Notsurprisingly,manypaintersofthemodernerahave
realizedthebeautyandsubtletyoftheearthpalettefor
useastheirprimarycoloursource.The20th-century
ItalianmasterGiorgioMorandielevatedtheearthcolours
ofhumblestilllifeobjectsandlandscapestoa highlevel
ofeleganceandthoughtfulness.
Abstractpaintersofthe20thcentury,suchasGeorges
BraqueandPabloPicasso,reliedontheearthpalettein
thecreationoftheirpowerfulimages.ThesculptorAlberto
Giacomettireliedontheearthpaletteinhispaintingsto
makea visualconnectiontohisausteresculptures.EARTHPALETTETODAY
Theearthpalettecontainsa fullrangeofcolours.Ochres
andredoxidesprovideyellowsandreds.Ivoryblack,when
mixedwithwhite,hasbeenconsideredtheblueofthe
earthpalettetriad.Lovelywarmandcoolgreysandbeiges
canbemadefromtheumbers.MarsVioletis a richyet
subtlepurple.PigmentssuchasTerreVerte,Chromium
OxideGreen(sometimesknownasOxideofChromium)
andGreenishUmberprovidea broadrangeofgreens
forlandscapepainting.Theextensiverangeofcolours
availableinthemodernearthpaletteprovidea fullspread
ofhues,values,chromaticintensitiesandtemperatures.
Explorethevarietyofearthcoloursinyourlocalartshop
andaddusefulpigmentstoyourpalette.
Withinitself,theearthpaletteis broad,flexibleand
useful,althougha minor-keyrangecomparedtothe
prismaticpalette.Infact,theearthpalettehasa unique
relationshipwiththeprismaticpalette.Comparingthe
twopalettestoeachother,theearthpalettecanbesaid
tobea “neutral”versionoftheprismaticpaletteandthe
prismaticpalettea “bright”versionoftheearthpalette.
Eachprismaticcolourhasitsearthpaletteanalogueand
viceversa– CadmiumOrangehasa relationshiptoBurnt
Sienna,forexample,whileChromiumOxideGreenis
comparativetoCadmiumGreen.Similarrelationships
canbedrawnbetweenmostcoloursonthetwosides
ofthebroaderpaletteofcolours.
Earthcolourshavealsotraditionallybeenusedtosoften
orneutralisehighlychromaticcolourslikethecadmiums
whenmixedtogether.Theintermixingofthetworanges
ofcolourscanproduceanastonishingarrayofnewand
complextemperaturesandintensities.
Nextmonth:howlightinga subjectaffectsyourcolourchoices.
Al’sbook,ColorforPainters, is publishedbyWatson-Guptill.
http://www.algury.comABOVE Tint Test
This is a reliable
way to ascertain
hue, temperature
and chromatic
intensity. A swatch
of each earth
colour is placed
above each “tint” –
that same pigment
mixed with white.
LEFT Al Gury,
Summer Fields,
oil on panel,
18x25.5cm
“Each earth colour
was only mixed
with Titanium
White here to
retain the highest
chroma (colour
intensity) possible.
The colours, which
included Yellow
Ochre Light,
Burnt Sienna and
Chromium Oxide
Green, were also
played off against
each other to
create maximum
vibrancy.”Artists & Illustrators 55