Developing a New Language

Hard to believe that my last post was the end of October.  Since then I've moved to California, started to teach drawing & oil painting classes and settling into life here.  I'd like to say that I have some fabulous insights to share but not quiet yet.  What has become obvious is that I needed to slow down and take in my new surroundings.  I haven't painted very much but I've been observing like a crazy person.

I've discussed in earlier blogs about my limited palette and have since gone to a more limited palette.  I'm happy with my progress but still working out the kinks.  I'm will share my new palette when I'm a little more comfortable with it.  One of the first things that I realized when I got here was that I wanted a different language to describe my new surroundings.  Surprisingly my blues weren't up to the task and so I have embarked on mixing a different range of blues than before. Mixing blues weren't a problem but now I seem to be struggling a little. Best remedy for that is to spend time looking, then experiment with mixing new colors.

It isn't that I don't know how to mix color, it's more of trying to express myself in a different manner.  It's like I've had to rearrange my words to accurately describe this new world. To communicate how intrigued and excited I am by the beauty.  I could have stayed with my old palette but it felt like I was trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.

Part of the reason for moving was to push myself as an artist, challenge the way I looked at a subject and to try to say something new besides subject matter to my work.  I've given myself permission to explore and change.  To challenge myself by working in a different manner, trying new techniques and palettes.   I'm excited to see where this journey leads.

So my tip for today is to challenge yourself to slow down and observe.  Don't be in such a rush to jump to the canvas.  Learning to describe something takes a bit of time to look and then digest it before pronouncing your viewpoint.  In the end, what you say on the canvas will have more impact if you truly understand what you are trying to convey.

Art Tip #126

Art Tutorial 
Download the Lesson

I'm happy to share my process in creating fresh & painterly works in oil.  In this PDF downloaded demo, I will offer my approach in eliminating unnecessary detail, keeping your colors clean & your brushwork descriptive.  I discuss my process from the initial selection of my subject to the final brushwork.  I include how to avoid mistakes, a section about color mixing & brushwork.  It's a great tool to print & keep beside your easel as you work through your paintings. This art tutorial is available for $10.  Click the buy now button below & once the purchase is complete, you will receive the tutorial by email.  Be sure to include your email. I hope to have a new tutorial each month.  

Art Tip #115

Do you think while you mix color?

The next few posts are going to hopefully get you to think & evaluate more about how you approach color mixing.  Here are a few questions to ask yourself.  I will be breaking these questions down into individual posts as we go along.  Just the tip of the iceberg.

1. Do you premix the majority of your palette?  Premixing helps you harmonize your painting.  Having the entire color scheme mixed next to each other allows you to see the spectrum of values, hues & saturation.   It also weeds out any "Screaming Mimi" colors that don't work before they hit the canvas.  This will help keep your painting "fresh" because you aren't constantly scrapping & remixing colors.                                                                                                      

2.  Do you have temperature variety in your palette.  Ex. If you are painting a pomegranate, did you just mix a range of light, halftone & dark reds or did you think about shifting the temperature & saturation of the reds as well?      

3.  Do you think about the saturation of colors?  Putting the purest of color in your focal point will work but if what's around it is just as saturated doesn't that dilute the focal point?            

4.  Do you mix colors that will be next to each other on the canvas?  I tend to mix color from my focal point out.  Mix colors that lie next to each other in order to judge value, temperature & saturation.

5.  Do you mix with a color in mind?  A student recently asked me how to mix Cerulean Blue.  I said I didn't have a clue.  I don't mix to a particular "color name".  My goal to mix the correct color for a specific spot in a painting.  I never think "Oh, I need Cerulean Blue" there.  Instead, I'm thinking that the color needs to be more warm or cool or more saturated or less or needs to shift in value.  Keep tube colors out of your head, let what's next to the color dictate what direction you go.

If you were to watch me mix color or paint, you'd think I was just letting the paint flow without a care in the world.  Reality is that my brain is going full speed.  I constantly have a running list of questions.  Not thinking is the worst thing for me.  It gets me in trouble every time.  While some of it is intuitive that comes from years of building my fundamentals but it doesn't allow me to turn my brain off.  So grab your palette knife & start mixing but bring your brain along for the ride.

Art Tip #108

In the Black

I use a limited palette which doesn't include black.  I make my own for several reasons.  One, I can control the temperature of my black.  From the photo, you can see the the cooler black/greys on the left with the warm version on the right.  I also find that tube black can be such a dead color & my blacks have life to them.  My standard mixture is 2 parts Ultramarine to 1 part Burnt Sienna (this will vary with the brand that you use).  This is also the base for my green (mother color) mixture which will be my next art tip.  I make just about every green that I need from this main color.  Hard to believe but greens are never an issue for me.  

 If you struggle with mixing believable & harmonious greens be sure to catch next Tuesday's post.  Happy weekend.