Dear Artist

Quinacridone Magenta

2012-01-19T08:24:00.000-05:00

OK. First of all, Quinacridone? What a funny word.

Wikipedia says "Quinacridones are a family of synthetic pigments used to make high performance paints. Quinacridones are considered "high performance" pigments because they have exceptional color and weather fastness." The Wiki article is brief and interesting, but I didn't find any origin of the word.

in my last post I stated that I was going to change my basic palette to include Quinacridone red instead of Alizarin Crimson. Having ordered Q. Red from a color chart, I found that the red is a bit too warm, and that Quinacridone Magenta is more nearly the "cool" red (slightly bluish-red) that should be used in place of Alizarin. The WIki article on Alizarin is also of interest.

Why I recommend a 6 primary-color palette

2011-12-26T15:57:00.001-05:00

I have a lot of half-used paint tubes in my studio, but some years ago, when I started teaching, I limited my palette to 6 primary colors and burnt sienna (and large tube of titanium white, of course.) Why?

Well, a primary reason is that paints are expensive, and a certain percentage of my students were approaching painting for the first time. I didn’t want their first venture to be ugly because of the cost.

In addition, I had just read Blue and Yellow Don’t Make Green by Michael Wilcox.

If you limit your paints to one each of red, yellow and blue, this limited palette may disappoint you. In theory, the “primary” colors should easily make all the colors on the palette by mixing. But commercial paints aren’t exact primary colors. Looking at the exercise shown at the right, notice that the purple and the green (secondary colors) aren't very bright. You will get better results if you have two of each primary color.

The basic theory is that the color wheel as a whole has a warm and a cool side and each color has an inclination to be warm or cool. For instance, lemon yellow is cooler than cadmium yellow.

Since I need to replenish my oil paints in my personal kit anyway, I began looking at my choices to see if I could identify a more optimum selection of colors than I had been using.

The palette I had been using included: zinc yellow, cadmium yellow, cadmium red, alizarin crimson permanent, ultramarine blue, Phthalocyanine (Thalo) blue, and burnt sienna. Zinc yellow, while it is a very cool yellow, I found to be a very weak color, easily overpowered in mixing with any other color. The cadmiums are getting outrageously expensive. Thalo blue (or Prussian, which is essentially the same) is a very strong and staining color and easily overpowers other colors on mixing. But I haven’t found a good substitute for Thalo or Prussian yet.

I am changing my basic palette to: Hanza yellow light, Hanza yellow medium, Napthol red, Quinacridone red, ultramarine blue, and either Prussian or Thalo blue (because I can’t find a good substitute for this color.)Hanza is a substitute for Cadmium yellow. Cadmiums are opaque. Hanza has some translucency and is said to mix well to form secondary colors and tints. Burnt Sienna stays on the palette because it’s essentially a shade of orange, but darker, so it’s easy to mix it with ultramarine blue to make a rich dark.

I did some comparison because I’ve been trying to get alizarin off the palette for many years without success. I learned long ago that alizarin is a “fugitive” color. (That means that it tends to fade.) On the other hand, it’s a very transparent color and is good for glazing. It also mixes well with thalo green to create a rich black. However, some years ago, manufacturers came out with Permanent Alizarin Crimson and I thought they had it handled. But NoooOOOooo. The result was sort of dull and dirty. I wasn’t happy but I didn’t think that I had a choice. Recently, a representative from Golden Acrylics mentioned that Quinacridone Red (in acrylics) is a good substitute for alizarin. Well, I’m switching to Quinacridone Red in both my oil and acrylics palettes.

I did a little experiment (shown at left) to determine the differences between some of the reds in my oil kit. I suggest that you try such comparisons at home. And if you can pick up old tubes of paint rather than buying every color off the shelf, you’ll find that oil lasts quite long in the tube. (Acrylics last somewhat less long, but their shelf life seems to be improving.

Now, to come back to the question: why do I recommend a 6-color palette? Well, I know of one artist who says he puts every color in his kit on the palette every time he paints. He says he uses 72 colors.That’s a lot of preparation. In addition, it uses up a lot of space on the palette that could be used for blending. And, as you can mix any color with the right primaries, putting more seems like overkill.

