Our painting program, to date, has focused on layout and some design aspects of composition: monochrome and low-tone foundations, elements of composition, rhythm, and perspective. These ideas are at the core of image making, largely independent of medium and the effect of  colour.

This week, let’s turn on the colour!  Colour can be a crowning glory, that final zing and perhaps even a world in itself!

 

The Fighting Temeraire by JMW Turner, 1838

Let’s start by looking at one vivid composition by JMW Turner.  I’m pretty sure Turner was the most influential painter from the British Isles, at least until modern times. His influence on the Impressionists, and in Modernism and Abstraction generally, is massive. His presence in popular culture, at least in the UK, is unprecedented, what with The Turner Prize, portrayal in film and even today,  appearing on bank notes.

Many would agree that “The Fighting Temeraire” (as it is commonly known) is his greatest painting. When Turner came to paint this picture, he was at the height of his career.  He was renowned for his highly atmospheric paintings in which he explored the subjects of the weather, the sea and the effects of light.The influence of Turner on later painters is clear when we look at a detail of the painting and then turn an eye to Monet’s “Impression Sunrise”.

 I think that the painting is also important as it speaks to the passing of the sailing age, remembered “glories” and moving onward, perhaps ominously, to coal, smoke and industrialization.

Colour and Colour Mixing

Whether you’re new to colour practices, or wanting a refresher, a great start is to investigate the mixing of colours in a colour wheel. Using your own colours rather than those any website or book might recommend is where the real value lies. There’s no theory that can replace the experience of how your tubes mix together – it’s a tangible, real-world experience.

Firstly, become comfortable with the basics of the colour wheel. Most art books have something sensible to say about this and a good summary is contained in the first couple of sections on this website: http://www.colormatters.com/color-and-design/basic-color-theory

Secondly, watch the following video, which summarizes my approach to colour and mixing:

Exercises

1. Now, see if you can develop a colour wheel along similar lines – repeat the video, pausing as you go. My approach is to follow a variation of a palette based on 2 versions of each primary, in “warm” and “cool” versions. This aids more predictable colour mixing.
2. When you have finished following the video, prove to yourself that you can “decolour” each of the primaries by mixing in a little of the complement: what tonal colour does each give?
3. Finally, take one of your tonal colours: burnt or raw Sienna, yellow oxide/ochre, burnt or raw umber…it’s not really important which. Put out a small squirt and then see if you can replicate the same colour by mixing just the primaries together…as you see, that same target tone will appear…perhaps a little magically!

 

Mixing Landscape Greens

The landscape is full of greens and all yellows and blues will make some sort of green. With the arrival of Spring, we’re soon going to see them all! Greens are, on one hand, the easiest to create and then perhaps the most difficult to handle. Many greens are too green out of the tube and that’s one reason why I mix all my greens from scratch. I like the variation of results – partially mixed paints are all useful, as the colours of nature are never uniform.

1. For forest greens, I mix a yellow (normally a neutral yellow like Hansa, Cadmium Light/Lemon) with my trusty Ultramarine. Ultramarine, being dark and containing red (the complement of green) creates a brooding, tonal forest green.
2. The same yellow with Cerulean or Cobalt makes a much lighter, intense green and with lots of yellow, is pure sunlight on leaves.
3. My third mix is made using Phthalo blue. The intense nature of Phthalo gives colour that, to my eye, is impossible to mix using other blues. I use this sparingly to contrast with other types of foliage – perhaps saving it for a special bush or type of plant.

Notice that my approach is all about the blues and I typically go to the same yellow. That’s because the specific yellow seems to have much less effect on the mix. I favour a neutral yellow: primary, Hansa, Cadmium Light/Lemon. I also use Lemon yellow (just wink at it and it turns green) and the opaque, tonal Yellow Ochre, or Oxide for duller chalky passages.

Exercise

• Put out a swath of each of your yellows and then mix across with blues to obtain the natural result of the two. Perhaps try a yellow-green and a blue-green for each, too. Should you be really into greens, then add some white and separately a little brown (the complement). You’re all set to go!

 

Layering colour onto a low-tone base

You might like to continue working on one of the the low-tone studies that you commenced in previous lessons. Equally, should you want to keep that work, why not just start afresh: keep the underpainting simple, putting focus on the main forms and lights and darks, as you did previously. Block in all the large forms…and here comes the fun…adding colour!

Here’s a second demonstration video, this time in Acrylic  – the first 6 Minutes covers a low tone underpanting, the second part adding colour:

Method

Adding colour onto an already formed image, whether fairly developed or rudimentary, is helpful in a couple of ways:

1. There is an image already there to guide you, so that you can focus more on colour than form and value – colour is a world unto itself and adding colour can now be accomplished without compromise.
2. The underpainting has already covered up the white of the canvas. There’s nothing wrong with white canvas (some schools of painters insisted on it) however, many painters find the white lightens and gives a less solid result.
3. The background tone “peeks through” the layers, giving a consistent feel and integrating the image as below:

 

I generally use the following approach:

1. I use a three-brush “system” that is, a medium/light paint brush, a dark brush and a brush for blending – perhaps with some added medium.
2. Work light over light, dark over dark. Remember, you have already formed an image, so use this to guide you and the trick is to not entirely cover it up. It’s not a bad idea to take a photo prior to starting this phase. The only mistake is to add one tone over everything – what you end up with will have lost all of your darks.
3. I start the same way, regardless of whether I’m looking to be realistic or expressive. The difference is in the vibrancy of colour and degree of blending.
4. I build the colour into mid-tones and darks first, in that order, leaving highlights for later. As such, the painting might look a little gloomy, perhaps as if the lights were dimmed – you then get to turn the lights back on towards the end. This can give a real thrill as the lights are applied. Talk about deferred gratification!
5. One “trick” that I often use in the heat of the process is that I make any changes with whatever brush is to hand, almost regardless of tone or colour. This randomness does not always work, however when it does……it can be spectacular. If not, try something else!
6. Finally, my mantra is “always be painting” meaning that, regardless of the specific process, I am looking for effects to improve the painting, often seeing details to adjust and paint effects that I like – so I will make any changes as I go, not strictly following the plan.

Exercise

• Following the general process above, add colour onto your low-tone underpainting. By all means, evolve the image as you go, however be mindful of the power of lights and darks and placement of forms.