When I First started to demonstrate portrait painting in the classroom and on the platform, I very naturally used the selection of colors on which I had long relied in my professional work—a "full" palette of sixteen or more separate paints. I had found this palette satisfactory for all the variegated colorings of every type and complexion of sitter.

I soon discovered, however, that painting a demonstration portrait from the model in a limited period, and under a constant barrage of questions from my audience, was quite different from leisurely painting in my studio. It became evident that my full palette and my unhurried procedure was not ideally adapted either to demonstration purposes or to the work of the beginner who is following my instruction. There was need, in other words, for a palette of fewer colors, and for a more direct painting approach.

As to the simplification of the palette, a logical solution soon presented itself. Why not, for each demonstration, "set the palette"—as the artist calls it—by squeezing out only those paints dictated by the complexion of the chosen model? In this way the number of colors for each model would be kept to the absolute minimum possible without detriment to the finished product.

Experimentation gradually proved that the type of brunette who has dark hair and eyes yet with relatively light lips and skin, could seldom be done with less than seven colors, plus white and black. The outdoor type, its natural coloring modified by sun and wind, could be managed with but three colors, plus white and black. (Quite a shrinkage from my original sixteen!) The blonde, light of hair and fair of face, required a preponderance of light paints, yet even here six colors, together with the ubiquitous white and black, could serve every purpose. These three limited palettes were therefore settled upon as standards; their component hues are listed in the next chapter.

We can think of these palettes as the heart—or perhaps I should say the lifeblood—of this book. I call each of them a "key" palette, for, so far as color is concerned, it actually unlocks the door to the successful representation of the particular type of person for whom it was developed.

But color, important as it is, is not the only prerequisite of good portraiture. The painter must obtain a suitable likeness of his sitter. This means that he must be able to construct in proper proportion all of the needed shapes. Many construction approaches are of a fumbling, trial-and-error order, time-consuming and ineffectual. So during the period when I was perfecting my palettes I worked out a methodical construction procedure depending entirely on rapid brush-work. While no method can guarantee good results—for much depends on the accuracy of the painter's eye and the steadiness of his hand —this one has, on the whole, proved excellent.

Like the key palettes, this construction method will be emphasized throughout the book. Taken together, the palettes and the construction method permit sound results, rapid in execution and pleasing in appearance. I can at present paint from the model in an hour a demonstration portrait such as used to call for three or four hours. More to the point, my students now advance far more quickly and surely than in the past.

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