Today I’m looking at the palette of Trevor Chamberlain, an English self-taught watercolorist born in 1934, as described in his 1999 restrospective book Trevor Chamberlain: A Personal View.
Chamberlain’s work process as described in the book is almost entirely plein air. He writes,
For me, convincing landscape paintings can only be achieved by working directly from nature on site. Painting isn’t just about recording a scene, it’s about expressing one’s emotional response to the subject and conveying something of that emotion to the viewer. To do that with conviction we need to to be there, experiencing the subject at first hand, absorbed in its particular qualities of light, mood, atmosphere, colour and so on. An unseen hand seems to be guiding you when you paint ‘in the raw.’ Somehow, when you can hear the lapping of the water, feel the breeze on your face and smell the sweet grass, something of the atmosphere rubs off on you and this fosters and intensive response which in turn helps to produce a painting that is fresh and alive.
Trevor Chamberlain, Trevor Chamberlain: A Personal View, p. 8
Glad to hear it works for him. My paintings painted on site look a mess, but that’s probably because I use a water brush.
In the book, Chamberlain tells his life story, explains a wide variety of paintings, and talks about his favorite materials. Of course, I’m interested in the palette.
The Palette
Chamberlain does not specifically say what brand he uses for most of his paints, but I am guessing Winsor & Newton given that he is English, and because of this passage:
I try to squeeze out just enough paint for my immediate needs because tube colour tends to dry out in the pan if left for a couple of weeks.
Trevor Chamberlain, Trevor Chamberlain: A Personal View, p. 34
Sounds like Winsor & Newton all right.
The only brand he mentions is Viridian by Royal Talens.
Overall his palette is dominated by earth colors. He writes,
I look upon myself as primarily a tonal painter with colour in a supporting role. My palette of colours has changed very little over the years and consists of a small selection of quiet, restrained hues, which I feel produce a more considered and harmonious result than a riot of intense colours.
Trevor Chamberlain, Trevor Chamberlain: A Personal View, p. 34
Here are the colors he names, organized into slots by me. This is the order in which he names them, which appears to be more or less in order of importance. Click on the slot for the colors I suggest as alternatives in the slot, or the color name for my Color Spotlight of that color.
| Slot | Color (presumed WN) |
|---|---|
| Earth Yellow | Raw Sienna |
| Yellow-Green | Olive Green |
| Blue-Green | Viridian (Royal Talens) |
| Crimson | Alizarin Crimson |
| Blue | Cobalt Blue |
| Blue (Granulating) | French Ultramarine |
| Earth Orange | Burnt Sienna |
| Brown | Burnt Umber |
| Earth Red | Venetian Red |
| Red | Cadmium Red |
| Yellow | Cadmium Yellow |
| Orange | Cadmium Orange |
In my paintout above, I’ve noted what brands I used, not related to what Chamberlain uses. Most of mine are from Da Vinci dot card, although I had WN for Raw Sienna and Venetian Red; I used DS TRO for Burnt Sienna because WN uses PR101 for Burnt Sienna; I used Holbein’s Permanent Alizarin Crimson hue for Alizarin; and I mixed my own Olive Green based on WN’s formula.
Here are some quotes about his choices.
Raw Sienna
I use a lot of raw sienna, which looks brown in the palette but dilutes down to a lovely soft, transparent yellow that sympathizes beautifully with other colours in mixes. I prefer it to yellow ochre, which is rather opaque, and cadmium yellow, which is too bright and strident in washes.
Trevor Chamberlain, Trevor Chamberlain: A Personal View, p. 34
Olive Green
Olive green is a good all-around green that can be modified with other colours such as burnt sienna and French ultramarine.
Trevor Chamberlain, Trevor Chamberlain: A Personal View, p. 34
Presumably the formula for WN Olive Green has changed over the years, but for the record it is currently Phthalo Blue RS + Hansa Yellow Deep + Burnt Sienna.
Venetian Red
Venetian red is useful sometimes for painting buildings.
Trevor Chamberlain, Trevor Chamberlain: A Personal View, p. 35
Cobalt Blue
Cobalt blue is quite expensive, but I like its softness when painting skies.
Trevor Chamberlain, Trevor Chamberlain: A Personal View, p. 35
French Ultramarine
French ultramarine is a good standby blue, and when used on a rough paper can give a pleasing granulated effect. I avoid strong blues such as Prussian or Winsor as they’re so fierce and staining and powerful.
Trevor Chamberlain, Trevor Chamberlain: A Personal View, p. 35
Cadmiums
I also keep the cadmiums – red, yellow and orange – up my sleeve for when I need a bright accent.
Trevor Chamberlain, Trevor Chamberlain: A Personal View, p. 35
Colors not used
I never use black as I feel it makes dark ‘holes’ in a picture, although ti can be mixed with raw sienna and certain yellows to make interesting greens. I find that a mixture of burnt umber and cobalt blue makes a good strong dark with plenty of life in it. There is, of course, no actual black in the landscape as every object is seen through a film of atmosphere and influenced by the colours of the things around it.
Trevor Chamberlain, Trevor Chamberlain: A Personal View, p. 35
Conclusion
I love when an artist gives his reasoning for the colors he uses or doesn’t use, so I enjoyed reading the explanations. It is clear from his paintings that he uses a lot of French ultramarine and an overall muted palette, but still there is something oddly colorful about them – the way color creeps in at the edges, sun shining around clouds; trees illuminated in a halo; a woman’s red hair shining in the light; fall foliage in shades or orange; hints of violet in shadows. The colorful effect is of course all by contrast: the rest of the painting is rather drab, shades of brown, earthy yellow, and French ultramarine. Mouse power!
Although I like the ‘strident’ and strong colors that Chamberlain avoids, and I’m not lining up to become a French ultramarine-head, Chamberlain proves you can make a little color go a long way – even Winsor’s Raw Sienna.
Overall, I enjoyed Chamberlain’s plein air paintings which really seem to capture a sense of place economically; I instantly recognized scenes in Boston, for example, as either specific places or capturing the general vibe.
Wanna read it? Trevor Chamberlain: A Personal View is out of print. I got it from my library’s Interlibrary Loan system. Here’s your daily reminder to check out your library’s Interlibrary Loan system.