Personal Art Blog

Sharing the lessons I teach at the Artist Guild and the personal discoveries in my art.

Monday, August 15, 2016

A Floral and An Analogous Demo



Three Flowers
6"x 6" oil on canvas panel  $110  SOLD


Artist Note.
At the Artists Guild this month we are 
working on doing the basics 
for getting back in touch 
with the different
sets of color harmonies. 
After a two month break
 the basics 
are a fun way to start the flow.

  We started off with 
Monochromatic of course. Easy - one color
in all the right values and chroma.

Next
 the one below was a demo
for the Analogous harmony
choosing 
the run of the wheel from
from orange,
 to yellow to yellow green.

SOLD

Shown on my palette below are 
T White - Perm Yellow Lt - Orange - I Black
Pre-mixed before starting to colors 
shown below 
Important
Mix black with white to 
the correct VALUE before
adding it to the other lighter colors. 

The yellow and black
make the greens
The orange and black make browns.
Gray mixed from black and white
added in small proportions to the
colors makes many subtle
 mauve,
green,
pink,
 and bluish neutrals.

The top painting is done with
Yellow Light, Permanent Rose
(instead of the tube Orange)
It gave me a cool pink
as well as orange.
I also went into a touch of
Ultramarine Blue added to the Black
 to cool down the gray into a true
blue/gray
for warm/cool bounce.
The effect is brighter in
all the colors, but
 especially in the greens.

I know all of you reading this already
know all this stuff about color,
but when I was
painting for my show last month
I found lack of good color harmony
was the single main reason I
tossed and started again.
Have to remember
ONE
DOMINATE (more of)
COLOR.

Next - the Complements - a fav!

33 comments:

  1. Hi Julie, you're going to think I'm crazy for saying this but I have to tell you.........when I saw your photo of your palette the first thing that came to mind was it looks like a scene from a "Ghostbusters" movie or something. All the colorful ghoulies out for Halloween. LOL Yes, I'm totally nuts.

    I hope you are staying cool. Have a great week.

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    1. I enjoyed a good laugh and so did others in class when I shared your Ghostbuster imagery viewpoint. We all saw it right away! No - not nuts, you just have a great visual imagination.
      Hopt you are still paying happily away!

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  2. Although we should all know the basics, we don't always remember until it is too late. lol I reminder is always good!

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    1. I sometimes in and start without planning because I get so excited. Often end up scraping. When will I ever learn?
      Love what you do with your digital app. I did try but not used to its magic.

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    2. I find that since I don't use the digital app much it takes me a while to get used to it for the new sketch. It isn't second nature like regular sketching.

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  3. Dear Julie your painting of the three flowers is gorgeous. Colour theory is always something I need to review. So glad you shared your knowledge. Will be looking forward to seeing your complimentary work. Will it be turquoise and peach? Those colours always make me think of the South west. Take care friend and have a super day. Hugs

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    Replies
    1. Hi Debbie - good to hear you like Turquoise and the peachy colors together. The N.M.Indians used coral with the turquoise jewelry, intuitively. Perfect complements!
      Happy you got the perfect amount of rain. Awful thinking of the heavily flooded areas. What a weird year.

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  4. Julie,

    I love when you talk color! And I am glad that you wrote about the use of black and white. Those two colors were ignored or rejected in many of the books that I read when I first started. I always thought they were a no-no but they both are so useful. I now think there is room for lots of possibilities!

    I have had a lot of trouble with color harmony of course! I try for exactly what you mentioned-dominance/proportion. I have to remind myself that only "one person gets to lead!" LOL:)

    Thank you for the tips. Looking forward to the complementary color demo since that combo is one of my favorites.
    Libby

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    1. Blogger Julie Ford Oliver said...
      Thanks for such a great comment, Libby. I should use your "only one person gets to lead" in class. When I use the term, dominate, they sometimes naturally think of the bright accent color because it can shout out.
      Black was definitely used a lot at art school as they showed us how many uses it had.
      Using both the mixing of the complementary color to gray down and/or a mixed gray from black to do the same thing. A mixed gray of the correct value applied to a too bright color directly on to the canvas can mute the color easier than mixing the compliment into it to tone it down. But mixing the compliments together can make the most beautiful neutrals on the palette to use. I enjoy having the freedom to use both methods.
      Black is great - what the different blacks can do still amazes me.
      I am really looking forward to your next work. It is exciting to see your growth and especially as you share your thoughts.
      .

