Colour notes / 4 min read
Find a palette in everyday life.
A piece of fruit, a faded book, a cloudy sky. Colour is already all around you.
Collect before you mix
Notice a colour combination that catches your eye: two books on a shelf, a leaf against the pavement, a striped tea towel. Write the colours down or make three tiny swatches. You are collecting relationships, not trying to match everything perfectly.
Give each colour a role
Try a generous base colour, a supporting colour and a small accent. Using different amounts keeps a simple palette from feeling too evenly divided. The accent can be very small and still change the whole picture.
Make room for a neutral
Cream, soft grey, brown or a muted green can give brighter colours a place to rest. A neutral is not empty. It changes how its neighbours appear, which is why a warm white and a cool white can create quite different moods.
Test on a small scale
Before starting a larger piece, make a few thumbnail studies. Change the amount of one colour in each. You may find that the palette you like best uses less of your favourite colour than you expected.