12/27/07

SING A SONG WITH COLOR

Color can be a blast when you take liberties with it. Black never has to be 'black,' instead rich magenta and vibrant turquoise and deep burnt orange.

The skin of golden pears reflects the colors of the things nearby, so why not play those colors up to make a painting more fun to enjoy? Instead of all gold, throw in some warm coral and orange, then tap in some aquamarine and hot green.

The key is to plop those colors together and let them mix on their own. Stirring them up or brushing them around will make for a dull, boring color. Using ample amounts of moisture will help the colors charge into each other. Let them make music on the paper and be sure to leave some whites to clarify the brilliance of the colors.

"FRUIT MELODY" Transparent Watercolor on Arches CP 140#, 15 x 11"

7 comments:

Suzanne McDermott said...

This is gorgeous - it's my kind of watercolor. Are the cherries the rich magenta? If so, what kind of magenta did you use?

I really appreciate your coming by my blog and leaving such encouraging comments.

Suzanne McDermott said...

Sandy - this is gorgeous - my kind of watercolor. Are the cherries magenta? If so, what kind?

Thank you so much for coming by my blog and leaving such encouraging comments. I really appreciate it.

Sandy Maudlin said...

Hi Suzanne,
Thanks for stopping by, too, and for your kind comments. Art is so much better when it's shared with others.
The cherries are a combination of any darks I have in my palette - anything that looks dark in the palette well will make a great addition to a dark....like Indanthrone Blue (all paints by Daniel Smith,) Phthalo Blue gs, Quinacridone Magenta or Quin Violet, Quin Burnt Orange, and, almost always, Ultramarine Turquoise. I usually make a puddle of rich color of each in my palette and mix them by charging them into each other on the paper.

Your landscapes have an enormous energy in them. Keep painting the beautiful creations.

Nick said...

These are easy paintings to make, but considering how everyone does them ad infinitum, difficult to interesting. You succeeded...of course. And a good lesson included for the price of admission!

Nava said...

This is one exciting painting!!

"...let them mix on their own. Stirring them up or brushing them around will make for a dull, boring color" - I always manage to over-neutralize my colors. I'll try to keep this sentence in mind...

RH Carpenter said...

Luscious colors merging and blending to make some real eye-candy!

1000 Bad Dates said...

I am in awe of your talent.....blown away... especially loved the KY derby hat, how do you see what you see and execute it so magnificently? I haven't painted in years and I had almost zero talent but managed to sell mixed media well.... just bought some new paints in hopes of painting one or two for our fundraiser this fall. Scares me to death.... being so public and all... and worrying if I even get a bid. :)