Day two really threw me. Carol stated that we'd be creating space and form with color, not value. Aah oh. My favorite phrase is that color gets all the credit and value does all the work. Now we were going to prove this wrong.
We were to paint three things, one with a blue base, one red, one yellow. Using the remaining two colors, we were to define the shapes giving them form. 
These little chickadees look like they've been dipped in inks. I do love the one on the right.
The colors I used on the background and birds were Daniel Smith watercolors - Phthalo Blue, Hansa Yellow, and Quinacridone Magenta. That's a switch from the day before when I used only two colors - Ultramarine Turquoise and Quinacridone Burnt Orange by Daniel Smith.
Every shape was really wet before the paint was brushed on. The yellow halos were added in the wet background before the birds were painted.
When I finished, I realized that color may look like it's doing the work of defining the shapes, but at least in this little painting, it is still value that is the true work horse. Of course, color gets ALL the credit.
"SCUTTLEBUTT" Transparent Watercolor on 140#CP Arches 15 x 10" COLLECTED
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4 comments:
This is a wonderful painting - I also love the birdie on the right. It has so much personality!
I'm with you on value. After all, color has value, right? Yellows are in the light part of the value scale, blues and purples in the dark part - unless the values are kept super-close, color cannot be detached from value.
I LOVE this! Thanks for sharing the lesson - it's really great. But I like the bird on the left, too. She's just getting her footing - the personality is about to come forth. Glad you're having so much fun!
ohh ahhh birds in color!!
love these little chick-a-dees!
Would you groan if I said these birdies just sing with color? Well, they do (they glow, also!). These show the use of pure color so well. I just watched a video by Skip Lawrence last week where he used pure color to establish "values" but his colors were so thick and opaque the results were not as spectacular as your birds (or Carol's melon plate, or Rhonda's nude on the stool, etc.). This looks to have been a wonderful workshop, congrats!
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