How Lucian Freud Mixed His Paints: Palette and Color Study of 'Frances Costello' (2002)

[@tezrh]

I like how you've used a simplified colour selection to get to some approximations of Freud's colour in reproduction. But Freud actually used a broad pallet of colour, which was typical of most Brit. painters of that generation (Check the wonderful books by Jeffery Camp on painting and drawing) You will have a hard time doing Freud without Terre Verte, Payne's Grey or Rose Madder. Also, you would need at least one of the blues, probably the Cerulean, as Freud used Charcoal Black, which gives muddy green/browns when tinted. According to David Dawson, Freuds long time studio assistant/manager, his most useful recourse on colour, aside from the study of actual paintings in collections, was the book by Max Doener 'The Materials of the Artist and Their Use in Painting'. Dawson lists many of the paints he prepared for Freud. Although he didn't use them all in every painting, he would have used both reds or one of the earth colours, like Sienna, two yellows, Payne's Grey, terra Verte, either one or both of the whites and at least one blue. The colours Dawson listed are as follows: Cremnitz white Flake white No2 Naples yellow Pale Naples Yellow No3 Brilliant Yellow Pale Indian Yellow Cadmium Red Rose Madder Genuine French Ultramarine Cerulean Blue Payne's Grey Charcoal Grey Burnt Umber Raw Umber Burnt Sienna Raw Sienna Transparent red Oxide Verona Green Earth Terre Verte I should add that you can get some nice grey blues by tinting Payne's Grey depending on the brand. Also, he worked into charcoal drawing with the whites, sometimes quite a lot of charcoal, and this can give nice grey/blue tints as well Hope this is useful for anyone who wants to do an in depth study of Freud's colour.

[@GreatArtistsSteal]

Thanks for that. we will have to wait for restorers to help us with a mote in depth study of his colour. Your list is very helpful though because if I had known the list Inwould have used thses colours burnt umber + French ultramarine blue = black Raw Sienna Burnt Sienna Indian Yellow Cadmium Red

[@GreatArtistsSteal]

and the two whites

[@otoheitkoeter]

Do you know if he used sand to make the paint more thiker? we can see a lot of layers very thick... thank you.

[@mdhem04]

Great lesson in colour/palette again thanks Ian 👍

[@GreatArtistsSteal]

It is a pleasure Mike

[@0454gchiao]

Bravo!

[@jufru8727]

I think these lessons are sooooo good.Thankyou Ian.I am so grateful

[@GreatArtistsSteal]

thanks for saying that ju fru

[@poppopopp-k3j]

Thanks. It was interesting to think about the values in the eye area!

[@GreatArtistsSteal]

Thanks for your positive feedback

[@bobbytirlea]

It is a very great start! I find, that really the paint layers gives the effect: life. If one spends so much time on a painting as Lucian did, ever so sees so much with a fresh eye. I really cannot finish a portrait in one sitting. I tried. Thank you so much for the Zorn palette explanation. Really well done and said!

[@GreatArtistsSteal]

Thanks for your positive feed back Bobby.

[@joannelamb9908]

Hi! Ian. Great to see you back on screen. Thoroughly enjoyed it. I will try in acrylics as you say. Thanks again.xjo

[@GreatArtistsSteal]

Hi Jo, Good to hear from you too. I thought you might like that challenge. Post the painting to me once you have finished. x

[@GreatArtistsSteal]

thanks Wendy I hope you are well and look forward to seeing you in September

[@jackiemccarthy2464]

Thanks so much for this. I go to Graham Cole’s class at PSAD and we were looking at masters’ palettes just last week. I had a go at Freud’s Frank Auerbach which is a very similar palette to this - I didn’t use cad yellow (would have been useful) and added in raw umber (don’t know why!). Really interesting to hear you talk about how he applied paint. Looking forward to Zorn :)

[@GreatArtistsSteal]

Hi Jackie thanks for your positive feedback. I think raw umber is a good colour to use as it is a colour that can be mixed using the palette. Burnt Umber can also be used for the same reason. Freud’s Auerback painting appears to be less yellow than other paintings by him so cadmium yeloow might not be needed.

[@jamiexavier1546]

Freud used an incredibly heavy pigmented white paint called credits white and it contained pure lead,he loved it also the reason he worked so long on one painting is because he mixed every single color as he went and didn't mix any before hand

[@Thoughtcat]

Cremnitz white was the colour (autocorrect?) 🙂

[@Jezeriah]

He also put marble dust in his cremnitz white.

[@GreatArtistsSteal]

thanks for the information about the white Freud used Jamie. I think what you say about Freud mixing each colour as he went along makes sense as his colour range is so narrow.

[@whoknowswhocares885]

Cremnitz and Flake white

[@BeautyIsSkinDeep8]

That is a very good tutorial, you are very skilled

[@GreatArtistsSteal]

Thanks Sam. It is good to hear from you again.

[@BeautyIsSkinDeep8]

You are very welcome and thankyou

[@junkettarp8942]

brilliant.....i got the blues now.

[@GreatArtistsSteal]

Thanks for such a positive response

[@nickfanzo]

The biggest color in all of Freud’s work, is the heavy and thick lead white. David Dawson goes in detail the colors of Freud’s palette as well. Terra verte is one of the main colors, as well as Raw umber. He didn’t tone his canvas, is was stark white and he only works tiny sections at a time, with portraits he always worked from the bridge of the nose outward.