But some people just like to buy paint, and if that’s you, why go ahead. You’re obviously not alone. Manufacturers keep putting out new colors.

What is composition?

2011-11-24T07:43:00.001-05:00

Every once in a while, a student asks me: "What is composition?" Or, "How can I know if I have a good composition?"

Composition, as it applies to the visual arts, most closely means combining the elements of art to produce the effect you want. Basically, art is a communication. And the basics of art include line, form, value, color, and ways of representing depth. So the student needs to develop proficiency in the basics, and to the degree that he has that and knows what he wants to communicate, he will have proficincy in composition.

The work of art is a communication, so it will have a different impact on each viewer. You, as artist, never totally control the effect. But you can put together the elements of art so that so that the communication received by the viewer approaches what you wished to say.

You will find there are many "rules" of composition. Just do a search on the internet and you will find lots of advice. Take notice, but don't allow yourself to be limited by any of the rules. Remember, these are not "physical universe" rules, like the law of gravity. They can be broken.

Your goal in painting is to combine the elements of art so they form a unique and satisfactory composition.

I've been attending a weekly drawing group and wanted to share with you two recent drawings, one being what I would call a "study" and one being a "composition." The study could be complete enough to call it a composition, but you can see that, in the composition, I was more conscious of how the figure interacted with the space, so that the space itself becomes more of an active part of the composition.

Sheila - Study

Lize - Composition

What is a study?

2011-11-22T14:49:00.001-05:00

Recently a student asked me "What is a study?" North Light Dictionary of Art Terms defines a study as "a drawing or painting of a section or of a whole composition, usually detailed more carefully than a sketch." Charles Sovak in his book Oil Painting, Develop your Natural Ability (recommended) says, "remember, no matter how beautifully you paint an object, it remains a mere study until it is artfully incorporated into a composition."

Study of a box by Pam Coulter

I think the distinction between "study" and "finished composition" has been somewhat blurred. Consider the fact that Monet painted "Impression, Sunrise" very quickly, generating the name of a whole artistic movement: Impressionism. It was hardly a finished composition in the sense that the "Old Masters" thought of it, so it was a study. Plein air painters today often follow the impressionist lead in the matter, finishing a painting in one session and on site. A study can be so attractive that it rivals or surpasses a finished work. Because of it's freshness and immediacy, it has charm.

But, ok, what is a composition? (Is it unfair to end with a question?)

Ego and the Artist

2011-09-29T08:13:00.000-05:00

I’ve sometimes heard it said that the artist has too much ego.

What is ego? Well, it’s a word that originally — in Latin — simply meant “I”. But it was borrowed by Sigmund Freud to represent a concept of self, and is often used in a derogatory sense as egotism, which "characterizes an exaggerated estimate of one's intellect, ability, importance, appearance, wit, or other valued personal characteristics." In other words, ego became identified with selfishness or the failure to take others’ interests and well-being into account.

Looking back over my long career, when I was young, I had a lot of “ego,”a strong sense of personal worth. I say that now, because at the time I had little to show in terms of finished art, simply a sense of greatness. And so I may well have been seen as having an ego, in the bad sense.

But I would encourage my students and artist friends to develop a strong sense of self-worth. First, it’s a bulwark against those who are so afraid of surviving that they would put down anyone with creative ability. Secondly, you probably ARE great; you just need the time to develop a body of work. Third, how are you going to make your work known to others if you, yourself, have been persuaded not to promote your self-worth?

Life can be discouraging. Art is fun. Fill the world with art and encourage others to do so.

Here’s a painting I completed recently:

Floral with brown pitcher

An alternate grey

2011-08-04T06:58:00.001-05:00

I follow the blog of Qiang Huang, who paints little jewel-like paintings. In a recent post, he remarked: "I have found that "transparent brown oxide" (Winsor and Newton) and ultramarine blue makes a wonderful gray." Both are transparent colors. This would be an interesting combination to try. Here is the post where he shows the use of this grey.

On a subsequent day, he tried a different combination of colors to make the grey warmer. Here's his comment:

"I felt the gray I used yesterday is a little too cool. So today I tried a new combination: transparent oxide yellow + ultramarine blue. I like this one better. It made the background warmer." You can see his painting on his blog.

