Palette Journey

Choosing a color palette is a funny business.  I've been on this journey recently and finding it exciting and frustrating at the same time.  I LOVE COLOR but that can sometimes get in the way to picking a new palette.  I'm a little unsure about where my palette has settled, so I'm still tweaking away.  I thought I'd share some questions to ask yourself if you are looking to change up your palette.

• What are your reasons for changing your palette?  For me it was a move to the west coast.  As I discussed in last week's post, I felt the need for a new language to describe my new home and surroundings.  For you, maybe you're bored with your palette, lack of harmony in your work, you have no set palette (just randomly placing color each time your paint) or constantly making mud (making mud means you don't have a solid understanding of how your colors interact).
• Do I want a limited or expanded palette? - I'm a big fan of a limited palette but see advantages to a more expanded palette.  I highly suggest a limited palette if you are struggling with color or you lack color harmony in your work.  Understanding color is simpler if you limit your choices. Limiting your choices does not mean limiting your color.  When I went to a limited palette my understanding of color mixing jumped exponentially.  I found I could mix any color I needed because I understood how my colors worked together.  If your palette contains 10 to 20 tubes, it is more unlikely that you understand how each of those colors interact with each other.  An expanded palette works if you are someone who doesn't like to constantly mix color, time is issue and cost doesn't factor into the equation.  But keep in mind that if you are struggling with understanding color, an expanded palette will be more challenging. 
• One palette does not suit all - I have my "basic" palette but when I switch to figurative work, I will add a few additional colors.  I know many artists that have slightly different palettes when they paint florals versus landscapes or a different palette for plein air.  It all about understanding the different needs for given situations.  
• How to decide hues for your palette - My previous palette included a "warm" & "cool" version of the primary colors plus white.  My new palette has been scaled down to the 3 primary colors with an additional "specialty color. I quite enjoy mixing color and making my own black because I can adjust them as needed for each painting.  Some people just want to dip into Cad. Orange and not have to mix it.  Do you mix your colors on your palette or let them mix on the canvas?  It comes down to what works best for you. Just don't get complacent and stick to a routine just because it's what you've always done.

In the end, a color palette must suit the artist.  If you can't express yourself with your color choices than it's time for a change.  I do believe that students should have a good understanding of a limited palette before adding additional hues.  Regardless of the number of colors on your palette, doing color charts (Yuck, I know) really is a great way to understand your particular palette.  I did similar color charts like Richard Schmid's. Invaluable. 

As promised, I will share my palette once the kinks are worked out.  No need for you to see the sausage being made.

Art Tip #131

Conveying Emotion

I've been giving a lot of thought on the direction of my art.  I constantly fight with wanting to be technically good but wanting more than just a nice piece of artwork.  I think most artists reach this point at some time in their career.  I found some notes that I jotted down from an interview I read several years ago of an artist (didn't think to write her name down) who was at the same stage. She said it became a spiritual experience & it felt like she was an orchestra conductor of movement & energy.  Here are some of the questions that she posed.  

1. What emotion do you want your painting to convey visually? Somber, joy, anger,

passion, etc?  Do you want to describe a time of day or night?

2.  What colors to use?  Does a predominantly blue painting convey sadness or restfulness?

3.  What tonal value?  Does a high key painting speak softness or joy?

4.  What type of movement?  Do you want to speak of a bustling street scene or a person 

deep in thought?

5.  What type of marks should I make?  Should you have energetic brushwork for a waterfall 

or quiet strokes for a calm day on the water?

A favorite artist of mine is Ron Hicks. Each of his paintings have a definitive story.  In "The Conductor" his energetic brushwork allows the audience to experience the maestro's movement. You can almost hear the orchestra.

Before starting a painting, do you ask yourself what emotion you want to convey? Something to think about. 

Art Tip #109

In the Green

                

          

One of the most common areas of difficulty for beginning & intermediate students is mixing believable greens.  Greens that will harmonize & not look like you squeezed the color "straight out of the tube".  Last week I talked about making my own dark/black.  That dark is the basis for all my greens which I add...can you guess?  My favorite Indian Yellow.  This gives me a dark, fairly transparent mossy green that is the "mother color" of all my greens.

I then add Viridian or more Ultramarine Blue for a "cooler" version of the mossy (warmer) green.  I will occasionally add Phthalo Blue if I really need to push the color.   I try to lighten my colors with different tints of yellows, purples, greys...just about any color but rarely do I add pure white.  While white will lighten & cool, it also makes colors chalky.  

You can see from above that while I start with a desaturated green, I'm able to make beautiful saturated colors with a variety of temperature shifts.  Harmonizing my greens happens because they all have a little bit of that mother color mixture in them.  

It is but a very small sampling of green mixes.  This way of mixing greens & having a limited palette gave me the confidence to mix any color.  What better way to start your day at the easel already knowing that your palette will be harmony each & every time.

Art Tip #105 - Demo "Kiawah Marsh"

Marsh Demo


I hope you enjoy and gain a bit of insight on my process.

Art Tip #102

The Beauty of a Limited Palette

How many paint colors are on your palette?   I have 6 plus white.  A warm & cool of each primary.  I mix my own dark/black which is also the base of my greens.  I can usually obtain any color within 3 mixes and thereby avoid muddy or dead colors.  Having so many tubes of paint doesn't make it easier to get the right color, it fact makes it more difficult.  You can get overwhelmed with too many choices.  My limited palette is like having a good basic cake recipe.  You can mix it without thinking and then have the ability to make different cakes from that basic recipe.

I don't think of my palette as limited but as unlimited because I know how my paints react & compliment each other.  I've yet to come up with a color I can't mix.  I'm a much more confident painter with my limited palette.  What about you?

Art Tip #101

I've been teaching oil painting for 8 years.  After painting miles of canvas and trying to articulate those tips for my students, I thought would share these with you.  The lessons will range from talking color, loosening up, finding your style, painting from photos to how to clean your brushes.  Some will be profound, some funny and some abstract but hopefully all useful.

Tip #101
Thank God for baby wipes

Almost every student hears me say..."What a lovely shade of lipstick, is that Cad. Red Light? or you could do the "Got Milk" commercial, if milk color was Viridian".   Baby Wipes save the day.  My favorite wipes are Rite Aid's brand but Pampers works good too.  So before you leave the studio, make sure if there is paint on you, it at least coordinates with your outfit.

If you have a question that you would like me to answer, email me.