[@GreatArtistsSteal]

Thanks for your comments . If Terre Verte is one of his main colours which it could be, it is not needed as according another cooment above David Dawson lists two powerful blues that can be mixed with his yellows to create a stronger green than terre verte. With the painting I have analysed I dont think any green has been used but non of us will know for sure untill restorers restore Freud’s paintings.

[@nickfanzo]

@@GreatArtistsSteal hi thanks for replying! he used terre verte for skin, Dawson knows because he purchased all of Freud’s paint for him as he was his personal assistant. It’s in his book about Freud. He didn’t like intense colors.

[@GreatArtistsSteal]

Living in London means I have seen quite a lot of Freud’ s paintings and what first surprised me about his choice of skin colours is that he edits out the green colours that are a big part of living skin colours of many people. Without these greenish hues you lose the sense of the decay or or aging part of the skin. Stanley Spencer, for example , when observing skin, includes the greenish hues so you can almost smell the people he paints which is not a pleasant experience. But with a painted Freud figure there is no sense of smell. We can, therefore, enjoy his grotesques without being reminded of how people smell. This is why I have not included green for my palette in the video. However this does not mean green should not be iincluded on his palette. If I had used Terre Verte I may have found it easier to mix the reds of his grandaughter’s cheeks . Cadmium Red + Terre. Verte Thanks again.

[@nickfanzo]

@@GreatArtistsSteal very interesting, and I also red the green can be diminished and often was with charcoal gray and Payne’s gray (winsor and Newton) which were also some of his favorites . The palette is truly a personal and intimate choice indeed. Thanks for the conversation

[@TantalusRex]

I basically use the ‘zorn’ palette, but I found it worked better if I added about 30 - 40% Prussian blue into my ivory black, and added raw and burnt sienna to the palette. It can even venture into landscapes.

[@GreatArtistsSteal]

thanks for that. I think Zorn expands his palette when painting landscapes. I detect an ultrmarine blue. I think Prussian blue can be mixed with the chre to get some of the greens. I am, however, just looking at prints rather than the actual paintings.

[@marshalmaddening9011]

no naples yellow??

[@TomWats0n]

Have you switched to another platform or just stopped making videos? I was looking forward to your Zorn palette video.

[@ianellis9115]

Sorry to disappoint but stopped because my film maker is too busy. Zorn's mixing is like Freud's. The video on colour perception explains why certain colours appear to change hue when the neutral colours black, white and grey are added

[@junkettarp8942]

If you look at his studio ,he seems to have a colour theory to a myriad of paints with a myriad of different names. Warms cools. Red blue yellow.

[@GreatArtistsSteal]

Thanks for your comment. I think it would be really difficult to get the richness of his browns using just three primary colours. I think it would be possible with 6, using both the warm and cool primaries.

[@mm468zzz]

Great work ! Do you use a medium ?

[@GreatArtistsSteal]

Yes Linseed oil mixed with Zest-it 5 parts oil and one part Zest When I used turpentine or white spirit the proportion would be 3 parts oil to 1 part Turps. When put the paint on thick I would just add a bit of linseed oil I hope this is helpful

[@mm468zzz]

@@GreatArtistsSteal thanks for the explcations ! I’m french and i love follow your work

[@jacksonwendy2071]

Thanks so much for a really interesting lesson .Will try the mixing with my acrylics.

[@GreatArtistsSteal]

have tried it with Acrylic yet Wendy?

[@triggerfish999]

So Freud used a sort of extended Zorn palette. You don’t say it but black is essentially a v dark blue.

[@GreatArtistsSteal]

Yes Freud and Zorn’s palettes work the same way where black is, as you say, a dark blue.

[@theresbob8878]

Absolutely, never understood why people waste their time with a profuse pallete. Best research you can do is to understand that all full color printed materials are made from 4 inks: yellow, cyan,magenta and black.

[@GreatArtistsSteal]

I guess because many people waste time and paint trying to mix the colours they want with the palette you suggest.

[@frewkebede]

Respect bro.

[@TantalusRex]

You should be careful, you might become a colour-mixing junkie like me 😀 I wonder if you know anything about Claude Lorraine’s use of colour? I am fascinated by this artist. Thanks.

[@GreatArtistsSteal]

I dont know much apart from how important Claude is from the history of colour contrasts and how to get colours to glow. Claude’s. ideas came from first hand observation of southern European light and know howbto glaze colours over a warm ground using a limited palette.. Turner was influenced by him and Turner influenced the impressionists. By the way it is too late to take care. I am a colour mixing junkie. It is nice to hear from another one. Thanks for your interest.

[@TantalusRex]

@@GreatArtistsSteal thank you so much.

[@linvisible7782]

Am I missing something here?

[@GreatArtistsSteal]

What do you mean?

[@GreatArtistsSteal]

Something to do with your name?

[@Johnconno]

Brown.

[@GreatArtistsSteal]

Yes

[@atlantic_love]

When he talks, he sounds like a PC microphone that has lag.

[@GreatArtistsSteal]

you sound very sad

[@atlantic_love]

@@GreatArtistsSteal Not at all. It's just an observation. Slow down when you're speaking.

[@GreatArtistsSteal]

OK I agree I am talking too quickly. Subtitles are available if you can't make sense. Sorry and I will try to slow down abit. I think I am too conscious of time. Thanks Ian

[@MikePhilbin1966]

I've tried to appreciate Freud for the last five decades... and I just can't. He has no anatomical draughtsmanship... and that's a true crime in art. So, he painted some pictures of people with their genitals showing... meh.

[@peterandrew5169]

not even close

[@badenproduction6758]

Mmmmm well…… no