I find the use of complementary colors (or near complements) rather than "tube" black for mixing greys fascinating. There's a painter, William Wray, who uses greys and neutrals to maximum effect. I love his cityscapes.

Great news, had to share it!

2011-07-06T16:03:00.000-05:00

I've been accepted as one of 47 artists to be included in the McLean Project for the Arts Artfest, to be held Sunday, October 2, 2011 from 10 AM to 5 PM. I'm very happy as i haven't done any outdoor shows in a while. This will be fun. Put a note on your calendar if you like my art.

Use of Green in Landscapes

2011-07-03T08:59:00.000-05:00

This is a very GREEN planet, green and blue. And green can be an overwhelming color, particularly when used by an art student out of the tube. Tube greens tend to be very pure and high hue, often very minty. It's a dominant color. There are some greens that work well in landscapes, such as Chromium Oxide Green or Sap Green. Chrome Oxide is a somewhat dull green. Sap green is sharp and yellowish but transparent so good for glazes. It mixes with other paints but doesn't cover underpainting completely. See more on green in my free art lesson.

But I've simply eliminated green from my basic palette. Partly this came about because, when I started teaching painting, I wanted a limited palette that would allow students to mix all colors but wouldn't cost an arm and a leg.

Here's a painting I just finished (Suburban Spring) that contains a lot of green but was painted using my limited palette. Notice that the parts hit directly by the sun are yellow green and the darker areas are more of a blue green. In mixing most of the greens, I've mixed either thalo green and cadmium yellow and added a tiny bit of either cadmium red or alizarin crimson, or, for a duller green, ultramarine blue (which is cooler than thalo) and cadmium yellow or nickle titanate yellow (a cool yellow) with a little bit of red. To relieve the green-ness of the painting, I've included a significant amount of neutral greys and accents of red (the complement of green.) I hope you enjoy the result.

Painting from photos - The Controversy

2011-06-09T09:40:00.000-05:00

A recent potential student asked me if I would be teaching from photos or still life. I replied that it wasn't feasible for me to attempt to lug the components of a still life with me for a 3-hour session a week but that she was free to bring her own still life if she wanted. She replied that she didn't want to paint from photos. This is really a bit of a non sequitur. (I didn't say that she couldn't paint from a still life.) However, it raises the question: is it invalid to paint from photos?

Some will say 'yes' because the photo is precomposed. In addition, the colors produced in the printing process are a lower gamut* than we see when working from life. Finally, a photo (often produced in a 4x6 format, contains much less information than the original scene. I don't disagree.

On the other hand, as a teacher who already lugs a complete setup for oils and a complete setup for acrylics to the teaching site, I don't have any inclination to additionally lug the pots, plants, fruit and other paraphernalia (such as a lamp for directional lighting and drapery) with me on a weekly basis.

We need to look at the use of a photo in a broader context. When I give students a reference photo, I want them to use it as a "reference" not something to be faithfully duplicated. Let's call it a "starting point" for creation. After all, why paint it exactly as shown in the photo. There is already a photo.

There is some use in duplicating a reference photo. If a student is just beginning and is shaky about the basics of art (line, form, composition, color) working from a photo is like having training wheels. Having a still life or model or — worst yet — all of nature in front of you can result in overwhelm. Even the old hand may want to continue to practice. I attend a weekly live model drawing group to improve my perception of what is there.Not only does it help me produce better paintings, but it helps me see the world better — a philosophic benefit.

*gamut: an entire range or series (gamut from praise to contempt)
(Editorial Note: in this case, the entire range of perceptible color.)

Regarding Usful and Useless

2011-05-14T08:11:00.000-05:00

I remember once, when I was in college, a fellow seated across the table at the local college coffee shop asked me what I was majoring in. "Art," I answered. He reared back in his chair as if struck. "Art?" he said, "I heard you were smart."

The implication, of course, was that ART was a useless subject.

Of course, in one sense he was right. I graduated with a pretty "useless" degree. Fortunately, it was 1965, I had friends and family and a spirit of adventure, as resources . . . and the world was a more benign place than it is today. At least MY world. There were awful things going on in it, but they were distant.

And by 1967, I ran into the philosophy which was to define my direction for the rest of my life: Scientology.

Now this post is not about Scientology, per se, but about "Useful" and "Useless."

