Empowering artists to maximize their color sensibilities

How Well do Purple and Orange Dance Together? Mixing Secondaries

May 17, 2011 — Leave a Comment

"Ascend" - 20x15 oil (click to enlarge)

Do purple and orange mix together well? Don’t they make mud? Why would I mix or layer these two colors?

Living in the land of red rocks  – the Garden of the Gods – and awe striking outcroppings all over the region, I feel challenged to paint these marvels. They shoot up out of the ground showing off their shapes, shadows, colors and size, tantalizing us all. It is almost a Grand Canyon in reverse.

So how do we artists paint these rocks with the beauty that they deserve? The terra cotta reds and oranges are more of a challenge to mix and convey versus the greens of trees or blues of the sky, and then there are the cast shadows to capture.

As most of us know, orange and purple are secondaries on the color wheel – the primaries of red and yellow make orange, and the primaries blue and red make purple, but most artists do not know that orange and purple mix into a lovely burnt sienna. When I started to paint “Ascend,” I did not want to use the more typical blue for my shadows because blue greys the orange and makes the orange dull versus vibrant.

Underpainting for "Ascend"

This second image (step 1) shows the first layer of paint, or underpainting, for “Ascend.” It was a warm, sunny afternoon, with the sun light coming from the right and fairly high. My sunny skies are always underpainted with a warm color – yellow, salmon or pink – and the sun is slightly cooler when it is mid-day, so I used a pale yellow.

Notice that the shadow shapes are either a cool blue purple or a warm red purple. The darker valued shadows are painted using a blue purple. All of the sunlight shapes are either yellow or orange.

A detour for a moment: I had never painted a tall rock from this perspective and I wanted to take on that challenge as well. It was important that the drawing accurately convey that the viewer is looking up into the sky.

Step two of "Ascend" (click to enlarge)

Here (step 2) you can see that I have started to paint using local colors; I have gradated the sky and started to paint the rocks. In the shadows in the lower part of the outcropping, I have added a blue purple. The dark blue purple shadow color in the higher part of the rock are layered with orange. Notice the rich burnt sienna-like colors I get. To me, this is more appealing than using an ultramarine blue. And if you look real close, you can see that I added a ‘hat’ to the outcropping because I wanted the outcropping to project further up into the sky.

Would you have stopped painting at this point? Some artists might have.

Step three of "Ascend" (click to enlarge)

At this stage (step 3) of the painting, I am beginning to model the rock, define the cast shadows and deciding how I am going to paint the highlights.

This composition is a bit tricky because my focal area is top of the outcropping where the warmest colors are. How to I give the viewer the feeling that it is very high up in the sky and yet use warm orange which tends to make the subject come forward in a painting?

Another challenge is that this outcropping has two ‘layers’ of colors. The top third is orange while the lower two-thirds is a white sand.

Step four of "Ascend" (click to enlarge)

I decided to darken the sky (step 4)  and make the gradation of it more dramatic; this I believe helps to give the feeling that you are looking up. The darker sky is also more purple, though it is not evident in this digital image, which harmonizes the colors in painting.

Some aqua blues are added to the white areas in the lower part of the outcropping. Again, this is for color harmony.

Also, I am having to take notice of the lines my shadows and rock shapes are making; their direction  assists in the perspective I want to achieve. The white part of the outcropping is forcing me to  use several light valued colors, which is fun to do.

Does this painting need clouds? I am not sure. There were wispy clouds that day.

"Ascend" completed painting (click to enlarge)

To finish the painting (step 5), I softened many of the edges, particularly the left side of the outcropping and the lower right. Why? Because I want you to focus most of your attention to the upper part of the rock.

What do you think of the clouds? My local critic – my hubby – thought the painting needed clouds. What do you think they add or do they detract?

For a little more color and drama, I added a line of light orange on the edge of the shadows; this is the first time I have tried this technique. You can see that the highlighted edges of the upper part of the outcropping are more yellow, whereas I allowed more pure whites in the middle.

There is not an ounce of ultramarine or cobalt blue anywhere in the outcropping. Have I convinced you to try out your purples with orange subjects?

