You have selected the subject for your painting, determined the support and medium you will use. The next task is to arrange the palette. If you are a beginning art student, the colors in your tabouret may be minimal. You have fewer choices to make. However, if you're past the initial stage or are simply a paint junkie, you may have a drawer overflowing with tubes of paint. If you can't resist the urge to buy every new color you come across, you need to decide which shades will work best with the color scheme you have in mind for your painting. Do you have a color scheme in mind?Scheme Whether or not you plan to paint a still life with the colors you see before you, or create an abstract that is completely non-representational, you will decide several things about your palette. There is a fundamental question of light and darkness. Will the painting have high contrast or will you use discrete transitions of light and dark? Are the colors vibrant or muted? Will the painting choices be analogous, complementary, limited in palette, monochromatic, or a full range of hues? A conscientious decision of all these factors will help the artist formulate a color plan for his painting. If he fails to at least think about these things, he may end up with a very jarring, unattractive, or boring painting simply because he chose the wrong colors. Tracing Just as the student plans his composition, he may find it helpful to trace his color. disposition. A strong contrast will draw attention to that area. It will become a focal point or center of interest. Complementary colors or strong light and shadow used next to each other will draw the viewer's attention. Plan out where you want your focal points, as well as the steps that will lead to the... center of the paper... before you dive headfirst into throwing paint. The artist can make several color compositions and sketches, each of which can have potential for completed paintings. Setting them aside for a short time can allow the artist to return to seeing them with new eyes. Conversely, having them in view for a day or two can allow the artist to reflect on the positive and negative points, allowing new ideas to ferment. In either case, time is not of the essence unless there is a deadline looming on the horizon. An artist can deviate from any color scheme and create a successful painting. The chance of this happening improves exponentially with the student's growing experience and observation skills. These tips are ones that an artist of any level can incorporate into their own painting habits, and even the most experienced painters use some of these principles on some level.