The Portrait Institute Color System palette consists of two rows of colors. The top row consists of twelve standard colors. The lower row contains white, black and ten specially formulated colors, premixed for convenience and accuracy. The Portrait Institute colors are adjusted for hue, value and intensity by mixing with each other, with other Portrait Institute colors, or with colors from the standard palette.

These colors are not "crutches" or a "paint-by-number" shortcut. These ten colors are, in fact, simple traditional flesh color combinations (see descriptions below) used by all portrait artists since the introduction of oil painting. For example, Light 1 is produced by combining white, Yellow Ochre and Cadmium Red Light. The resulting hue has been used by painters for the five hundred years of oil painting. The artist modifies and adjusts each of the Portrait Institute colors in exactly the same way as he would a color from the standard palette. 78 such modifications are demonstrated in the Portrait Institute chart.

The two big advantages of the Portrait Institute Color System are time savings and accuracy. As you make the color combinations required by the Portrait Institute chart, you will note that in each case you are simply modifying one of the Portrait Institute colors by adding a touch from one or two other colors. These modifications are based entirely on your observation of the portrait subject.

Standard Colors
Ultramarine Blue	Cerulean Blue	Viridian	Chromium Oxide Green	Alizarin Crimson	Burnt Umber
Burnt Sienna	Cadmium Orange	Venetian Red	Cadmium Red Light	Yellow Ochre	Cadmium Yellow Light

	Portrait Institute Colors
Ivory Black		Neutral 7	Neutral 5	Neutral 3		Dark 2	Dark 1		White
		THE NEUTRALS Neutral 7. Positioned on a value scale of nine tones, this is a dark halftone, midway between Value 5 and black. A warm dark gray combining white, Ivory Black and Yellow Ochre. Neutral 5. Precisely midway in value between Black and White. A combination of white, black and Yellow Ochre. Neutral 3. The light halftone. Combines white, black and Yellow Ochre.				THE DARKS Dark 2. A rich, dark mixture of Burnt Sienna, Viridian and Cadmium Orange. Dark 1. White has been added to the basic mixture of Dark 2.

	Portrait Institute Colors
		Halftone 2	Halftone 1		Light 3	Light 2	Light 1
		THE HALFTONES Halftone 2. Often used where light and shadow areas meet, this warm, rich color combines white, Yellow Ochre, Cadmium Red Light and Viridian. Halftone 1. A cool halftone, especially helpful as a starting point in painting receding planes. Combines white, Yellow Ochre, Cadmium Red Light and Viridian.			THE LIGHTS Light 3. A warm, pink flesh color for ruddy areas in light. Combines white, Yellow Ochre, Cadmium Red Light and Cerulean Blue. Light 2. A basic Caucasian flesh tone. Combines white, Yellow Ochre, Cadmium Red Light and Cerulean Blue. Light 1. A clean, clear color for the lightest lights. Combines white, Yellow Ochre and Cadmium Red Light.

Why Are the Portrait Institute Colors Numbered From Right to Left?

The majority of painters are right-handed. A right-handed painter works with his or her palette on the left with the light falling on the work from the left side. This arrangement prevents shadows from the artist's hand and brush from falling onto the point of concentration.

White, the artist's most-used pigment, is placed closest to the canvas, on the extreme right-hand side of the palette. The Portrait Institute colors are arranged from light to dark, working away from white. Hence the arrangement shown here and in the Portrait Institute Color System chart.