Oil Painting - Prep. your palette

Preparing Your Palette: The Pros and Cons of Premixing Colors

When starting a new painting, one of the most important — yet often overlooked — steps is the preparation of your palette. Beyond just squeezing out a few favorite hues, preparing your palette is about anticipating the needs of your composition, ensuring that your vision can be translated to the canvas with confidence. By premixing colors in advance, you reduce the stress of constant color selection and mixing during the painting process, leaving you more focused on composition, light, and brushwork.

In this post, I’d like to explore both the benefits and drawbacks of premixing your colors and share a few approaches artists use to organize their palette before diving into paint application.

My Approach: Painting Through Color Groups

One method I have experimented with — and found particularly useful — is dividing the painting into color groups. Instead of tackling the entire canvas at once, I prepare ranges of tones that correspond to specific areas of the work. This turns the painting into a sequence of smaller, organized steps, each focused on developing one area with a consistent palette.

This technique can streamline the workflow, but like any process, it comes with both advantages and limitations.

Advantages of Premixing

• Less wasted paint: By preparing deliberate amounts, you reduce excess that often dries on the palette.

• Cleaner colors: Premixing minimizes accidental “muddying” that can happen with repeated on-the-fly mixing.

• Improved organization: Laying out clear value and hue transitions makes the palette easier to navigate mid-painting.

Limitations of Premixing

• Reduced spontaneity: When colors are decided in advance, it may be harder to improvise or follow new ideas mid-process.

• Challenges with realism (mimesis): Integrating distinct premixed groups can sometimes feel less seamless, making it harder to capture the natural flow of light and form.

• Potential slow-down: Taking time upfront for preparation can delay the “momentum” of painting — though, arguably, this discipline can also improve results.

Let’s Open the Conversation

Every artist approaches their palette differently. Some thrive on spontaneous mixing, others on methodical preparation. I’ve found premixing helpful in many contexts, though it isn’t without its trade-offs.

What about you? Do you premix your colors, or prefer to mix as you go? Do you agree with the pros and cons above? I’d love to hear about your favorite palette-preparation methods and how they shape your painting process.