Posted in Color, Step-by-Step Painting Progressions | Tagged , , ,

An Artist’s Demo Inspires Me to Paint Patches

April 6, 2011 — 2 Comments

Last Saturday, the Saks Galleries of Denver, invited people to attend a demonstration by Michelle Torrez, a highly acclaimed artist. Her subjects are most often dancers or people moving, and her brush strokes are very expressive. Since Denver is only an hours drive away, I decided to take advantage of this opportunity.

"Patches"-14x11 oil with brush (click to enlarge)

My preferred tool is the palette knife because I like the physicality of it, the ease of cleaning it and the textures I can achieve with it. Brushes are my secondary tool (and I hate cleaning them!).  Michelle used a 3/4″ filbert brush for her demo on a small canvas – approximately 16×8.  Since our approaches are quite different, why did I want to watch Torrez paint?

Viewing how another artist paints has always been fascinating to me. I believe, Differences are what makes the world goes around, and I like to experience another perspective. There is always something to gain and life long learning is one of my values.

As a result of watching Torrez hold onto her brush at the very end of the brush and essentially dance across the canvas, I thought I should give it the old college try. Just as my ease of using the palette knife is due to painting only with the knife for an entire year (no brushes allowed!), I know I cannot pick up the brush and paint as Michelle paints. She is efficient with her tool much as a concert pianist moves her fingers up and down the key board.

I decided to try painting a portrait of Patches, a dog owned by a friend of ours. Granted the dog is not moving – I need photos of dogs running, jumping, toy in mouth, different angles, etc. – I figured it was a place to start.  It was important that I keep my hand off of my palette knife the entire time.

Below I show the painting stages of Patches:

Drawing of Patches on canvas

1. This is the drawing on a 14×11 canvas – which was not textured with gesso and I do that on almost all of my canvases. I used a pastel pencil.

I decided to paint a frame around Patches to give it a more contemporary design. There is no plan at this stage as to how well this will work or not; these are the kinds of challenges I like to present to myself.

First layer of paint

2. Here is the first layer of paint. Yellow was applied in most of the highlighted areas because it is a warm color. It is also a good base for the butterscotch hair color. Also, Patches’ dog tag is bright yellow and I knew I had to incorporate this color in the painting. Purples were used because they are the opposite of yellow on the color wheel. I wanted to get the darkest darks – purple – painted at this stage.

I have been diligent in using a brush, but I am finding it difficult to hold it at the very end.

You can see that I am experimenting with the color of the frame. As I started painting the frame, I decided that it would be fun to have some of Patches hair flow over the edge of the bottom. Who would’ve thought?

Second layer of paint

3. Because Patches is basically a light colored dog, I painted the immediate background a dark warm purple to make her pop. The entire eyeball is painted black and this is the ONLY place I use black in a painting. I much prefer to mix my blacks because those are richer colors.

Unlike Michelle, I am not able to use only one large brush on this small canvas. It will take practice and I think if I had a moving subject to paint, my strokes would be more gestural.

Patches still looks a little scary at this point! By the way, she is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.

Making Patches feel more 3-D

4. In all of my pet portraits, I want you feel like you could go in and pet the animal, hence I want it to be as three-dimensional as possible. You can see various colors of “white” to give Patches a round head, nose, etc. I am staying away from the eyes because that is dessert for me!

The frame is a mix of many of the colors I have been using in my palette, but staying a mid-gray. I cannot seem to get an much paint on my brush as Torrez does. Hmmmm, what to do?

Patches eyes painted - I love painting a dog's eyes

5. Patches’ eyes are nearly finished. Eyes to me are like marbles and that is what I think of as I paint them.

I am trying to incorporate many different colors into Patches’ hair. Note that the shadows are a pale blue-purple versus a boring gray.

The yellow tag is bugging me because it is standing out too much even though I have softened the edges.  I need to integrate more yellow into the rest of the painting.

One of the key techniques I learned from Michelle, was watching her use hard and soft edges throughout her painting. I see that there are some edges I want to soften; this will also make Patches seem softer and more real because dogs are soft!

"Patches" finished and ready to be signed. (click to enlarge)

“Patches” is completed. The frame has more painterly strokes and I incorporated more colors in it as well as in her hair. Doesn’t the frame also have a ‘patchy’ look? :) Yellow is integrated throughout but that is difficult to see in this digital image. I was going to paint cast shadows of Patches’ hair hanging over the frame, but decided that that was not necessary.

