What Comes First? The subject, or the palette?

I think I work opposite of most artists when it comes to the way I do certain things. What comes first the subject, or the palette?

For most painters, I would imagine the subject is chosen and then whatever paints are needed to represent their vision of that subject comes next.

Palette First

With mine, it’s always the palette in mind first. That’s because the options I have are very limited. So my palette is limited to the colors available to me. This is by choice, and by necessity. Necessity because if I had to buy my paints, I very likely wouldn’t be painting.

The paints I have are those I’ve made by hand, from the pigment sources around our home here at Wild Ozark. With the exception of white and blue. Those two colors I buy, because there’s nothing here to give me those pigments. I purchase powders – titanium dioxide and lapis lazuli to make those. So they’re still handmade, but not locally foraged.

So, as you can see, in this case, it’s not really a chicken or egg question to ask what comes first. Subject or the palette? Palette comes first because I’d rather only paint with these earthy colors than not paint at all.

Pleasing Balance of Colors

While I could paint any subject at all, in the end the painting will reflect my palette. Whether it’s a realistic representation of the actual colors or not. It doesn’t matter so much to me if it’s realistic, but it does need to be pleasing to my eye.

And that’s my end goal. To create paintings that, regardless of realism or actual representation of the subject, is a pleasing balance of the colors on my palette.

For a long time it was difficult to come to terms with my inability to make a true-to-actual-color scene when all I have are earthy pigments to work with. But the more I paint, the more I like it. When I do accept commissions, though, it’s important that clients realize this limitation.

Autumn Works Best

I can come close with some actual scenes, especially birds of prey and autumnal landscapes.

These subjects naturally employ the earth tones of my palette. If you overlook the absence of bright yellows or greens, or blues.

Because my blue isn’t a local pigment, I try to minimize my use of it. Not to mention that lapis is a very expensive pigment to buy. So it’s one I use sparingly. Mostly, I use it to mix with yellow to make my greens.

The Earthy Lens of Nature

In the end, my work is a reflection of my visions through the earthy lens of nature. I hope you like it that way, too! In summary… Subject or the palette? Palette comes first because I’d rather only paint with these earthy colors than not paint at all.