WHAT & HOW:
COLOR WHEEL
We arrange our oil color tubes on a rotating circular tray that has three tiers. The tray serves several functions.
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First a rotating tray gives us ready access to all the tubes without having to rummage around in a paint box. We use many colors for every painting—sometimes only tiny amounts from each—and we don’t want to compromise our range of color out of impatience with finding a tube.
Second, we have arranged the oils in the order of a typical color wheel, across the color spectrum from yellow to violet. The tray is made of a lazy susan with circular pieces of thin plywood on top to extend the surface. Each layer is topped with a piece of carpet that keeps the tubes from sliding around. Hanging above the tubes of paint we have two color wheels that correspond to all the colors on the tray.
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The wheels enable us to get a quick idea of the distance on the color spectrum of each tube of color. The proximity of two colors on the spectrum is very important because the closer two colors are on the spectrum the more brilliance will be retained in the result. Mixing colors that are across from one another on the spectrum will dull the brilliance “desaturate” the resulting color.
Finally, the three-tier system enables us to separate the earth colors from the others. Earth colors, so-called because they are compounds of iron, are arranged on the upper tray while all the other colors are arranged on the lower trays. By separating our oil colors into these two collections we can more easily maintain the “fat over lean” rule of oil painting. The earth colors, by and large are “leaner” (they absorb less oil) than the others. When possible leaner colors should be laid down first.
Finally, the three-tier system enables us to separate the earth colors from the others. Earth colors, so-called because they are compounds of iron, are arranged on the upper tray while all the other colors are arranged on the lower trays. By separating our oil colors into these two collections we can more easily maintain the “fat over lean” rule of oil painting. The earth colors, by and large are “leaner” (they absorb less oil) than the others. When possible leaner colors should be laid down first.