How to unify your paintings with a six-colour palette and by following these simple exercises, with John Mitchell

John Mitchell

Landscape , pen and wash, 734⁄ x1134⁄ in. (20x30cm). A restricted palette was used in this landscape painting: alizarin crimson, cadmium yellow and ultramarine blue. Even so, a lovely light and colourful feeling were created with simple means. I started wet into wet and allowed the washes to dry before the finishing touches were added.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Try six exercises to develop colour skills

Colour-mixing ideas for greys and greens

How to work with a six-colour palette

Of all the formal elements in painting, colour is perhaps the most expressive. It can create joy, sadness, light, harmony or discord. It can be intense or muted. In his book, Towards the Spiritual in Art, Kandinsky ascribed qualities to different colours: yellow he described as being warm, cheeky and exciting; and blue he described as deep and heavenly. Perhaps you could come up with your own colour associations. Look at the way Van Gogh used strong colour in his later works. His cornfields and skies resonate with saturated colour. Matisse was another master well worth looking at for his brilliant use of colours.