The finished product is not a Michelle Torrez – and I don’t want it to be – but I enjoyed the process and learned a lot.

Now I need to find out what Patches’ mom, Pat, thinks of the painting and if Patches needs any tweaks.  She does not know that I am immortalizing her beloved pet.

Stay tuned…

Posted in Step-by-Step Painting Progressions | Tagged , ,

Humbled Artist: A Writer Responds to One of My Paintings

March 21, 2011 — 2 Comments

Recently, I received a wonderful gift in the mail from a friend and fan of mine. Unbeknown to me, he had written a story poem inspired by my painting “Swinging in the Wind,” and sent it to me. As the recipient, I was humbled by his words – in fact I was moved to tears. Why?

"Swinging in the Wind" 20x15 pastel (click to enlarge)

When one of my images strikes another person’s emotional or spiritual chord, my heart is rewarded. In this world of sound bites and texting, knowing that a visual creation can cause someone to pause and reflect, is deeply satisfying.  Making connections with our fellow humans is vital to humanity, our creativity, and is inspiring. Below is David’s writing.

Memories: The Swing

by David Quammen (Minneapolis, Minnesota)

The climb up the hill was considerably more strenuous than it had been those many decades ago. As Jim neared the crest of the hill he could see the tree. His tree, or at least, in those years he thought of it as his tree. Another step toward the crest and he saw the branch of the tree on which the rope had been tied. One more step and the rope came into view.

His heartbeat, more noticeable as a result of the climb, calmed a bit when the swing came into view.

Reaching the crest, Jim approached the swing. Happy to see that it was still there.

Seeing the swing, being gently swayed by the Colorado breeze, flooded his mind with those long ago dreams and fantasies from his childhood.

As Jim neared the swing he noticed the rope was in good shape. Perhaps someone replaced the old rope.

Others must have used the swing. The old rope would have rotted over the years.

Jim’s memory recalled the name ‘Goodrich’ which had been on the tire casing. On examination he found this was the original tire.

Pushing on the tire, it swung with ease. Would it hold him? Could he still sit in the tire?

With the weight of his body he pulled down on the tire. The branch bent, but did not appear to be overly stressed. Jim pulled as hard as he could downward. He thought the swing would hold his weight.

Knowing this would be his last trip to see this hallowed place of his childhood, he decided to take the risk and sit in the swing.

Carefully he put his head through the center of the tire, turned his body and clasping the top of the tire and rope, pulled himself up to where he could sit in the tire facing the valley below.

As he settled his body in the swing, the memory vault of his mind sprang open. Suddenly he was a child again. It was a summer day and he was swinging back and forth gazing into the valley below and the horizon beyond the mountain peaks.

A child’s mind can instantly create thought and fantasies.

In the days of his youth Jim would think of the future. At times he would look deep into the valley, perhaps in search of pitfalls which may come his way.

Gazing, even staring at times, into the endless horizon beyond the mountain tops often brought to him a sense of hope, inspiration and belief that he could accomplish his goals, many of them yet to be revealed.

Then, as quickly as his earlier life had come to mind, he returned to the present.

With this change came thoughts of uncertainty for the future. Jim was old, days are numbered.

One more gently swing, then with his feet on the ground, removed his body from the swing.

With an affectionate touch to the tire, he released his hold, turned his back and began the walk to his car. As he began the descent he was compelled to look, once more, at this childhood scene burned deep in his heart.

The swing, swaying ever so lightly, again waiting patiently for the next child to ride the wind – and Dream.

Reflections of yesteryear accompanied Jim as he slowly made his way down hill to his car.

