Although the quick study that I completed with Derick was entirely in Black and White, I often use a little low tone colour in the process.
I’m known as a bit of a colourist, but typically evolve my images in a very limited palette, applying colour on previously established values. It’s difficult to deal with colour and value at the same time and adding colour is never a substitute for a lack in the value department – you can’t solve a value problem with more colour!
I generally favour using a brown and a blue as a limited palette variation of a pure monochromatic painting. The thing I like is that it allows for a variation of warms (browns) and cools (blues) that can almost complete a painting…without adding much colour at all. Don’t be frightened of blues in the shadows and features, you need them! My general rule is, the darker the value, the bluer it must be. Mid-tones and lights in brown, with darks all having a deep blueish tinge. Warm tones advance and cools recede, giving the viewer all the right messages.
Burnt Sienna and Ultramarine Blue are my go-to tubes. These two colours work superbly together: warm browns mixing to cool, intense black and then blues, needed to establish a foundation. I add some titanium white to make some grey tones and highlights.