I have struggled with people's perceptions of the role of art and the artist many times. One guy remarked that he didn't understand why I would want to "just paint pretty pictures for the rest of my life." (Life seemed quite serious to him.)"

Another, met in an elevator in New York, asked me who my favorite artist was. On my reply "Rembrandt," he sneered as he got off the elevator and said, "Oh, you're a conservative."

These attitudes about "Useful" and "Useless" (or "Important" and "Unimportant") polarized people's attitudes about me. People pigeonholed me and categorized me and approached or receded according to their attitudes about how useful art was.

Art is useful because it decorates the world. It is useful because it is a communication about perception and truth and beauty. (Not just painting, now, but music, and poetry and dance etc.) It is useful because , in viewing art, or participating in art, we can step outside the too often weary mundane of our lives, the getting and spending.

And that's — to my mind — far more useful than making machines, fighting wars, pushing paper, participating in espionage, etc., etc., many of the things that we consider "important" or "Useful."

As an individual, art lifts me above myself. As an artist, art presents problems enough for solving without having to invent problems. As a teacher, the joy my students find in the exploration of the process of art and in the development of their own communications makes me happy.

I invite you to read my husband's essay on Certainty and Opinion.

Is art useful? In my opinion it is, and I am quite certain of it. Tell me what you think?

Night Freight Painting and Song

2011-02-19T09:21:00.000-05:00

Bill Davis, currently in my Reston Community Center Class, came up with the striking painting (below) and then revealed that it goes with his song "Night Freight" And I thought this was worth sharing. You can sample or purchase Bill's CD "Far Out" on CDBaby.com.


Night Freight

And you can play the MP3 file for Night Freight with an MP3 player.

Two new studies

2011-02-08T15:03:00.000-05:00

Two new studies I'm excited about.

The "Fruit Bowl and Tiles" is an interpretation I did from a reference photo I took for a previous still life done in the Fall. The original was done in oil and was done from the actual still life.It adheres more strictly to "real life". In this one, I decided to play with color and form. I particularly like the way different colors that are the same value or tone can be overlaid, as in the purple shadow over the blue shadow, lower right.

The second one is a loose interpretation of a landscape. I particularly liked, in the original photo, the bright trees reflected in the water. They are the stars of the show.

Still Life

2011-01-13T08:33:00.000-05:00

Sometimes a "demo" painting turns out unexpectedly good.


Demo of still life using acrylics done Jan 8, 2011

I did this painting of a still life for a small group gathered at the Great Falls School of Art on January 8, 2011. since it was to be a demo and rather quickly done (to give participants time to paint) I used a piece of unstretched canvas taped to a drawing board. Now, since it turned out so well, I wish that I had used a stretched canvas. Ah well!

Best wishes for joyful and prosperous 2011

2010-12-31T07:42:00.000-05:00

Drawing by Pam, Poem by Dean

Why We're Here

We were designed by the wind, frustrated
with its inability to inflate a balloon.

We were invented by dogs because after aeons
of licking only each other, they yearned for love
without hairballs.

We evolved from birds, who wanted to be able
to talk with their hands without being carried away.

We were invented by cats to tend door knobs.

We were invented by stones who wanted to reproduce
themselves, but could not set one stone
upon another.

We were invented by the night, grown tired
of having nothing to hide.

We were invented by the flowers, sick and tired
of color-blind bees who only wanted them
for one thing.

We were thought up by the fish, trying to imagine
dreaming with their eyes closed.

We were invented by the snow, dreaming of hugging angels.

We were invented by the fire to reflect it in eyes and cheeks,
for every other creature, fearing it, could not admire it.

We were invented by the sand to make fine distinctions.

We were created by the sun when he discovered
that, alone, he could light up only one side
of the earth at a time.

We were created by the rain, which could not
spell its name in the sand.

The earth made us in hopes we would enable it
to see where it's going.

We were made by the ocean to package its
salty elixir and distribute it to high ground
beyond the reach of surf.

We were made by mountains grown tired of crushing
everything they tried to embrace.

We were made by the full moon because,
though it could reflect endlessly,
it could not smile.

We were made by the trees, because they couldn't
hear themselves fall.

