I really need help with colours. I'm a beginner. I've had that title for a lot of years. I first tried to paint about 20 years ago. I made the beginner's mistake and bought just about every colour known to man! At the time I bought heaps of paint, brushes, papers, easels etc. etc...........all expensive, top quality stuff. My husband built me a studio in the garden. But I quickly became discouraged and went no further. Then about 5 years ago I was inspired to give it another try. I still had all that stuff sitting, unused in my studio. A lot of the paints were unopened and appeared to be quite okay.

So my question is about colours. For me colour is THE thing that attracts me to a painting. The composition can be a bit ordinary, the technique not necessarily brilliant, but if the colours are coordinated and not jarring, I'm always going to be attracted to that painting.

So, I need help with selecting a limited palette, say a maximum of around 8 colours. What would you choose as a basic palette? From that palette, what colours would you mix for a 1. a warm/cool grey 2. a brown 3. a warm/cool green. With your suggested palette, it would be great if you could be specific. i.e. not just say a transparent yellow, but suggestions for which transparent yellow.

I'd really appreciate your help on this as I'm struggling with my colour choices. Thank you!