Palette: Essential for colour-painting, an artist's palette refers to (1) The instrument the artist mixes his colours on. This may be a traditional mahogany, or other wood, as a rectangular shape or 'hook' or balanced studio. Artists also use metal and ceramic palettes, glass-topped tables, and for outside work with oils there are disposable greaseproof-paper blocks available, which allow a sheet to be torn off and discarded with the colour remnants. (2) The selection of colours that the artist uses. In general the early masters used fewer colours than the painters of this century. Partly this can be explained by the fact that the chemist has provided a far greater selection for today's painter; but also the Renaissance masters and those around them normally employed a well-thought-out scheme of underpainting that gave greater scope to the pigments applied on top. See Colour Mixing Tips.

 

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