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  5. Thanks for this Julie. It will take me a while to digest it all, but I love the concepts and how to achieve things. I don't even own a tube of black. When you say "premixed" are you saying you mix it or purchased?

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    1. Yes - I premix the black with white to get a suitable gray VALUE first then I add the color. Here I used a warm black but a cool black applies the same principle.
      Hope your voice is back and I enjoyed seeing the videos you are putting on your blog. Others will too.
      Thanks for the visit, my friend.

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  6. I love to see what is created using limited palettes. Isn't color amazing!

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    1. Thanks Kim. I used your Venetian Door as an example of good color harmony. You are gifted at color.

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  7. Just beautiful Julie. Color harmony makes a painting sing. Wonderful painting and wonderful demonstration painting!

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    1. You make me feel so good. Thank you, dear Helen.
      I loved the color harmony in your last painting very much.

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  8. These are beautiful florals, Julie, plus we have another insightful lesson from an obviously-gifted teacher! How true that going back to basics is always a worthwhile trip, and I love using black to mix greens!! I also often enjoy using a limited palette, even the Zorn palette of simply Yellow Ochre, Crimson, Black and White.

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    1. Always a kind and supportive word - thank you, Helene. The Zorn palette can be dodgy without the right black. Has to be a blue black doesn't it?
      I think your strawberries are fabulous and the way you hit the highlights really makes then look juicy.

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  9. Reminiscent of my teaching days, Julie. We would always begin the year by reviewing skills taught the previous year in part to get the wheels turning again and also to give a measure of confidence to each student that "Yes! I can DO this!"

    I don't know if one can EVER know all there is to know about color theory or mixtures or harmonies. I doubt it. So periodic review of this for ALL of us is imperative. Interesting comment about color harmony being the culprit in some of the problems paintings have. Do you feel that a preplanned palette using a particular color format (complementary, analogous, etc.)is the best way to approach a painting?

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    1. Your new painting is brilliant - I mean it. The loose abstract juxtaposed with the graphic produced such a strong and fabulous impact. The color choices you made - awesome. I am so happy for you. I know you have to be deeply satisfied with this one!
      You asked about a pre-planned palette. Yes - if working towards a certain harmony. I have wasted a lot of time not working it out first. Slipping in another color does sometimes ruin good harmony. For me anyway. Your new painting shows you are a master at color harmony so may I ask YOU the same question???

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  10. colour theory was drilled into our brains at college, and now I find myself using that knowledge a lot even with typography stuff. but me being me, I still ind ways to break the "rules" :p

    very pretty delicate looking paintings :)

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    1. Hi Jennifer - I saw Wordless Wednesday and then I found the Robin. How great is HE! love it. My show in November is based on all Avian inspired stuff so you know I meant it when I say I love it.
      What is the "poly" thing you talk about on your blog?

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    2. here is an explantion for poly art :)

      would love to seed the show if I could :)

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    3. WOW - how interesting is the site you linked me to. Thanks so much, Jennifer. I remember the poly from school...makes sense.
      I cannot afford to get Photoshop - VERY expensive - and then the learning curve would do me in so I am going to go back to Cezanne and cubism and see the foundation of it in paint. Thanks again.

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    4. yeah adobe stuff isnt cheap, i get a student discount and while not bad, the price goes up once I'm done uni :/

      there are free programs where you can "cheat" and make poly art and its pretty much just click a mouse or move a dial if you want to try it out. I could, or should make a blog post about those actually.

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  11. Very beautiful flower composition and so amazing colours !!!
    Have a nice day Julie !!!

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  12. There is a sweetness about this painting...filling my eyes with beauty !

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  13. Good to hear from you, Jane. Thank you.
    I hope your summer has been wonderful and I look forward to seeing new work on your blog.

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  14. Such a beautiful background....full of color...it makes the pink.flowers pop! It's always a pleasure visiting you, Julie!!!

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  15. What a post! It's a real treat to admire your flowers Julie, such an array of beautiful colors! :)

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  16. Oh how I love your blog. I'll catch up with social media soon.

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  17. Beautiful colors, love the color mixtures. Thank you for sharing.

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  18. Wow Julie! Stunning works of art! Thanks for sharing your knowledge and talent with us!

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I love that you are taking the time to comment and thank you for it. I am sure other readers will enjoy them too. If you cannot comment through this format then email me at juliefordoliver@gmail.com
Cheers,
Julie