Is there such a thing as too much paint?

   I am not a hoarder.  Well, not in the true sense of needing the County to intervene with shovels. But I do like my colors. When I started painting 20 years ago, I became a pastelist. Pastels are tools of intense pigment, which is a pure joy. Unfortunately, you can not mix pastels. You can stroke a glaze of one color over another but they remain distinct.  The only solution in my mind, was to own at least one of every color available.  So I do. (I worked in an art store.) 

  I  stopped painting with pastels because my teacher, Diane Tesler, said I could easily move back and forth between the two mediums.  Framing large pastels with non-relfective glass had become exorbitant.   So, I became an oil painter.  I had much difficulty using a paint brush. It felt so awkward to have something between me and the color.  With pastels, the hand is directly on the pigment.  I never was able to move between the mediums.  I had a sure touch with pastels, but now it is gone.  And I still struggle with the brush.

  One can paint beautifully with a limited palate.  Many do. There are many ways to make a color from other colors.  Yellow and black make amazing greens.  Lemon Yellow and a Mars Black makes a very different green than Cadmium Yellow and Ivory black.One color, between different manufacturers, can vary distinctly.   I remain seduced by colors.  

 Blue is my signature color. I have about 30 varieties of blues which can morph into dozens of other colors.

Maybe someone should call the County.