It is time buy an amaryllis bulb, follow the planting directions and start drawing. That’s right — draw it once all wrinkled and apparently lifeless. Watch it and draw it next as the green begins to expand, and date the page. A day or two later draw it again. Pretty soon you will want to draw it every day. Change tools, change angles. It is a grand way to still keep your hand in drawing during the busy holidays.
Skagit Farm
Does the combination of colors in your painting resonate with you the way a chord of music does? Think about it.
If I tell you: mauve, wine, beige — you “hear” the combination almost the way we hear a chord. If I say: white, red, black, it is a different chord, much bolder and louder. Compare that one to white, red, and purple. How did it change? Change one note and you a totally different sound. Charcoal, pink and rust make quite a different sound from charcoal, beige and black. Do you hear the music?
How do you choose the color chords for your paintings? Or do you?
Continuing with last month’s discussion of pigments, one of the main reasons artists have trouble with getting “mud” in their watercolors is that they use the right pigment at the wrong time (or visa versa). I will try to explain how, with limited pigments, I believe you can achieve the results you have in your mind’s eye.
Do you ever have a photograph that you want to paint but you want to make it yours and aren’t sure how to go about changing it? I have an approach that you may like. I call it, “The good, the bad, and the ugly.”
Did you manage to do the Amaryllis Challenge from last month? I have heard from people who have done some amazing things. If you did, you found you enjoyed seeing the minute changes, or sometimes spectacular changes, that occur. Hopefully you changed mediums or techniques. And – like daily walking or yoga – you got in the habit of doing […]
There are a lot of opinions about which pigments to buy and why. And, yes, I hold some strong opinions on the subject. Because of some conversations over the last month I have decided it is time to share with you (again, for some) why I choose the pigments I do — and a little of the back story of how I have arrived at these 20 pigments. I hope it will help you as you decide what to include on your palette.
Do you find working with color confusing? I will admit it is a constant challenge because of its shifting nature. If you view color as a dance it may no longer be confusing.
We had more of the Buchanan gang together in June on Obstruction Island than we have had in many a year. A late birthday celebration.