My color journey -in oil- update 8/29/06

[Firefly]

I'm finally making my first thread. You know the story, long time lurker finally decided to get working.

I'm pretty new to painting and I was thinking I would work through my palette by doing small paintings every week to get to know the colors better. I know the color theory, but I think actually working with the tube color is a completely different thing.

I decided to start at the beginning with white. Of course, you can't use tube strength white though. I used a light greyed yellow (mostly using burnt umber but occasionally a bit of yellow ocher in the brightest areas) and used it's greyed compliment, Alizarin Crimson, in the shadows.

Everything is done on masonite panels.

http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/9943/titanwhiteeggsca4.jpg
4"x6"

http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/3669/titanwhiteseabiscuitnk3.jpg
4"x6"

http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/8281/titanwhitepitcher4tf.jpg
9"x12"
The picture quality on this one isn't so great because I had to take a photo. It's still wet so I couldn't scan it.


-Any critiques or feedback would be welcomed, Thanks

[figure2]

Really nice little studies. If you're new to painting as you say, I'd say your are catching on pretty quick.

[Fl3wk]

This reminds me to get on with my studying!

[Firefly]

I just did a couple this week working with Cad Yellow light.
http://img323.imageshack.us/img323/1162/cadyelltwholelemons1awb7.jpg

I did the one on the left first but I didn't like the light areas so I didn't finish it. One of the challenges of yellow is it loses it's intensity when you add white and it's really difficult to lighten the yellow without getting the washed out color of butter.
Lemons are actually really easy to paint normally. I just use yellow for the body and shade it with orange. It makes a great interpretation of a lemon, but it's not what lemons really look like which was the point of this study. So I did it again. The second one isn't as rich or painterly but it looks more like the real lemons did.

http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/3629/cadyelltlemons1aye7.jpg http://img73.imageshack.us/img73/946/cadyelltlemons2agb9.jpg

[Fireflights]

Really nice little studies. If you're new to painting as you say, I'd say you are catching on pretty quick.


Agree'd. Very nice beginning work. :)

(P.S. you stole my name! :P)

[Sirkenneth]

Hey! wow-if you are new i am extremly jelous! i cant paint like that--but im pretty new also! i need to start studying in color-and with oils. any advice? what paints should i use?? I also must say that the vase is incredibly! that looks so real to me!
the last lemon study is the best-- great progress!

[Firefly]

Thanks all. Sirkenneth I'd say if you're new the best thing to do is start with the limited master's palette (yellow ochre, venetian red, mars black, burnt umber and titanium white). And use underpaintings too, it makes such a difference. It's so much easier to focus on the painting when the composition and the drawing are already done.
-----

Cadmium Orange this week. I never know what to write so I'll just post the paintings.

http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/659/cadorangepeachnetdb3.jpg
http://img330.imageshack.us/img330/5627/cadorangecherriesnetft6.jpg
http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/9169/cadorangepeachesnetky8.jpg

[HunterKiller_]

Amazing studies.

[Firefly]

I've been using two bright reds on my palette, Grumbacher Red and Cad Red Light. Grumbacher Red is the true primary red and makes a brighter pink then Cad Red, but orangy reds are in nature alot so I use both.
I use Venetian Red for the dull red and I also have Alizarin Crimson, but I haven't decided whether to call it a red or a violet.

11084

[Firefly]

hmmm...would putting these in the critique section or maybe as a sketchbook be better? I'm not getting very much feedback here.:[

Well this week I was focusing on yellow ochre. I think yellow went much better this time around then it did the first time with cad. Yellow is so hard to shade though, it's such a frustrating color.

Ochre with alot of burnt umber in this one to get those dull brassy yellows.
13262

13266

[Serpian]

More feedback to you! Really, you deserve it, you're doing great. Gotta love those oranges in post #7, even if they aren't finished.

Dammit, what's the name in English... Anyway, the first pic in post #9 is very good too. Just keep it up.

[Firefly]

Raw Sienna last week. As you can see, it gets a little challenging trying to find objects that are the right color. :bashful:

[bafl1]

you are an inspiration ... i want to do the same exact thing you are . its a great idea ... i will start when i have the money lol .. okay um as far as all of your peices have had a good amount of depth .. i see you concentrated alot on the color variation on your peach above concequently that one lost depth ... you had a similar problem with your sea shells ... within each color the tones need to vary a little more .. but you are much better at painting that i am so i will shut up now

[the_allejo05]

nice.just stumble on your thread..nice progression and nice drawing skills..is good that you are experimenting and trying out the colors..to make your own palette is the best..dont forget the lesson of the impressionists..within orange, you'll find blue, and within red/green, within yellow there's hints of purple..try to deaden a color using your complementary...also, try to feel other colors...within a same color...the light is full of seven of them..look harder.. sometimes nature needs a bit of color..try painting one of your same set up but with yellow,red,blue, white and black..push those five to the limit..the best colorists of all time use the fewest colors..I love your shells by the way..

[Firefly]

Hey, anytime you want to tear into my work bafl feel free, I'm trying to get better here. I do have to work on my tones some what, sometimes I think I fuss with the paintings more than I should and the dark darks and light lights get blended out.

Yeah allejo I use the compliments as often as I can to darken the colors, unless a duller version of the color would work better for that situation. Like using yellow ochre to darken cad yellow. I have done a painting or two with a limited palette and I do generally like them because it's so easy to get color harmony when you use just a few colors. But you have to add other colors eventually and hopefully I can figure out some of these lesser used colors.

[ArtznCraphs]

keep in mind that deadening a color and darkening it are two different things. Darkening a color with darker colors of the same family (like yellow darkened with Raw Sienna or Burnt Umber) will give rich darks without changing the character of the local color or pushing it towards grey. To deaden bright color that is too intense without changing its value, compliments work better than mixing with grey from black and white.

Keep your color mixtures to a minimum as every pigment added into a mixture deadens it further. And for extra rich colors, glaze with tranparent paint over a bright underlay, like glazing rose madder over a dress rendered in white (for a glowing red) or in yellow (which creates a sparkling orange)

To make your tones richer lay each tone accurately next to each other and blend with a light touch at their shared edge. Basically put down a piece of paint and leave it alone. Direct painting requires certainty of touch and working over too much kills that effect.
Also make sure your panel is primed well enough so the colors dont sink in