Limiting a palette to primaries has become almost a dogma for some artists. The common description is a cool and warm version of a blue, yellow, and red, and I'm not knocking that. But there are many exciting colors available to us which, if given the opportunity, can open up new avenues for our painting practices.
Rather than sticking to the same old color choices, what if instead you create the palette based on a color scheme? Here's a fun thing to try.
1. Select any subject that appeals to you. I've selected this image from the Pixabay collection.
2. Identify the two or three major hues you see in the image.
3. Check their positions on the color wheel, then designate a possible palette of only these colors. For my first palette of the experiment, I'm choosing Daniel Smith Sap Green for the yellow green, Rembrandt Transparent Oxide Red for the red orange and Gamblin Ultramarine Blue for the blue gray (blue gray is a low intensity blue so UB will work just fine).
4. Do a small (no larger than 6x6 inches) quick study using mixtures from only these three colors plus an optional white.
SECOND STUDY
5. Shift ONE of the colors to it's analogous color on the wheel. (This is a lab experiment to see what will happen, so it doesn't matter which color you shift. ) I shifted Red Orange to Orange.
6. Keep on the palette the two colors you didn't shift and choose a new color for the one you shifted. I replaced Transparent Oxide Red with Cadmium Orange. Now, do a second quick small study using THESE colors.
THIRD STUDY
7. Do yet another shift on the wheel, then designate a tube color for that shift, keeping the other two colors from the Second Study. I shifted Yellow Green to Yellow and substituded Cadmium Yellow Light for Sap Green.
8. Now do a third study using this new palette of colors.
You can continue this experiement on and on, each time making a new shift of one color and using it with the two colors from the previous study.
TIP: A major component of composing paintings is the way we use color. We can find new ways of thinking about color and expand our understanding of how it works just by doing intentional experiments such as these.
Happy painting,
Dianne
NEWS & UPDATES
___Speaking of shifting, the lessons in our new video series all do just that. Each of them is designed to shift away from the routine palette towards an intentionally designed palette that is fashioned to create harmony.
___ Lesson Two, Harmonizing with Complements, now in the eStore, might be the most all encompassing video lesson we've done
because it takes you right up to the finish line, with explanations step-by-step as to how and why these principles are working.
___ Do you fight glare when painting plein air? If so, I have a simple solution in this week's Quick Tip on our YouTube Channel.
One word to Forum users--To keep up with what's going on daily, click on the forum title--Composing and Drawing Tips--in your Groups list on the left of your Facebook page.
___Those of you doing the video lessons can get a personal critique on your work by going to my website and sending me a message from there.
