Limited Palate Painting

While color intrigues me, I am learning that

unless you have control of the color it can

totally overwhelm a painting.  I have been trying

 to learn how to limit my palate and become intimately

familiar with how color mixes.

For this limited palate experiment I selected 3 analogous colors (next to each other on the color wheel) and the complimentary color to the center one (in this case, the purple).  Add to this the ingredients for mixing black (burnt siena and french ultramarine) and a white, and I have all of the tubes I would use for the entire painting.  No, this was not my comfort-zone palate.  Game on.

I laid out the colors and began to imagine what I could mix up from different quantities of each.  Once a lovely color is found you can lighten it and get several tones from it.  This part is really fun.
The hard part is reproducing in a large amount something that suddenly works in a small bit.

My subject, the entrance view to the Santa Elena Canyon, was already laid out on my 24" x 24" canvas in the three tones of black and white.

done with a black charcoal, medium and white oil

Now I went in with large swatches of color mixed from the limited palate and staying carefully within the tones I had established with the charcoal and white above.

you might be able to see some texture I laid down in this first pass:

I used a roller, made scribbles with a rubber tip and drew lines with my palate knife

I kept mixing and began to add some dimension to the grassy bank, put a little more interest 

in the front bank and tried to get a handle on how the rocks would jut in and out.

I like working on dry layers (this helps preserve the texture which will eventually show up better) so by necessity I worked slowly and methodically.  I would eat my lunch talking to the piece trying to determine what would be tweaked on the next round, the next day. Again, I had to use only the few tubes of paint I had laid out.

Here's the final...maybe.

24" x 24" oil

Santa Elena, incomplete

I'm not so pleased with the mound of the upper left rock....which was going to be my focal point.  I need to redefine it in some way that is believable (the top edge really softens near the sky) but still remains an eye grab (lightest light next to the darkest dark).  But otherwise I think the piece hangs together nicely.  Perhaps some of that lighter gold up there will help?  See?  The problem solving is actually fun when you have limited tools at your disposal.  

Right now I have a totally different piece underway with the exact same palate.  Stay tuned to see how different it is in coloration.  

LIMITING COLORS...for now,

Cindy

Foundations and Values

Analogies and metaphors have always played 

an instructional role for me to understand something new.

Lately I have come to think of "value studies" in art like

 underwear, or perhaps even the footers, of a painting.

In other words, a critical part of making the final effort hold together.

Recall these value studies done in the Andy Braitman workshop:

The two pieces on the left were both started from the same photograph and done in three values: dark, middle and light.  From this foundation I had a recipe for making the final effort hold together and flow as I had predetermined I wanted it to go.  Let me show you how each piece took on its on look.

Using the same color palate I decided to take one piece towards the cool and the other much warmer. Putting away my reference photograph I got bold and let the rocks and water take on their own forms.    Even the background trees and skies began to be different in each painting. The key was to keep the darks in the black zone, the light colors in the white areas and tie them together with mid tones of different colors.  

I love the idea of layering colors as I build the piece overall.  It takes a lot of patience to paint, sit back, think, let dry (while I literally write down notes so I don't forget them) and then start again.  I found that the slower I went the more I had a cohesive plan to execute.

This piece is 30" x 24" and definitely has a cool, closed-in feel to it.  I think I have "been here" many times on my hikes.  The water moves gently and has lots of colorful reflections in it and the rocks have a mossy feel to them.  On the other hand...

This version feels more exposed to the sunshine to me.  The water is moving fast and furious and I can hear the water falling as the sun heats up the rocks.  At about this stage I set it aside and my kind husband gently informed me that my crashing waters had no discernible direction...in other words, they did not read true.  And I agreed: water flows downhill, not up!!  

I thought about the changes and, not losing the energy of the foreground, was able to paint a more believable flow upstream.  I still feel the sun in this version although there is very little sky to confirm it.  I feel like I have been here as well.  Both locations are clearly different although they started with the same reference photo and then took off in different directions.  As long as a landscape is reasonably believable and touches something we can relate to (moss, heat, cool, sounds of water and such) it can be "of" any place you want it to be.  

I like both equally but you might prefer one over the other.  Can you articulate why?

ROCKING OUT IN COLOR,

Cindy

Just Around the Bend

Make me an offer...

 

 

"Just Around the Bend"

oil, 10 x 8, framed to size 14 x 12

 

This seems an appropriate piece for many reasons.  First of all, fall has always been my favorite season as it signals huge change.  Also it was always the start of a new (school) year and nature dressed up with lots of wonderful color.  Secondly, the title is apropos to this time in my life; I can sniff some changes ahead but just can't put my finger on describing them.  Like taking the curve in this painted mountain road. 

 

This will be my first (maybe last) "Make Me An Offer" sale!  Send me an offer to purchase (art@cindymichaud.com) and I'll accept the highest one.  Deadline is Tuesday, September 24.  I can't include shipping in your offer but that will run under $10 depending on where you live.  This is original oil with lots of color and texture.  It will arrive framed as you see above. I've never sold work via on-line auctions so this opportunity may never come again.  But hey, fall does that to me.

 

If you have never travelled with paints and supplies before you probably haven't even imagined what it entails.  Add the international aspect to that and you can see what I am preparing for currently.  While all liquids (includes paints) have to be packed (not carried on) they also have to have paperwork officially proving that they are not flammable to a certain temperature.  Heading to Italy in 2 weeks I am thinking I will need to buy some of the more toxic (and flammable) supplies when I get there.  And travelling light will be a challenge...it may get down to the question of hair dryer or additional canvas!  Hmmmm, haven't decided that one yet.

 

If you want more info on the piece above just send me an email...before I change my mind!

Cindy