Challenge Day 5: And the winner is....

"Reedy Redwing" 8x8 oil on panel
Please Click Here to Bid--Thanks!

Challenge Day 5. Yesterday I posted that  was giving away my pink rose painting to an artist who posted on Day 4 of Leslie’s 30in30 Challenge.  So drum roll please…

And the lucky random number was entry number 229!  That's a a lovely landscape by painter Ms. Donna Pierce-Clark from Ohio—Be sure to check out her gorgeous watercolors. Congratulations Donna and welcome to my new followers!

Like a lot of folks this time of year I’ve got a slew of things going on—Some art related, some not. Like out of town visitors, taking a new class, enjoying the weather, fall shopping, etc. Or today a massage which sounds relaxing but I’ve tweaked something in my upper back and want to be back at the easel as soon as possible.

Thankfully I painted a few small paintings in anticipation of the challenge and this is one of them. One of my favorite summer birds in Wash Park near my studio are the red-wing blackbirds. They’re lcheerful and fairly easy to take a pic of which is always helpful for painting.

My challenge was all those green reeds. So I toned the board with a warm (acrylic) coral wash of quin. burnt scarlet--one of my favorite toning colors. FYI, I just use a small cheap sponge brush for the toning (not too much water) so it takes less than a minute to cover the panel.

If you love painting anything with wings and feathers like I do, stay tuned for more details regarding my November painting workshop here in the Denver area. OK off for my massage where I’ll need to explain the hazards of a daily painting challenge! And hopefully they’ll get me back up and running for the challenge! It's only Day 5...

Primarily Color

"Primarily Petals" 8x8 oil on Linen- SOLD

Happy Monday everyone! As an artist who loves to explore color theory, harmony, and strategy I was very excited to to participate in this week’s Daily Paintworks Challenge which is a painting that uses all primary colors—red, yellow, and blue.

I'm a colorist (rather than a tonalist) so I can appreciate the power and energy of the bold primary triad—particularly reds. However, I more naturally gravitate toward the secondary triad (orange, green, and violet) probably because I love greens so much.  So this was an interesting challenge for me.

Quick reminder that you can use a wide range of reds, blues, yellow pigments for a primary triad painting. I’ve noted a few of these “winning combos” before, but here are just a few ideas (plus white of course to help stretch your value range) that would work in your favorite painting medium. 

• Permanent Rose, Lemon Yellow, Cobalt Blue
• Cad Red Light, Cad Yellow Light, Ultramarine Blue
• Alizarin Crimson, Yellow Ochre, Cerulean Blue
• Indian Red, Indian Yellow, Ivory Black

Consider the masterful use of the earthy reds, blues, and yellows in Winslow Homer's masterpiece  Eight Bells.

This image (or other media file) is in the public domain because its copyright has expired.

 Versus the high intensity primary triad Franz Marc's Red Horses.

This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons.

When planning your the color for a more successful painting, I also find it helpful to follow the general composition rule outlined in Greg Albert’s book: The simple secret to better painting.  And that is simply:  Never make any two intervals the same.

For this week's challenge, I bought intense red-orange sunflowers at the grocery store (one of my favorite spots to shop for affordable still life subjects). So I knew red would be my dominant color. Then blue followed by a few notes yellow (which is such a strong color that you often don’t need much to make an impact. ) Looking for more primary triad inspiration for your art? Just type “primary triad” or “red, yellow, blue color” into Pinterest and you’ll discover dozens of interesting combinations. Happy (primary) painting!

Blue Pumpkin Pie?

"Ghostly Gourd" 8x10 oil on panel--SOLD

Brr...The best thing about a snow day is that it’s the perfect excuse for hot chocolate and staying warm and dry in the studio. Today, I painted this blue-ish pumpkin for this week’s pumpkin themed DPW Painting Challenge.  I spotted this interesting “non orange” pumpkin "alternative" at our local Pearl Street Farmer’s Market just a couple of weeks ago.

I was particularly drawn to the contradictory sage green-blue color. My favorite pie is pumpkin chiffon so I kept thinking about the color of the insides and how cool it would be if it were blue inside as well. 

Speaking of snow and cold as a winter gift to myself, about a week ago, I signed up for Dreama Tolle Perry’s painting workshop in Florida in January 2012. I’ve admired Ms. Perry’s work for a long time and I’m really looking forward to it. January is often our chilliest month in Colorado so the warmer Florida Gulf will be a nice break. I’m also looking forward to meeting new artists in a different part of the country.

Anyway, if you seen Dreama’s work you know she loves an abundance of color. Her workshop supply list has a few more colors than I would normally use since I usually prefer a limited palette. So I’m trying some of the new colors well in advance.

This may seem a bit over zealous but a several years ago, I took a plein air workshop where I spent days trying to juggle a unfamiliar neon bright orange. In this pumpkin oil painting, I tried out Dreama's suggested Rembrandt Transparent Red Medium. Intense, but rendered very pleasant range of red violets, red oranges, and a really clean pink. Time for some more hot chocolate--Thanks for stopping by. Have a colorful and creative day!