We were made by the grass to graze with our eyes
and gobble up the excess green.

We were made by the cockroaches because their faith
forbids suicide.

by Dean Blehert

Shack in the Woods

2010-12-29T10:04:00.000-05:00

Shack in the Woods

This painting, Shack in the Woods, is mixed media. I laid down a thin multi-colored ground over the white gesso using acrylic and a sponge. The idea was to capture the busy-ness of the woods. Then I overworked with oil for the details. I'm particularly fond of the rock cliff behind and to the right of the shack.

Teaching Visual Arts

2010-12-25T10:30:00.001-05:00

I'd like to tell you a little about my philosophy in "teaching" art, since the role of the teacher in a creative process is important.

Contemporary philosopher L. Ron Hubbard has said "Art is a word which summarizes the quality of communication." That's a very brief and deceptively simple statement.

I believe that we are all artists, and how GOOD we are depends on our application to the craft of our particular art (whether it is painting, or writing, or music, or dancing, or cooking, or whatever) as well as to that mystical thing we call "talent."

The teacher of art, I believe, is someone who knows the basics of that craft well enough to teach it and who, in addition, can recognize and validate the current and potential quality of his or her student's products.

In teaching, I am not trying to teach you to "paint like me" or to paint like some concept of "the right way to paint." I am trying to provide tools and direction which will help you improve what you want to communicate.

This is a world which focuses on Quantity. Quantity is important in that it takes practice with your basics and materials in order to improve the product. But when we focus on QUALITY, we are looking at how well the product communicates.

The extraordinary thing about a work of art, to me, is that every work of art is a new creation. I look around my classes and am delighted and amazed at what my students, at ANY stage of competence, can create.

If you are in the Reston-Herndon-Great Falls area and would like to take art classes, you can find out more about upcoming classes on my website, www.blehert.com.

The perfect "cool" yellow

2010-12-20T10:17:00.000-05:00

For some time now, those of you who've studied with me will be aware, I've been advocating a palette (both in acrylic and in oil) based around the use of warm and cool variants of the basic red-yellow-blue triad. This was based on my interpretation of the book Blue and Yellow Don't Make Green by Michael Wilcox. But the cool yellow was always a problem. The closest I could seem to get in the store was lemon yellow or pale yellow.

But I have discovered Titanate Yellow, a very cool (almost greenish) yellow, and I know that it is available at Jerrysartarama.com from Golden (for acrylics) or Grumbacher (for oil paints.)

Colors are not particularly true on the web and can vary from website to website, but here are a few samples of the Titanate (or Nickle titanate) color.
Sample of Golden Acrylic's Titanate Yellow

And of Grumbacher's Nickle Titanate Yellow in Oil:

I consider this color a strong addition to your palette because it permits you to make a brillient green when paired with Phthalo Blue.

Five Winter Paintings

2010-11-25T11:34:00.000-05:00

Winter 4

I've completed five tiny (8" x 10") winter scenes for a local realtor, who gives them to clients as good will gifts at the holiday season. Your can see all five on my website and also the ones I produced last year. These would also make good xmas cards and, as artist, I hold the rights to reproduce them as prints or cards despite their sale. Contact me if you are interested.

Some New Paintings by Pam Coulter

2010-11-16T13:29:00.000-05:00

The following paintings are newly completed except for signing and edge painting. I thought you'd like to see them. Each of these paintings was done as a "demo" over several sessions. The first was done for my class in oil and acrylic painting at the Reston Community Center (Fall, 2010). It was done from a reference photo of the sun rising (or setting?) seen through the mist. It has a peaceful mood to it.


Mist on the River, 16 x 20, acrylic on canvas

The next painting, Still Life with Apples, was set up in my studio for a studio lesson with only 1 student. I wanted to keep it simple, and that simplicity is endearing, I think, with dominant browns and reds against a pale neutral backdrop.


Still Life with apples, Jug, 14 x 18, oil on canvas

For the second still life in the studio, I got a little more daring, with blues and greens dominant, offset by the brilliant orange. I am particularly pleased with the result. The book shown in the painting is a small book featuring the German Expressionist school of art.


Still Life with Oranges, 16 x 20, oil on canvas

The discovery of Prussian Blue

2010-11-16T12:16:00.005-05:00

Browsing the web, I discovered a fascinating piece on the discovery of Prussian Blue on About.com/painting. You can read the article here.

