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Tuesday, 1 April 2008

Warm and Cool Color Contrasts - Cactus in the Desert

Cactus in the Desert
Acrylic on watercolor paper
7 by 7 inches, 17.85 by 17.85 cm
















I wanted to emphasize the heat of the desert. I did this by using a warm color, orange on the ground. The orange color bounces back into the shadows of the cactus. The contrast with the cool blue of the sky and the cool green in the background makes the warm color more evident. I also used a warm yellow light to make the heat stand out.

Monday, 10 March 2008

Making Texture, Movement & Making Dimensions with Color - Waterfall

Waterfall
Acrylic on mount board
7 by 9 inches (17.9 by 23 cm)
exluding .5 inch (1.3 cm)white border





This painting is about texture & movement. The texture is seen in the rocks & water & the depicted movement in the waterfall. (I am not discussing moving the viewer’s eye around the painting.) Texture is not usually seen in the shadows. I used a coarse gel medium to create texture in the rocks as well as thick paint. The waterfall was created by adding a thick gel medium to the paint & repeating linear strokes over each dried layer. I had difficulty painting the rocks. I needed to put more color into the forms of the rocks. Like most artists, I don’t consciously try to develop a style. But I am a colorist & I like luminosity. There are many different styles of color painting. An early traditional style was tonal. The artist built up the 3 dimensional forms by using color based on a light to dark scale. Think of a black & white photograph & the range of grays in the photo. The range that varies from light to dark is considered a value scale. Each color, i.e., yellow, has a local value. The value of most yellows is light. Purple usually is the darkest value. (I do not consider pure white & black colors.) You can also create form by the temperature of a color. Warm colors, i.e. orange & red, move the area/shape forward. Cool colors, i.e. blue, green, make the area recede. Remember though each color has a value & you can model or turn the form in space using temperature & value. One book I read recommended looking at the paintings by the master art works in the book. Which ones do you like? What are the dominant color schemes in the paintings? My favorite colors are blue & orange. This does not mean that the colors are pure. I like a brown-orange, a green blue, etc. So next time you look at pictures or paintings, consider why you like them. There are many reasons to like paintings beyond the color scheme. I also like texture & loose expressive brush strokes.

Saturday, 23 February 2008

Creating Movement - Ballerina on Toes

Ballerina on Toes
Acrylic on canvas l/d on mount board
7 by 9 inches (18.2 by 23 cm)
exluding .5 inch (1.3 cm)white border











Although the dancer was on her toes and leaning forward, I found the painting static. I painted her head in a frontal view. This is not the direction of her body and therefore movement is created. On the left side of the figure I added curving lines of light blue which continue on the right side. Again this provides movement for your eyes. There are strokes of pink at the left of the dancer’s legs. The repeated strokes of blue and pink add movement. The similar color pink of her tights also creates movement as the color of the tights and the strokes are similar. The lines of color moving into the painting at the left upper and lower sections create movement and lead the viewer to the dancer. The barre also leads the viewer to the dancer as it moves from thick to thin. The blue white behind the dancer pushes her forward in space. Therefore, despite a static pose, the techniques used contribute to a sense of movement.