Thomas Hardy sits in the centre of the value range, lending the palette a sense of even, sustained light. Thomas Hardy balances warm and cool with remarkable evenness, giving the composition its characteristic vibrancy. Chroma is kept low across all colours, producing the soft, enveloping quality that characterises tonal painting. At 4.4%, #B2AA9D carries the palette's sharpest chromatic charge: an accent that earns its place precisely because it is withheld. The full value range is 61 units: broad enough to build convincing three-dimensional form. This is palette 3 of Thomas Hardy's sequence - a single chapter in a chromatic story told across many works.