids work, one outstanding feature is his use of color, so much of it in the appropriate places, yet suttle enough to fool and please the eye into beautiful reality. His use of colors are outstanding! The idea about doing color charts has now given me confidence and an arsenal of color choices I never had before. With his palette one can mix any color. I finished a alla prima piece of Lupine in the Shade and was able to hit what I was seeing more accurately and quickly by referring to the charts. I am now dragging them around with me in a wooden box for color reference until such time I can walk on my own with color! Below is an example of the charts I completed. Again it is worth the effort. :oL
August 5, 2001 at 7:50 pm #998526I was not familiar with Richard’s work but wow, inspiring stuff. I can’t decide if I like his still-lifes more than his landscapes!
I did find the comment under Rhododendrons amusing though, marketing ploy anyone? :rolleyes:
Einion
Do you know if your colour is off in hue, value, chroma... or all three?
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August 5, 2001 at 9:00 pm #998522August 5, 2001 at 9:04 pm #998523August 6, 2001 at 9:12 pm #998527llis, you might try looking for the book on Advanced Book Exchange, I have had good luck finding secondhand titles for significant savings, even adding the shipping to Europe, which won’t be a problem for you.
Einion
Do you know if your colour is off in hue, value, chroma... or all three?
Colour Theory & Mixing forum WetCanvas Glossary Search Tips Advanced Search Acrylics forum Acrylics - Information Kiosk
August 6, 2001 at 9:25 pm #998524Schmids work, quite honestly…is the catharsis that gave me courage and the feeling of necessity to reinvent myself from 17 years of the direction in painting I was going.
Larry
Larry Seiler- Signature Member IPAP; Signature Member American Impressionist Society AIS
Main website! https://larryseiler-artist.com/January 15, 2009 at 1:20 pm #998539You can purchase Alla Prima directly from Schmid’s own publishing house. Do a Google search on “Schmid” and you’ll find the link. There is a paperback edition for $49.95 that helps put this in reach of any serious artist. I received a copy for Christmas and am more than pleased. It’s a high-quality book and the content will be a treasure for years to come.
January 15, 2009 at 1:52 pm #998552Dupp
January 16, 2009 at 2:44 pm #998545While Alla Prima is a truly good book and I wouldn’t be without it, his books
Richard Schmid Paints Landscapes and
Richard Schmid Paints the Figureare classics. I was fortunate enough to buy them in the 1970’s and while a lot of the pictures are black and white I consider them to be every bit as good as Alla Prima,there are many ‘how to’ demonstrations and much good advice. Believe he has plans to expand A. Prima to incorporate bits from them.
Yes, they are available on the Internet,but the price is very prohibitive.January 17, 2009 at 7:20 am #998540llis, you might try looking for the book on Advanced Book Exchange, I have had good luck finding secondhand titles for significant savings, even adding the shipping to Europe, which won’t be a problem for you.
Einion
Cheapest on there is a staggering $132 and a hefty $700
George:I reckon Picasso couldn't do jigsaws as a child
Oil Painting - WetCanvas!
The MIO is this way------->https://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=599820)January 17, 2009 at 8:37 pm #998544More importantly, from the standpoint of permanency, they have only been around for a relatively short time, and we have only the manufacturer’s reassurance that their new colors will withstand the test of centuries as well as some traditional pigments have.
This is funny logic since steel has only been around for a short time and it’s superior to stone in many ways.
January 18, 2009 at 5:24 pm #998546ienepveu
Not funny at all, Schmid was summarising whether the ‘new’ pigments will stand the test of time. It’s a shame you didn’t read his next paragraph before rushing to your keyboard:)
January 18, 2009 at 10:14 pm #998541Well, Einion’s comment on pricing is from 2001. But, Richard Schmid will be having a new landscape book come out at some point this year according to his website.
January 23, 2009 at 10:21 pm #998557It is a shame that every painter doesn’t know about Richard Schmid. Be is the only Artist that I study. Call me crazy.
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