Even if I plan to work on only a very specific section of any particular painting in a session, I always work with the full range of colors I've chosen for a particular painting on my palette. (An exception to this is when I’m working on my underpainting. Once I decide what my ground colors will be, I work with a very limited palette until I’m ready to begin the next phase.) Working with a full range every time leaves me free to paint “in the moment” when I see (and believe me, I always do!) something else in the painting I want to do “right this second.” Today, for instance, I knew I wanted to work mainly on the shadows and light patterns in the foreground (the bottom half of the painting), but suddenly I took a break from that to do a little finishing work on the top half. Then a deep breath as I plunged once more into the shadows. A sigh of relief. The foreground began looking a lot less creepy, a little more interesting and inviting. At first it was starting to look a little too controlled, but I loosened up the foreground a bit, and now I think it's almost finished. Lesson learned: perseverance pays off (most times)!
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