Maria’s Go-To Folio Palette

One of the most common questions we receive is, “Which paints does Maria have in her Folio Palette?” Today, we’re excited to share her current paint list, along with Maria’s pigment notes to help inform your paint selection process as you build (or build upon) your own travel palette!

Maria’s go-to palette is the Folio Palette because it lets her maximize her number of paints, mix colors on the large lid, and use bigger travel brushes like Rosemary & Co’s R28 Large Mop and the Niji Flat Water Brush in our Standard and Double Pans.

Paint List by Row

Maria often rotates her colors, but the list below features her favorites!

Row 1: Titanium White (gouache), Buff Titanium, Hansa Yellow Light, Hansa Yellow Medium, Cadmium Red Medium Hue (top), Perylene Red (bottom), Deep Scarlet, Quinacridone Rose, Lavender.

Row 2: Cobalt Teal Blue, Cerulean Blue Chromium, Cobalt Blue, Ultramarine Blue, Phthalo Blue (Red Shade), Indanthrone Blue, Green Gold.

Row 3: Yellow Ochre, Raw Sienna, Quinacridone Gold, Quinacridone Burnt Orange, Lunar Earth, Burnt Umber, Moonglow, Graphite Gray.

While the majority of the colors above have lived in her palette for years, Maria makes room for new pans by welcoming a rotation of neutral pigments or experimental hues suggested by friends and other artists. She fills Double Pans with her favorite, most-used pigments. As she explores color through the seasons and across climates, her palette adapts with her!

Pigment Highlights from Maria

Maria’s palette is configured around a set of core split-primary pigments, including warm and cool versions of yellows, reds, and blues. She’s chosen additional pigments based on convenience for mixing and properties such as opacity or granulation. Maria recommends learning about pigments and appreciates resources such as Daniel Smith’s Color Chart, Daniel Smith’s Color Stories and Color Map, and our friend and color aficionado Jane Blundell’s website.

Yellows

Maria carries a range of cool and warm yellows to allow for the widest range of secondary mixes and pigment properties.

• Hansa Yellow Light: a lemony yellow for mixing greens and bright, sunny accents.

• Hansa Yellow Medium: a clean medium yellow that is a classic warm/cool pair with Hansa Yellow Light.

• Raw Sienna: a semi-transparent and granulating alternative to Yellow Ochre.

• Yellow Ochre: a lovely warm yellow; Daniel Smith’s version is transparent and Maria often uses it as a base wash to set a painting’s mood and for mixing moody greys.

• Quinacridone Gold: a transparent gold that mixes beautiful greens (especially with Phthalo Blues) and useful for glazing (adding a thin transparent wash) to add a glow to colors.

• Green Gold: a useful shortcut green for painting on the go quickly. Can be easily mixed with blues, ochres, or reds to shift tone.

Reds & Pinks

A range of reds and pinks allows for versatile purple and orange mixes.

• Cadmium Red Medium Hue: a bold, semi-transparent red for adding accents.

• Perylene Red: a slightly deeper red Maria has been experimenting with.

• Quinacridone Rose: a core magenta for mixing purples and oranges.

• Deep Scarlet: a favorite earth red that Maria uses for mixing moody greys, dusty purples and painting buildings.

• Lavender: a convenience color for quick, soft skies.

Blues & Teals

Maria keeps a range of blues in her palette and cycles some in and out depending on the season. They range in temperature, transparency, and saturation.

• Cobalt Teal Blue: an opaque, granulating paint for sea and sky.

• Cerulean Blue Chromium: a granulating staple for mixing skies.

• Cobalt Blue: a semi-transparent primary blue for bright skies.

• Ultramarine Blue: a granulating blue and a favorite for mixing greys.

• Phthalo Blue (Red Shade): a bold, transparent blue that creates beautiful greens when mixed with Quinacridone Gold or Quinacridone Burnt Orange. A little goes a long way!

• Indanthrone Blue: a favorite deep blue for moody skies, mixing greens, and monochromatic studies.

Neutrals & Earth Tones

In addition to some go-to neutrals, Maria likes to leave room in her palette to rotate in new hues.

• Titanium White Gouache: Maria uses this to mix pastels and for final white highlights such as sail boat masts or animal whiskers.

• Quinacridone Burnt Orange: a transparent alternative to Raw Sienna.

• Burnt Umber: a staple earth tone in Maria’s palette for more than 20 years, especially for mixing with blues for a range of greys.

• Moonglow: a beautiful neutral for rich shadows. Maria was inspired to carry this color by our friend Gavin Snider!

• Graphite Gray: a highly opaque and silvery deep graphite color, useful for final dark accents.

• Lunar Earth: a highly granulating, fun to mix with blues (especially Ultramarine) to create a range of warm greys for rocks and mountains.

• Buff Titanium: an opaque light color for beaches that mixes well with other colors for pastels.

A friend once told Maria that “a palette is a portrait of an artist.” As you play with color, follow your delight of what you enjoy! Start with your essential warm and cool primary colors and then add curated colors based on their properties such as granulation and opacity, or convenience for mixing. Explore, experiment, and have fun!

Re-Create Maria’s Folio Palette

All you need is a Black Folio Palette, 2 Mini Pans, 15 Standard Pans, and 7 Double Pans to re-create Maria’s palette!