Palette & Paints: Philip’s Perfect Colors

Philip Reno has spent the last two decades obsessing about color, as a master painter, faux finisher, and color consultant. Since 1995, he has operated San Francisco’s G&R Paint Company, creating a palette of full-spectrum colors for C2 Paints that is prized for its complexity and sophistication. In his collection of 108 coordinating architectural shades, each single color combines some elements of blue, red, and yellow and/or their complements. Reno says, "Contrary to common practice in the paint industry, I use no black pigment to tone or darken my colors. This technique more fully approaches the light range we see in nature. Black is the one pigment that reflects no light; therefore it is not used." Visit Philips Perfect Colors to see his range of colors and to read his witty descriptions; Reno also suggests felicitous color pairings, such as Celery with Wedgewood Blue.