October 17, 2023
Back in July, I was hiking with my adult kids, and my daughter exclaimed about the beauty of the forest, and my son joked, “Will you speak of it like a poem to your grandchildren?” At the time I laughed, but that phrase stuck with me. Shortly after that I began working on a large painting that in my head I was calling “speak of it like a poem to your grandchildren.” Sadly, that painting ended up more watery and sea glass-colored than fit the name.
I am about to start a new painting for that title, but first, I need to get a handle on green. I have been making paint swatches on cards that I can hold against a work in progress. Each card has the “ingredients” listed below the color. So, though a card that says “ultramarine, naples yellow, white” does not instruct how much of each to add, it is enough information for me to make an educated guess and fiddle my way through to remixing it in the future. On any card that has pure paint from a tube, I will write the pigment numbers as well as the name.
Keeping track of the pigment numbers this way led me to recognize that naples yellow hue is very close to yellow ochre hue plus white. If you read the pigment numbers, you will see that naples yellow hue is titanium white, plus yellow ochre, plus a small amount of a brighter yellow than the ochre.
I am also using the colors I mix to try different color palettes in my sketchbook.
They all involve ultramarine blue. My once and future blue.
Prompts for the Week:
Make a stencil with a piece of cardstock and an exacto blade. Experiment with the stencil, and layers of pattern.
Reflect on your studio space. How do you feel in your studio? Do these feelings affect your work? Would you work differently in a different space?
Do you have a “day job”? I would love to hear about it! I am a children’s librarian in an elementary school, and I love it, but every 6-8 weeks I wish it was summer again.
Wow, u have a day job, a family to take care and you can still do so much with your art? I am jealous! I do have a day job and I dedicate my weekend to art practice … can’t accomplish much. Your post is a booster for me ! 😉
Your children sound like my kind of people. As a high school teacher by day, creative-type person by night, I am with you. I like my job, but sometimes I do wish it was still summer vacation!