The long planned visit was over. A slow smile came across his face. For a brief period of time he had been returned to his days of youth.

~~~~

Has a painting ever moved you to writing a response? Or has anyone written or composed music inspired by one of your creations?

Posted in Personal Reflections

Paint it Red & Paint it Big!

February 28, 2011 — 2 Comments

"The Tango, From Inside Out," 24x26 oil

Years ago, while attending a workshop instructed by a well known artist, the class was talking about some tips on how to one’s artwork accepted into juried shows. One statement from the instructor I will never forget, was “Paint it red and paint it big.” Accordingly, this would potentially increase my probability of being accepted into coveted art shows. Let me assure you, that this is no guarantee, but is does remind me that drama does attract more attention.

Because February is known as the red month, I thought I would try the “paint it red and paint it big,” in my style of abstraction. Let me know your reactions by clicking here.

It has been awhile since I have shown you the progressive stages of a painting, so the below images show you how this painting evolved and my inner thoughts as I created it.

“The Tango, From Inside Out,” was a challenge from the start. I  had an idea in my mind’s eye of what I wanted to achieve, but I was not sure how to execute it. As I mentioned in my previously, the content I want to convey with my abstracts, is that life is full of layers and differences, but they can co-exist. Color harmony is always a part of my work as well as intrigue. For this painting, interjecting the perceptual opposite of the red color I used – a bright lime green – was in my plan.

1. After texturing my 24 x 36 canvas with three layers of gesso using a large palette knife (which takes a couple of days to allow the gesso to dry), the above shows you my first layer of paint. This first layer had to dry before I could continue. By the way, I draw and free hand the straight edges.

2. The middle rectangle color of orange was then applied. I made sure it was the same value (same darkness) of the outlining red.

3. I must admit, that I was intimidated by my first layers of paint, and it took me a few days before I began applying these next colors you see – the grays and a few reds- with a palette knife.

4. Again, with a palette knife, I began applying the darkest darks that were to be in the painting. I am primarily using the edge of the palette knife to get this effect.

5. At this point, I noticed that I had been leaving the middle of the painting alone – as if I had two paintings going on at the same time. Eventually, I figured out how to bridge the gap. The winding dark brown strand on the right is reminding me of a spinal chord for some reason. Executing how to capture an inner glow and conveying layers is still not quite clear to me.

6. Finally, I just dove in with a brush and began interweaving lines on top of the previous layers of paint. You can see the lime green has been added and I have also begun to articulate some geometric squares. At this stage, I go back and forth between a palette knife and brushes. The left side edge of the painting is bugging me – where the whites meet the red – and I am not sure what to do. I am liking the painting and I am now afraid I am going to ruin it. Life as an artist does cause us to shake in our boots. :)

7. I printed the previous image (step 6) off of my printer and sketched in the parallel lines you see on the left here in step 7. The composition of the painting needed a few more obvious geometric forms. Note the 3 small rectangles to the center right. Small organic shapes have been painted with white, allowed to dry, then I calmed the white down with appropriate tones and colors.

8. “The Tango, From Inside Out,” completed with the tiny centered red square gone because it was a bulls-eye. I subdued the bright greens and did a number of other finishing touches.

What do you see in this painting? Many people have told me that they see very different things.

Posted in Step-by-Step Painting Progressions | Tagged

Why do You Read/Subscribe to Art Magazines?

February 23, 2011 — Leave a Comment

Various art mags I have read over time

Yesterday, I was quietly reading through a current art magazine while eating alone in a cozy delicatessen, and a stranger comes up and asks me, “Is that Southwest Art?” I responded affirmative, and then she inquired, “Do you think artists should paint to sell or paint what they want to paint?”

Dumbfounded by this question, it got me wondering how a simple art magazine could motivate someone to approach me and ask one of those questions that will haunt artists for eternity. After we both admitted that we were painters, she then mentioned that she thought SW Art was a good place to learn about what was selling in the marketplace. I had to admit, that that was not why I was reading the magazine.

After she left to attend to her sandwich, I had to reflect upon my reasons for continuing to allow art magazines to fill up my mail box. What are your reasons? Here are some of mine:

  • To keep informed of what other artists are creating
  • To read the life stories of other artists, their motivations, etc.
  • To read the words that writers and artists use in describing their work
