Saturday, October 29, 2011

Steve Jobs



I have a couple of Apple products which I am totally addicted to; thanks to Steve Jobs!!
wc1159,1160,1161 all watercolor on board, 3x4 inches

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

White Onion

Funny thing happened; I have learned how to cut an onion without suffering stinging tears that last for hours! If you use white onions and store them in frig and then put them in freezer for 15 minutes before you cut them and then cut them next to gas stove with burner turned all the way up you won't get any of those fumes in your eyes! I know this is an art blog but since I've been painting onions for weeks now and finally figured out how to do this I figured I'd share this info. Just seems too coincidental not to. Maybe I'm becoming "one" with the onion!
"White Onion", 4x3 inches, watercolor on board

Monday, October 3, 2011

Color Palette Update

I recently received a question from a reader of BIG ART, small canvas who had a really good question about how to make sense of all the colors in each of the palettes. So here goes:


Color Theory for Complementary Palette

I have an update for the three complementary palettes that I've been using. They are in my book on pages 27-29 of Big Art, Small Canvas. As some of you may know Daler Rowney doesn't make Chrome Green anymore. Or rather they have renamed it Yellow-Green. I also substituted a couple of colors since another palette color was close enough. Some colors are not substitutable but to make purchasing easier I looked for ways to reduce the number of colors needed. Also, using Winsor Violet Dioxazine is much less expensive than Bright Violet by Old Holland.

There is a reason for each color used for each of the three palettes.

There is a true color, a warm version of the true color, a cool version of the true color, a light neutral version of the true color and a dark neutral version of the true color.

I also included a favorite color for a certain reasons (which I will explain in the palette).



In the ORANGE/BLUE palette:

For the oranges: Cadmium Orange is the true color

Chrome Yellow hue is the cool color

Cadmium Red deep hue is the warm color

Naples Yellow is the light neutral

Mars Violet Deep is the dark neutral color

For the blues: Cobalt Blue is the true color

Winsor Blue hue is the cool color

Mauve (blue shade) is the warm color

Violet Grey is the light neutral

Indigo is the dark neutral color



In the RED/GREEN palette:

For the reds: Cadmium Red Deep Hue is the true color

Permanent Rose is the cool color

Cadmium Orange is the warm color

Indian Red is the light neutral

Purple Madder is the dark neutral color

For the greens: Permanent Green Light is the true color

Winsor Green is the cool color

Sap Green is the warm color

Yellow-Green is the light neutral

Raw Umber is the dark neutral color

Permanent Green Deep is used for making black



In the YELLOW/PURPLE palette:

For the yellows: Chrome Yellow Hue is the true color

Yellow-Green is the cool color

Cadmium Yellow Deep is the warm color

Naples Yellow is the light neutral

Raw Umber is the dark neutral color

For the purples: Bright Violet (or Winsor Violet Dioxazine) is the true color

Ultramarine Violet(or Mauve Blue Shade) is the cool color

Permanent Rose is the warm color

Violet Grey is the light neutral

Mars Violet Deep is the dark neutral color

Purple Madder is a favorite and used as a dark warm