Color and Light - Paint and Pigments Chapter 5 pgs 96-99, 104-107
PAINTS AND PIGMENTS
Warm Underpainting
Artists often use this technique to add warmth to a completely blank white canvas. Using browns and reds adds gentle warmth to whatever paint goes on top.
This adds special contrast to paintings with blue and green.
Sky Panels
Sky paneling is painting the sky before painting everything on top of it. In older styles of painting, many artists painted their sky before going out to paint the details. This technique is particularly helpful when trying to paint intricate details in foregrounds or clouds.
It is good to prepare several different colors of sky panels in advance for outdoor painting.
Limited Palettes
A smaller color palette can create a more unified effect in a painting.
James Gurney's Reasons to Limit Your Palette
1. It creates unity in a piece.
2. Having less colors forces you to be creative with your palette, often helping you get the actual color you need.
3. Small palettes are usually good for painting almost anything.
Practice experimenting with mixing real color wheels.
The Mud Debate
There are two different ways of thought regarding muddy colors - one being that they are helpful, the other that they should be avoided.
Points about Avoiding Muddy Colors
Warm Underpainting
Artists often use this technique to add warmth to a completely blank white canvas. Using browns and reds adds gentle warmth to whatever paint goes on top.
 |
| Arboretum James Gurney |
This adds special contrast to paintings with blue and green.
In traditional painting, it is good to try different kinds of primer to help the colors sit on the canvas the way you want them to.
Sky Panels
Sky paneling is painting the sky before painting everything on top of it. In older styles of painting, many artists painted their sky before going out to paint the details. This technique is particularly helpful when trying to paint intricate details in foregrounds or clouds.
It is good to prepare several different colors of sky panels in advance for outdoor painting.
Limited Palettes
A smaller color palette can create a more unified effect in a painting.
James Gurney's Reasons to Limit Your Palette
1. It creates unity in a piece.
2. Having less colors forces you to be creative with your palette, often helping you get the actual color you need.
3. Small palettes are usually good for painting almost anything.
 |
| Unknown Artist Pinterest Board Simple Color schemes can be used to add emphasis and promotes clarity. |
Practice experimenting with mixing real color wheels.
The Mud Debate
There are two different ways of thought regarding muddy colors - one being that they are helpful, the other that they should be avoided.
 |
| What are Muddy Colors and When to Avoid them in your Painting Draw Paint Academy Example of muddy mixed colors |
Points about Avoiding Muddy Colors
- Focus on clean colors
- Overmixing is a no - if you have to use more than three or four colors to achieve a certain color, you should probably just start over.
- Usually try to avoid anything that makes a color look dull
- Mix all colors, including dark and grey, from highly chromatic hues
Points about Using Muddy Colors
- Argues that a dull, dead look in a painting comes only when the composition is poorly organized
- What matters is where you put the paint and what you put next to it, not necessarily how it looks on its own.
- Muddy colors are helpful to soften and blend colors into a unified piece
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