  • For inspiration
  • For color ideas
  • For researching potential galleries
  • To find out about exhibitions to attend as well as to apply
  • To learn how artists are using the Internet and social media
  • To learn about various art business topics
  • To attempt to stay current on various topics

Earlier in my career, I subscribed to artist magazines that were  important for learning technical tips, such as:

  • Preparing the substrate for a particular medium (watercolor, pastel, oil, etc.)
  • Picking up application tips
  • Studio information
  • Instruction for specific subject matter, such as water, clouds, trees, etc.
  • Juried shows
  • Art organizations
  • Art supplies
  • Etcetera, etcetera,

Having a variety of magazines has been important to me, be it one that focuses on a region of the country or on collectors or techniques or trends or business topics.  I always glean something, even if it is just a quick scan.

Other reasons I peruse art magazines:

  • To evaluate my artwork in comparison to others
  • To follow other artists
  • To learn how I might be a featured artist in the future
  • To attract fellow artists to talk to me in a restaurant…??

What would you add to the list? Why to art magazines pile up in your studio/office? :) I am sure I have missed several other reasons. Are there non-art magazines that you find helpful/interesting? Why do non-artists read these magazines?

P.S. By the way, I did give her my opinion on what should motivate an artist to paint, but I will leave that for a later discussion.

Posted in Personal Reflections

Is Creating Possible When an Emotional Crisis Crosses Your Path?

February 14, 2011 — Leave a Comment

Last week I learned that my older, and only, sister is in the fourth stage of liver cancer (the survival rate of liver cancer is extremely low). This was unexpected news. Meanwhile, I had been in an intense stage of painting, creativity, challenging myself with my visual message, pushing my skills,  writing, increasing my visibility on the Internet, re-designing my blog, etc. In other words, I was humming along in my world, but a STOP SIGN popped up suddenly, and I was in an emotional fog. These events happen to all of us unexpectedly. How do we artists continue during these times? Can you paint? Be creative?

Pardon a detour: Why am I telling this story? Because I am inspired by Brene Brown’s words I watched last Friday, in a TED video, entitled, “Embracing Vulnerability,” (a 20 minute video I strongly recommend.) During her talk, she states, “Vulnerability is the birthplace of joy, creativity, belonging and love.” My interpretation – to be a whole and effective artist/person, I needed to be vulnerable. Pretending or denying my sister’s illness would not be emotionally healthy.

Hence, I decided I would accept her challenge and allow myself to be vulnerable about my grieving process and to share what I have learned regarding creativity/artmaking when an emotional crisis crosses my path.

I could not paint. Nada, nothing would flow. There are 3 paintings at critical stages, and I could not figure out where or what to paint on any of them. I even tried switching the paintings on my easel, but nothing stirred and I was frustrated.

One of my paintings 'in-waiting' on the easel (click to enlarge)

Knowing that I have a business to run, a job, just as I did when I worked for a corporation and I knew I had to keep working. Important decision making is difficult, so I have been doing things such as: cleaning, sorting, signing & varnishing paintings, updating my data bases, cleaning, painting edges of wrapped canvases, tossing, cleaning, prepping canvases, re-arranging the studio, etc., and researching liver cancer.

All of these tasks allowed me to feel my sadness and deep sense of helplessness, for the tears to flow and to take longer walks with my dog. After a couple of  days, I was compassionate with myself and stopped expecting any meaningful creativity. These were not activities of denial, but non-brain tasks that permitted me to still think about my sister, our relationship and her adult children (and to make phone calls) and wallow in my emotional fog. However, I missed a lot of other events during this time – such as sending out Valentine’s cards,  not listening well to my husband, poor concentration, eating too much chocolate – but I believe that being vulnerable was and is necessary. To help with the processing of my sister’s pending death (her health otherwise is not good which adds to the poor prognosis), I am going to collect photos of her and create a montage celebrating her life. I know this will be cathartic for me and her children may like it as well.

What happens to your creativity and artmaking when an emotional crisis comes into your life? Some artists paint or create about these emotions, but that has never been satisfying for me. Is it for you? Do you allow yourself to be vulnerable during these times of emotional upheaval?

PS I want to thank Beth Hayden, a blogging consultant, for sharing the Brene Brown link in her newsletter.

Posted in Personal Reflections

What Happened to My Iris? Rebirthing an Old Painting

February 8, 2011 — Leave a Comment

