Saturday, January 2, 2016




Having with fun with COLOR...

 

To create convincing or intriguing color has always been a challenge. At best it's seldom an easy thing for me to figure out, much less master. It almost seems like some elusive creature that I come close to understanding, only to have it slip away.

Keeping this in mind, I've always found the process of developing color charts a good tool. These allow me to look at how a a single color straight from the tube changes with additions of light or dark values.

The tinting chart pictured below is one I worked up on 9 x 12 canvas paper for Yellow Ochre. I'm putting together portrait studies so I've wanted to do this again for a while now to refresh my memory.

From the left side I began with pure Yellow Ochre, then vertically I made three tinted gradations of Ochre, achieved through additions of White; by the end it's much more like touches of the dominant color added to White to achieve the brightest tint. Row two shows Ochre with a touch of Cadmium Yellow, then the same process of tint gradations vertically using White. On row three I decided to look at Ochre with a touch of Burnt Sienna, and tint gradations using White going down. Cadmium Red and Ochre represent row four, and tint gradations using White. The last row combines Ochre with a cooler red, Alizarin Crimson, then tint gradations using White run downward. I do love that final pink - so fresh!

    Tinting Color Chart for Yellow Ochre

    As I end for today, my daily work and post for Leslie Saeta's 30 paintings in 30 days challenge for January is included below; more information here http://30paintingsin30days.weebly.com/blog.

    I loved painting this piece and am looking forward to doing something similar on a larger scale, maybe 30 x 40. Wish me LUCK! Now that I'm working up these color charts, the knowledge will serve me well as I work this one out.


    Rain Cloud, oil on 11 x 14 canvas
     Thanks for stopping by and I invite you to visit me at http://www.donnashiver.com/

    Peace and Health all

    6 comments:

    1. Those clouds letting go of that moisture - amazing! Color charts are on my list for Feb..never done them other than in classes...need to do MY own complete.

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    2. Thanks very much Tam! Much appreciated...:)

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    3. Thank you Pattie for the kind words :) Have a great time with your color charts. They really can be so helpful. Take care -

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    4. Thanks so much Sue - Rain Clouds are miraculous things. I hope to do them justice one day, and enjoy the painting experience as much as I did with this one. You're very kind - thanks again and have a good day.

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