Shelley Prior is Canadian artist from Burlington, ON whose skies I really admire! She creates glowing, luminous cloudscapes. She lists her palette on her Materials page.
I was able to paint out a mostly faithful palette, though I messed up the positioning in the blues (swapping Indanthrone and Payne’s), and did self-mixes for several mixed colors. Looking at the palette painted out, I can see that it’s roughly divided into blue, red, and yellow primary sections (the Stephen Quiller palette used also has those divisions). The reds lean cool, and the “yellows” section includes earth colors and greens.
| Slot | SP Has |
|---|---|
| Crimson | DV Alizarin Crimson Quinacridone (PV19) |
| Rose | DV Permanent Rose (PV19) |
| Special FX | DV Opus (PR122 + fluo.) |
| Red | DV Rose D’Or (PV19, PR188) |
| Brown | DV Sepia (PBr7, PBk6) |
| Earth Orange | DV Burnt Sienna (PBr7) |
| Gold | DV Quinacridone Gold (PY150 + PO48, discontinued) |
| Earth Yellow | DV Raw Sienna (PBr7) |
| Orange-Yellow | DV Gamboge Hue (PY42, PY3) |
| Yellow | DV Aureolin Mixture (PY40, PY3) |
| Yellow-Green | DV Leaf Green (PG7, PY65) |
| Green | DV Sap Green (PG7, PY42) |
| Green | DV Hookers Green Dark (PG7, PY42) |
| Turquoise | DV Cobalt Turquoise (PB35) |
| Cyan | DV ​Cerulean Hue (PB15 + PW6) |
| Blue | DV Cobalt Blue (PB28) |
| Violet-Blue | DV French Ultramarine Blue (PB29) |
| Gray | DV Paynes Grey (PB27 + PBk6) |
| Violet | DV ​Quinacridone Violet (PV19) |
| Dark Blue | Qor Indanthrone Blue (PB60) |
| Gray | WN Neutral Tint |
- The high number of cool reds, all slightly different, suggest a focus on pink flowers or sunsets.
- Specifically, Opus – There’s nothing quite like fluorescent pink for fiery sunset clouds, and it’s also a wonderful glazer for hot pink florals.
- Also, Rose D’Or – a punchy coral red, similar to my sunset fave, Quin Red (PR209). A coral pink is also a great botanical color.
- The high number of foliage greens also suggests a landscape or botanical focus.
- Gamboge Hue, a mix of yellow of ochre, could be a great sunset color (similar to the way I use Naples Yellow Deep).
- Cerulean Hue is suggestive of skies. This is Phthalo Blue with added white, which makes it a more convenient blue sky color. It can be easier to handle without overpowering other mixes.
That said, this palette is large and diverse enough for all sorts of uses. Not enough yellows for me, but to each their own.