Flesh TONES

There are tremendous amounts of pigments and materials available to artists these days. While Rembrandt was largely restricted to an earth palette, vivid blues, reds and yellows are the norm for artists working today. Tales of importing precious lapis lazuli by caravan across the desert are from a different era. However, this abundance of options can get overwhelming sometimes and it can actually make it harder to put down a strong composition on the canvas.

Using a limited palette can help with this. Many artists throughout the ages have made use of a reduced selection of colour. Sometimes this was imposed on the artist – Rembrandt simply did not have access to the bright colours we have today. For others, this was a