More Colour Doodles

 

Here are a few more colour doodles I did to demonstrate some thoughts on colour mixing. This painting shows sky-blue colours around the edges, which transition from a bright middle blue (PB15 and PB28), to a pale cyan towards the horizon (PB15 with PG7 or PG36). On the edges I made a slight cloud effect, the cloud shadow is indo blue (PB60) and perylene maroon (PR179). I use these colours all the time to paint a nice blue sky. Today there was a blue sky but the temperatures were frigid once again. In the middle of the painting is a blueberry pie, makes me want blueberry pie now!

Blueberry Pie in the Sky, watercolour 9 x 12" watercolour paper, February 2022 (No. 2978b top)

 

After exploring sky blue, this painting explores the night sky, just after sunset. I stumbled into this most useful colour pairing of pyrol orange (PO73) with indo blue (PB60) that creates a wonderful neutral maroon, pale orange, and grape-juice purples. By adding a touch of phthalo green (PG7 or PG36) it turns almost jet black. To paint stars I use careful brushwork, this was just a rough example. The grey outlines in all these paintings was done with graphite grey (PBk11) which is the same pigment as found in pencils, but in a watercolour paint format.

Around the Moon, watercolour 9 x 12" watercolour paper, February 2022 (No. 2978b bottom)

Tree and Benny Apartments

 The weather was a bit warmer today but the wind picked up and the snow was blowing around. I found a nook protected from the elements at the back entrance of the library and cultural center and made a painting of the scene before me. The snow was wind-swept and piled high around the tree. The background was a jumble of windows and bricks. To paint the snow I used a nearly grey shade of blue with some darker parts for the shadows. There are also subtle washes of yellow-orange to create the effects caused by the sub reflecting off the snow. The colour of the snow depends on the sky, today it was half cloudy, half bright blue sky. To paint the bricks I used a mix of near identical red iron oxides (PR101/PBr7/PR102) slightly neutralized with carbon black (PBk6).

Tree and Benny Apartments, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, February 2022 (No. 3072a)

World Inspired Landscapes: Denmark

I have not visited most of the countries in the World Inspired Landscapes series save a few such as Barbados, Brazil and Canada of course. I actually went to Denmark about a decade ago, there are a few blogs on it including the one showing emerald waters. The guide book I borrowed from the library mentioned some interesting chalk cliffs that are very photogenic and touristy. Many Danish artists have painted the cliffs on the island Møns Klint, but it seemed a little too cliche for my series. None the less, I just suggested the brilliant white chalk cliffs off on the distant horizon in the painting. The rest of the landscape shows gently rolling fields of grass with sparse beech trees and a breezy atmosphere. This was the general lay of the land when I searched google earth across Denmark.
 

 In the last post I wrote about mixing shades of green with a demonstration piece. In the Denmark painting I used many of the those colour mixes to create a variety of golden greens and cool blues. The painting was designed to make the fields of grass almost feel like waves of water. Denmark is a series of islands surrounded by the sea.  It seems like the protected their coast line since there wasn't too much development and the beaches all seemed very natural. So the painting tired to capture that feeling of airy meadows and pastures near the sea.

World Inspired Landscapes: Denmark version 1, watercolour 8 x 10" cold press, February 2022 (No. 2979b)

Thoughts on Colour Mixing, Green Blue Grey

 

Continuing with the thoughts on colour mixing, here is a demonstration of the green gamut that I have been using lately. A gamut describes all of the possible colours you can make with a given number of paints. Here you see yellow (PY154), yellow-orange (PY110), green (PG36), and dark green (PBk31) mixed in a belt shape. Inside are examples of the range of greens that can be made, including chartreuse, sap green, forest green, olive green, and dark yellows that look green. I selected the orange paint- isoindo yellow (PY110) - after trying out quite a few. This one makes nice bright olive greens. These colour mixes are handy for making all manner of grass, trees and foliage. By adding more yellow and yellow-orange you can simulate the the effect of sunlight. 

Green Belt, watercolour 9 x 12" watercolour paper, February 2022 (No. 2978a top)

 

Another important range of mixtures for landscape are the blue, grey and neutral browns. These can be used for tree trunks, rocks, concrete, sky effects, shadows, etc. I run most of the mixtures off indo blue (PB60) with burnt sienna (PR101) or raw sienna (PBr7). By adding vivid blue like phthalo (PB15) or cobalt (PB28) at can become a flat cool blue, like a worn pair of jeans. Hopefully the weather is okay tomorrow, I have been holding off of outdoor painting until it warms up a bit!

Blue Grey Day, watercolour 9 x 12" watercolour paper, February 2022 (No. 2978a bottom)
 

Paint Chips, Thoughts on Colour Mixing

After some thoughts on Colour Mixing, I has some more thoughts about it. You could say I was having second thoughts. The painting shown above is a continuation of the thoughts, in abstract format. At the top you see variations of red (PR254) mixed with water and carbon black (PBk6). The dark reds are maroon, and the grey versions appear to be a granite colour. In effect I was reproducing the Munsell colour system which portrays all of the possible colours out there. You may know the concept better as paint chips, the kind you find in great numbers at the paint store that help you choose a colour to paint the walls. On the bottom part of the painting, I depicted three colour wheels, one warm, one cool, and one earthy. Any one of the colours in the wheels could be inserted in the Munsell system to produce dark and grey versions. So if I wanted to create pastel turquoise, I would mix up the vivid turquoise, add some black, and add some water. It is actually a method I use when painting on location to get the complicated colours correct. Hopefully this painting, aside from being a demonstration, is also kind of neat to look at!
 

Paint Chips, watercolour 9 x 12" watercolour paper, February 2022 (No. 2977a)

Art from the Dining Room Table

Given the smallish nature of our condo my painting location of choice is half of our dining room table. I keep a grey table cloth folded in half upon which sits my paper, paint, brushes, water and other tools of the trade. When I want to paint there I carry over an end-table lamp. Since 2020 I have mostly painted outside on location, but the abstracts and world inspired paintings have all been done on the table. Cilei also gave me a small book stand where I can place the painting du jour on display. This painting looked like musical notes sprinkled in cinnamon and paprika.
 

Spicy Notes, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, February 2022 (No. 3071b)

 

If this looks familiar its because it was the first attempt at the rainbow for the Côte d'Ivoire painting. The finished version is on the back of this one. I was just goofing around today with the paints and didn't want to use a fresh sheet of paper, so painted over the first attempt using an array of iron oxide pigments ranging from burnt sienna to caput mortum. The earth paints have a lot of potential, especially when combined with some vivid paints like in the background of this painting.
   

Rainbow Restoration, watercolour 5 x 7" hot press, February 2022 (No. 3067b)

Fans of Colour

With the weather cold and blustery I have been painting mostly indoors for now. Hopefully the weekend gets better. This painting was a quick palette cleanser, where I clean off the dried paint blobs on my palette. If you don't do this, the colours tend to get grey and muddy especially the yellows. The idea here was to show a series of overlapping fan-shapes attached to a kind of plant stalk. Perhaps it signifies the upcoming growing season, soon it will be time to plant the seeds for spring!

Fans of Colour, watercolour 9 x 12" watercolour paper, February 2022 (No. 2977b)