Late Summer Palette

I'm still fascinated by the use of a

black background.  Here is a 10 x 10 canvas

that captures the colors of autumn

with the last of the summer

fruits.

I began this painting with basic acrylic colors and a chalk outline on a black canvas.

The drawing is always important but especially so when working with flat color blocks to start.  I want to get the correct color on the canvas and not worry about blending them together.  It is sometimes called puzzle painting: placing the correct piece next to another one eventually makes it a whole.

I can get lost for hours picking out the color swatches from the reference material.  I am so relaxed at this stage as I know that pulling it all together will happen later.  Remember the palette I began with?

It has gotten very messy and unorganized...just the way I like it when I am trying to capture chunks of color throughout the composition.  I still have some chalk lines above but am about to wipe them off with a cloth.

Here is the finished (maybe?) piece.  After the chalk lines disappeared I began to work with the oils and started the process of glaze over glaze over glaze.  Using color with a "liquin additive" provides a  transparent way of tying all the colors together.  I was attempting to get that waxy, luminescent look that fresh vegetables, err, summer fruits have.  That transparency also makes it harder to photograph true color with my limited equipment....this is much more vibrant than it appears here.

Autumn is dropping huge hints of its arrival.  Cool nights and spots of color....nature's own wonderful late summer palette: Enjoy!

Color Fully Yours,
Cindy