Back at the easel
Dear Readers,
I'm back at the easel today and decided to have another go at a painting that I abandoned and erased several times before (there are a few like that in my studio, particularly in this collection which I started two or three years ago).
Sometimes leaving something that isn't getting anywhere is good. With time come more experience, chances to see how others tackle a similar problem, enhanced skills and improved toolkits.
I decided that my starting point would be the one colour I was sure I wanted in there (a sort of chartreuse, yellow-green). I needed three pigments to mix it, and after I found the shade closest to what I wanted, just used those three pigments to mix the rest of my colours, not in advance but as I went. This gave me a very simple but harmonious palette.
I also used a rough maquette cut out of cardboard, and a portable light behind that, for basic tests on the direction and gradation of the light. That served as a guide for the positioning of lights and darks on canvas.
Those two things got me going, and in one sitting I got to a result I'm now happy with: a good composition and colour config, upon which I can build by emphasising what works and tuning out what doesn't.
Stay tuned for progress pics on my insta and there is a video on my fledgling YT channel…
Happy weekend,
Karen