Here is a bad photo of my second completed color chart (I have about 6 done so far) to illustrate what I meant in my last blog on color charts about getting a light enough value. I realized about half way through this chart that I was not getting a light enough value for my 5th square, so I kept going on this one to see what it took to get there. Then I had something to relate to on the next chart I did. This has been invaluable, as I noted before, in REALLY getting what it takes to get a light enough value for higher contrast. I also have to tell Mark that I now understand why he uses a white surface to mix paint. I had learned early on when I started in oil painting to put a neutral light gray on the glass to use to mix paint. In this exercise, my "neutral gray" fooled the eye on light values and just seeing truely what colors I had mixed. I could not really "see" what it looked like on the gray. and it is a light gray. What an eye opener. Just goes to show, you learn something every day! I am not sure how a white surface will work outside, but I am going to see to getting this remedied on my palettes SOON. Thank you, Mark, for not giving up on me and my resistance to this exercise.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Color Charts and what I have learned so far
Here is a bad photo of my second completed color chart (I have about 6 done so far) to illustrate what I meant in my last blog on color charts about getting a light enough value. I realized about half way through this chart that I was not getting a light enough value for my 5th square, so I kept going on this one to see what it took to get there. Then I had something to relate to on the next chart I did. This has been invaluable, as I noted before, in REALLY getting what it takes to get a light enough value for higher contrast. I also have to tell Mark that I now understand why he uses a white surface to mix paint. I had learned early on when I started in oil painting to put a neutral light gray on the glass to use to mix paint. In this exercise, my "neutral gray" fooled the eye on light values and just seeing truely what colors I had mixed. I could not really "see" what it looked like on the gray. and it is a light gray. What an eye opener. Just goes to show, you learn something every day! I am not sure how a white surface will work outside, but I am going to see to getting this remedied on my palettes SOON. Thank you, Mark, for not giving up on me and my resistance to this exercise.
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3 comments:
Vic, I have been trying to GET the color of SNOW and had already started to think that my GREY palette might be a detriment to my seeing the colors light enough. I made a color chart with my current limited palette (Tim Deibler's) so that I could SEE these in the lightest mixable combinations. My chart was done on white and was enlightening! AND SO finally, last week after class I went to Meiningers and bought a large WHITE disposable palette! I LOVE it! (highly "poo-pooed" my many 'professionals')(who cares?) I LOVE the disposable part because I am habitually terrible about cleaning my palette. And I actually love the way the palette knife glides over the surface! I found this post particularly timely with my own discoveries. AND I LOVE the EYE!
You said you were going to get busy with your color charts last weekend and it looks like it was an artistic "stretching" exercise. It's good to keep that flexibility going in all facets of our lives.
I am DETERMINED to getting a handle on this as I know my strongest work has all these elements working together and I don't want it to be "hit or miss" anymore. I KNOW what to do and I just need to APPLY the knowledge without a doubt. I still tend to be tentative, but awareness of one's weaknesses is the first step on the long journey called life!
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