Titanium White: A good, general purpose white paint, essential for everyone. I usually buy a good big tube of this colour as I use more white than any other paint. Ivory Black: This black is a mixture of ultramarine and burnt umber. I use it for cool shadows. It’s also a better mixer with other colours than Mars Black. Mars Black: When I need the darkest of blacks, I reach for a tube of this. Doesn't mix with other colours particularly well (although it makes a good green when mixed with yellow). Burnt Umber: A cool earth brown, used mainly for shadows. Can be mixed with viridian to produce good foliage colours. Burnt Sienna: Another earth brown, but a very warm one. Often used in flesh colour mixes. It can be mixed with ultramarine and white to produce delicate greys. Yellow Ochre: Another essential colour, a key component of flesh colour mixes. It’s essential for foliage and grasses. Cadmium Yellow: A pure, bright yellow. Creates the purest greens when mixed with French ultramarine blue. I only seem to use this colour in small quantities, which is lucky, as this colour tends to be expensive. Cadmium Red: The purest red. Another essential component of flesh colour mixes, I often use it to warm shadow areas. Noses, ears, hands and feet often need an extra dash of this colour. It’s also expensive. Viridian: A cool but intense green. I never apply this colour on its own, but it mixes well with cadmium yellow or French ultramarine to form warm or cool greens. French Ultramarine: A gorgeous, transparent deep blue. Essential for skies, mixes well with other colours.