gray

pastel on uart

"For a painter gray is the richest color, the one that makes all the others speak." Paul Klee
You see is when you look at the great beauties in art (my bias) In the later part of his life George Inness was the master of grays. He uses only a small piece of pure chroma surrounded by neutralized color (grays.)

wolf kahn, gray, restraint and clouds

These three cloud studies began with layers of gray. I held back my color (sort of like holding my breath) till the end.  When I exhaled I just allowed a very small amount of saturated color. Temporary loss of freedom made me think differently. It was worth the  restraint.
Wolf Kahn once said that he would ask the participants in his workshops to make a bright painting that celebrates the color gray. He felt it made them think more deeply about the variety of ways gray can function in pictorial space. WK actually went through a period of time when he pretty much only painted in grays.
I don't know if I can go that far, but I can celebrate gray.

grays and luminosity

oil,11x14

Pure color has more power next to gorgeous grays. Just Look at Turner's work and you will see. He didn't use dark foils to make luminosity. Sanford Gifford didn't use darks either. Instead there is one pure point and the rest is grayed.

at the NGA, Siout, Egypt, Sanford Gifford

at the Met, A Gorge in the Mountains, Sanford Gifford

Here are two I have visited recently.  Aren't they exquisite?

neutralize with complements

 New colors, ones I normally would not choose. Pushing. In order to keep the lime green/yellow  in check I neutralized it on a pinkish grey tone.

You must check out this interview with painter Lisa Breslow in the Huffington Post . Her work is gorgeous and right now she has a show at the Kathryn Markel Fine Arts galley in NYC. I am going up to the city to see it this weekend. Link

PS This is my 1500 post!

red sky at night, sailors delight

 

Here are two more small paintings that I am framing for the small wonders (holiday) show.

PS Remember to vote.

studies of color

It feels so good to be in the studio...lost in my head. I am trying all kinds of ways to achieve the idea I have. The possibilities are endless! The one thing that seems constant is the painting is only as good as the quality of its grays.

I will post another one or two tomorrow. These are for the small wonders holiday show.

river work: grays and complements

9x9 pastel and watercolor on Uart

Plein air work feeds my soul. There is nothing better than being out there. The idea in my mind when painting this was the use of grays. I think that near complements make the best grays. That means that instead of using red and green, use a red/violet and green or a cool lemon yellow and a blue/violet.  Now keep in mind that when complements are mixed together they neutralize or gray each other. Also when mixing the colors it's best if they are in the same temperature family or else they will appear muddy. For example use a cool red/violet mixed with  a cool green.
While mixing neutralizes, the opposite effect happens when they are placed side by side  Now those same colors become more brilliant.  Cool and warms can be used next to each other with amazing results. Skies love this kind of work.
Last, when glazing in very thin veils of complements, the effect is kind of a mix of the two (mixing and side by side) and appear delicate and delicious. Outdoors this glaze-like layering is easily done with use of a watercolor underpainting and then thin layers of pastel on top. In this case it is the pink underneath the blue green on top. I feel that pastels are really amazing for working en plein air.
That's it for today....paint on folks!

green and the use of grays

12x12 oil on wood

Needless to say I kept at it with this one. While I liked it in its GREEN state, it was not one I could live with...too electric. It needed soft grays. I am not sure you can tell, but now the sun actually vibrates and I like it more. It has some depth, without it being about space.
The neutrals work as the joiners, the colors that make the other colors come alive.  This painting, one of many  about underpainting and making a glow through simultaneous contrast. You will see more.

the power of contrast and cleaning the box

 The power of contrast can not be ignored. Each color looks different depending upon the colors adjacent. Remember, simultaneous contrast is just as important in your box as it is on your painting, it affects your choices. The neutralized orange (with wrapper) looks much more appealing next to the grays rather than the colors with more chroma. That is why when I organize my pastel box I have two rows of magnificent grays. They make the chroma in the painting work.

Here is my cleaned box. Late yesterday I cleaned and organized my box ready for more plein air work. My choice in boxes is the Heilman backpack box- small and sturdy.
Below see one of my cleaning methods- a large piece of screen wrapped over the box. With the  screen in place I can vacuum the box and my precious pastels are still protected!

Sam sparked an idea

1st layer

underpainting

Full spectrum and beautiful grays- that's what Sam, a Maine native, said. (Check out her blog here.) 
This is her comment on yesterday's post, "There's something about the shore in that part of the world that's less about color and all about value. These grays are full-spectrum and beautiful." So it didn't take long to think about working to glaze those full- spectrum grays. Above see the underpainting and the first layer of thin glaze. Seeing the beauty of grays is something Whistler did oh so well. With his thin "sauces" he made beauty and light with gray. So I look to him.... as I so frequently do.

Nocturne in Blue and Silver, James McNeil Whistler

looking at russell chatham

I was browsing the internet and I found this. Russell Chatham speaking about painting and fly fishing. I love it when he says, "It all happens on the palette, it's just as simple as that in the beginning. If you come to a place you don't know what to do stop. It will tell you what to do later."

Seeing the video made me research more and find an interview of his in Artworks magazine. Here is my favorite part:
Everything is a matter of gray. It’s the relationship of one color to another that matters.” You have to look no further than Chatham’s studio to know he takes that philosophy to heart. He starts with primary colors, mixes his own hybrid hues, and then meticulously applies the paint one horizontal line at a time. Each inch he brings in just a dab more color – orange or red -depending on placement. His touch with color is so delicate that the changes are almost imperceptible. “I like the 30 feet, three feet, three inch rule. A painting should be interesting at all three distances,” he says. No question, Chatham’s paintings are indeed compelling at all three, but it’s up close and far away that they pack the most punch. At three inches, you can see every deliberate brush stroke and its relationship to the next. At thirty feet you can appreciate the whole – invariably a soothing sublime and always emotional experience. 

Put those two nibbles together and you get pure bliss. Now push those watercolors across the bed and let me keep working. I think I will limit my colors to 3 primaries and Chinese white.

Thanks again for all your supportive words my bloggie friends.