What do artists do with their older paintings? How easy or difficult is it to paint over an existing painting? How often do artists do this?

"Purple Ruffles," 18x14 oil (click to enlarge)

While in the process of purging and re-organizing my studio, I came across a couple of paintings that had, in my opinion, ‘lived their life span.’ “Purple Ruffles,” was one of them.

What to do? Cry, have a ceremony on its behalf, resist, give it away? I decided to sit back and give it a critique. In this painting, I had tried something different, in that I painted the border and then painted parts of the flower in front of the border. The success of this idea was okay, but what I really liked about the painting was the background and the rhythm of the iris petals.

With this acknowledgment, I decided to go ahead and let go of “Purple Ruffles.” At some level, I admit, it was sad that she never found a good home, but I was ready to continue experimenting in my new artistic direction using this painting as a base.

Since I use a palette knife through most of a painting, I sanded off all of the rough spots, using both an electric sander and hand sand paper carefully. My goal was to eliminate  any outlines of the flower or leaves. Areas were then covered with gesso, again using a palette knife. Image is below.

Old painting sanded, gessoed in some areas & then new paint.

After the gesso dried, I then randomly applied some colors with a palette knife. Notice that the color scheme was maintained, except for the addition of the turquoise. There was no plan, as such, at this point.

My current artistic direction is about layers in abstraction and playing with the juxtaposition of the geometric background shapes with the organic mid- and foreground shapes. Here is my finished or rebirthed painting entitled “Peacock Swirl.” What are your reactions? Thoughts? When and what have you rejuvenated recently?

"Peacock Swirl," 18x14 oil with palette knife (click to enlarge)

Where did my iris go? Is it still evident?

Posted in Step-by-Step Painting Progressions | Tagged

Ellie Comes to Life – Final Step in Painting Memory Portrait

January 10, 2011 — 2 Comments

Completed 14x11 oil of Ellie (click to enlarge image)

As you can see, in comparison to the previous step, Ellie has lost that ring around the collar! LOL! :)

Her fur pattern was a bit tricky to paint, because there is a tendency to paint strips and they are not really stripes.

She feels hugable to me, how about you? Her owner was very pleased with the results and I really enjoyed painting Ellie.

Posted in Step-by-Step Painting Progressions | Tagged , , ,

Memory Portrait of Ellie – Step 4

December 22, 2010 — Leave a Comment

Ellie almost finished but there is something wrong! (click to enlarge)

Ellie’s owner Jane, gave me complete artistic license while painting Ellie’s Memory Portrait – which is a really nice thing to do – and Jane did not want to see the painting as I was painting it. At this point, however, I did send her a digital image – the one you see here – and asked as few questions. It was also important to get an approval from Jane to go ahead with the finishing touches.

From the very beginning, Jane did not want Ellie’s collar and tags to be in the painting but the only photographs I had were with her collar. Hence I tried to paint Ellie’s neck without it and she came out looking like she has a big fat roll under her chin.

Jane was finally able to send me photos of Ellie without her collar and all turned out well, as you will see in the final image.

Ellie needed to be thinned down and a little more pink added here and there. Jane loved Ellie’s eyes, which made me smile. Other people who had wandered through my studio were liking Ellie a lot. (It is always nice to get cheers along the way.)

…to be continued.

Posted in Step-by-Step Painting Progressions | Tagged , , , ,

Memory Portrait of Ellie – Step 4

December 13, 2010 — Leave a Comment
Ellie becoming 3-D (click to enlarge)

Now you can begin to see Ellie become three dimensional. The background is essentially done at this point. Toward the end I will tweak any areas I think need to be lightened or darkened. You will notice that I used de-saturated purples to help bring out Ellie’s eventual fur colors; the pinks will also link with the pink she has aroun her nose, mouth and neck. (By the way, these colors were approved by Jane, Ellie’s owner.)

I love painting the eyes, and it is always difficult to wait this long before painting them, but I tell myself that the eyes are ‘dessert!’  Through meeting Ellie, getting to know her and hearing how Jane describes her personality, I am able to paint the eyes.

How is she looking to you?

…to be continued.

Posted in Step-by-Step Painting Progressions | Tagged , , ,
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Welcome!

Color is magical and impacts the world. Did you know that it is the first element viewers respond to when looking at your paintings? However, color is the most difficult skill to master.
With my love and knowledge of color, my goal is to empower artists to fully express their color sensibilities via my online color classes, blog posts, critiques, Q&A calls and articles.
Your comments, suggestions and queries are heartily welcome. I look forward to your colorful participation.

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