During my last five decades of arting and teaching, I've been amused by myths that manage somehow to get stuck in the art culture. Problem is too few of us question what we've been taught.
Myth Number One:
There is a different set of color mixing principles for each medium.
Debunk:
The color principles for all two-dimensional mediums are the same. Only the ways of using the mediums' techniques differ.
(NOTE: For the grammarists amongst us regarding media vs mediums, go HERE.)
Here are two of my paintings: one done with oils, the other with watercolor.
Of course before doing either painting, I had to know how the two mediums work, each on its own. Materials do differ in the way they want to be handled. I needed to know that with watercolor, the paper gives me lights whereas in oils, white paint plays that role. I needed to know that in watercolor, the degree of wetness of the paper and paint determines how rich the color will be whereas in oils, the color's richness depends upon not overstroking.
But the color's definition and behavior are determined by what gets mixed together and which colors are placed side by side. That is the same in watercolor and with oils, as well as pastels, colored pencil, or any medium with color.
Here are two other examples:
These paintings both depend heavily upon the use of neutrals to convey their ambience. But those neutrals in each are guided by the same principles of warm and cool and how color appears when juxtaposed with a neutral. There was nothing inherent to the medium required to determine how I used the color.
TIP: When studying color, the medium doesn't matter. Oil painters can learn from pastel painters, pastel painters can learn from watercolor painters, watercolor painters can learn from fabric artists. We box ourselves in and risk missing out on exciting opportunities when we isolate ourselves within a medium.
Happy painting,
Dianne
NEWS & UPDATES
___In this week's
video tutorial , we begin a new set of two series that delve into value. During the month of September we will dissect how to decipher values and we will investigate value relationships and value gradations.
___ Answering several requests, in this week's Quick Tip I show you my method for blending pastels.
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