Sunday, April 3, 2022

Just playing around…


These are two studies I did at home. The top one is acrylic on canvas. I was just playing around. Colors are hard to mix in acrylic. I was trying to use them the way I use watercolors, but I really needed to mix the colors ahead of time on the palette. The bottom one is watercolor.


  I painted this in class. It took me forever to get the interior values dark enough…I rely on carbazole violet too much for a dark value and it really isn’t that dark. I always have to mix it with Payne’s gray or ultramarine blue…what are your favorite darks - l mean really dark?


5 comments:

  1. I generally go with Elaine's ultramarine and burnt sienna, but sometimes I use indigo instead of ultramarine.

    You know I am all about the paint as opposed to image, and maybe a little suspicious of setting a mood, but I really like this one with the empty chair and pale outdoors hits the spot. I would say late February on a Tuesday, 4PM, Too early for dinner and too late to start any meaningful project. Nothing to do but turn on the tv and settle into that chair. No good programs on, and you kind of hate yourself for watching crap, but it's an easy way to kill time and February is a good month for that.

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    1. Suspicious of setting a mood? Who is the one who comes up with moody stories about all the art?! Actually, I agree with you, but I think it calls for a good book instead of channel surfing.

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  2. I really, really like the value dynamic in your window painting. It's all about the way the sun hits the view and the edges of the green sofa/chair. On the florals, especially the watercolor one, I love the composition. You've got everything on a single flat plane. It reminds me of Japanese woodcuts and some other artists whose names I can't quite remember. At any rate, it looks great.

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  3. Oh, I forgot to add this: I tend to use ultramarine and burnt sienna for darks. I also like pthalo green and alizarin crimson for a cool, deep dark that's very nearly black, but still has color shifts. Sometimes I mix the pthalo green and alizarin crimson with some ultramarine for really dark colors. I may have to try a squeeze of your carbazole violet. I have been using dioxizine purple, but not very often.

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  4. Something is definitely going on with you. Your work is more captivating than before. And that watercolorey feeling is stronger.

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