Sometimes I like to do a painting fast and leave it a little rough because there is the tendency to refine a painting too much, especially a portrait, and the original feeling is lost. I almost went too far with this painting, but slapped my hand before I did too much.
It's great. Love the feeling in this portrait.
ReplyDeleteKathryn thanks so much for taking the time to post your very helpful message on my blog. I've never heard of the method of putting the paint on the palette that you described. It sounds like it would force me to think more about values. I usually line my paints around the outer edge of the palette ranging from lights to darks.
ReplyDeleteVirginia--you are welcome! For anyone interested in experimenting with the palette, this is what I wrote to Virginia:
ReplyDeleteOne way to get from the palette to the canvas (as another fun exercise), is to put out your paint in three vertical columns on the palette--a light, mid-tone and dark column. All colors will go into these value columns (not mushed together but sort of loosely set down in the column, say from warm at the top to cool at the bottom). You never put a dark in the light column or a light (no white) in the dark column--this is all about creating a habit. Then look at your setup and determine the basic 3-value structure of the painting and take from the appropriate column (whatever color) for that area. This is a really fun exercise and something I learned years ago in a workshop with Kim English. I have no idea if he still does this and I haven't done it exactly this way for years, but it really gave me a tool and helped me think about the issue of creating value basics on my palette. The colors in each column will also become blended as you go along, creating beautiful grays and nuance of color within the value range.