I’ve spent the past week or so experimenting with
brush and color.
By brush experiments I mean brush strokes, brush sizes, and brush shapes.
I worked with color by experimenting with using one primary color then adding one to two other colors to add value to my paintings.
I also went BIG with some of the techniques I’ve worked with in the past.
In the painting A Bit of Fall a Bit of Sky I used wet-on-wet technique I’ve been practicing taught by Danielle Lanslots to make the sky then used a tissue to add highlights in the blue sky. I then flipped the paper over and using the wet-on-wet technique again, I then added the ground colors to give bit of a misty feel.
If you contrast this painting to my Nightbirds painting you can see the difference in a softer transition between the earth and sky. Of course not every day will see misty skies nor will it see clear days but using the same techniques I can get a different feel…through experimentation.
I then wanted to try and use ONE primary color and one or two secondary colors to enhance the primary color in a painting. I also went BIG on this one using 9″ x 12″ Arches Cold Press paper vice the 9″ x 12″ Canson Heritage I used on “A Bit…”.
The result is A Blue-Green Day. I had fun with the evergreens on this painting because in previous paintings I would use a Payne’s Gray to darken whatever hue I was using on the trees to get the darker value. In this painting I began with Phthalo Green and went darker with Sap Green.
I started with Phthalo Green in the sky. I was pleased with how it came out cooler in the sky and I was able to build from there.
I experimented on this painting with a couple of different brushes as well. I’d ordered a # 4 brush to work some brush stroke exercises on Skillshare. The smallest brush I had for the evergreens up to last week was a # 6 round which you’ll see the results in A Bit of Fall a Bit of Sky. I think the smaller brush and using the two colors gives the evergreens in A Blue-Green Day a more realistic look…what do you think?
To practice brush strokes, as I mentioned above, I took one of Sharone Steven’s classes on Skillshare. Again, most of the brush work on these Christmas mittens, sweaters, and caps was done with the larger #6 round. It was, however, a great opportunity to work with different strokes.
As I’ve mentioned before in a previous post, learning to paint, draw, ink, etc. is all about the practice. I’ve been watching a lot of Bob Ross videos lately because many of his techniques are helpful to my art even though our mediums are diametrically opposed.
If you’ve watched The Joy of Painting or any of Bob Ross’ videos you know it’s not all about the painting, it’s also about his philosophy and attitude about art, life, etc. I’d like to leave you with one of his quotes I saw the other day and I hope you’ll take it to heart.
“Talent is a pursued interest. In other words, anything that you’re willing to practice, you can do. We don’t make mistakes; we just have happy accidents. And that’s when you really experience the joy of painting.” Bob Ross