I should say that Prussian Blue (and its more modern counterpart, "Thalo" or Pthalocyanine Blue) are very strong, staining pigments, not to be used in large quantities. They will overwhelm any color with which they are mixed, and they will overwhelm any painting if used in any quantity.

That said, Prussian or Thalo Blue is a warm blue which, mixed with lemon or zinc yellow, makes a bright, jewel-like green. I include it on my recommended limited palette because of that, but it should be used sparingly and with caution.

Current shows

2010-11-08T08:21:00.000-05:00

Two of my paintings (one large and one small) were accepted in the Art League of Alexandria November show at the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, VA.

"Uhaul" is 30" x 40" and painted in Acrylic. As reference, I used a photo I took in Florida of a Uhaul truck drawn up to a warehouse. The contrast between the very bright and controlled shapes on the truck and the truck itself and the shades of gray in the rest of the scene interested me.

Uhaul by Pam Coulter

"Rainforest, St. Kitts" is a very small ink and watercolor sketch done while on a cruise to the Caribbean. It is matted and framed to 8" x 10". I use watercolor for casual sketching and visual notes because it helps me "translate" what I see from the sometimes rather confusing "reality" of the photographic world to a more poetic one.

Rainforest St. Kitts by Coulter

They will be on display through December 6 at the Art League Gallery.

Art and "authority"

2010-10-30T08:18:00.002-05:00

Be wary of anyone citing "authority" in the field of art. Art is about creating. So there will always be those who are creating new things, some of which will not be appreciated. Remember that the impressionists, the cubists, the surrealists, the abstract expressionists, were all shunned in their time. And today, there are those who would tell you that there is only one acceptable kind of art.

From my vantage point as an art teacher, often dealing with beginners who would put me on a pedestal because of my greater experience, I find it particularly important to remind myself of this. I am usually teaching "the basics." And the basics are important. But it is also important to validate the creation of the individual artist. He or she may not have the scene exactly right, or the colors, but that creation nevertheless is important.

The field of art is full of authorities. Listen to them, because they have knowledge. But beware of wholesale acceptance.

Here's an example: A student recently asked if she could use a fan brush to make the leaves on the trees. I immediately replied that the purpose of the fan brush was blending. Then I backtracked, because you could use a fan brush for foliage, and many do. It's not its original purpose, but — hey — why not?

Painting About.com website has more on the use of the fan brush.
http://painting.about.com/od/artsupplies/ig/Intro-to-Art-Paint-Brushes/Brush-Fan.htm

What hue should you use

2010-10-19T08:04:00.000-05:00

Here's some more on color from my book. Please note this is copyrighted.

Traditionally, painters use a color wheel whose primary colors are red, yellow and blue. A very limited palette of red, yellow, blue and white might include just permanent red, hanza yellow medium, ultramarine blue and titanium white. You will find, however, that, because paints are not perfect “primary” colors, you need a limited palette of at least two reds, two yellows, and two blues (one of each hue veering towards the “warm” and other towards the “cool” spectrum. Alternately, you could build your palette around the primary and secondary hues: red, yellow and blue would be the primary and orange, green and violet the secondary colors.

The history of the color wheel is interesting. In the mid-eighteenth century, scientist Isaac Newton’s experiments with prisms resulted in the theory that red, yellow and blue were the primary colors, although color theory no longer supports the concept that all other colors can be mixed from these primaries.

At the time of the Impressionists, some innovative theory on color was being developed. A Mr. Chevreul was establishing a color wheel and Mr. Rood had just published a work on the theory of color in 1881. The Impressionists (and Neo-Impressionists) adopted these theories and arranged their palettes according to the chromatic tables furnished by the physicists. "Following the theory that light, broken up in a prism, gives off seven colors, they adopted these seven colors on their palettes." They excluded black. Duranty, a prominent writer of the time, felt that they were handicapped by this. Unlike the "true" Impressionists, Mary Cassatt, Edgar Degas, and Edouard Manet did not exclude black, but used it richly. (This last information was extracted from Mary Cassatt 1844-1926, National Gallery of Art, 1970 Exhibition Catalogue)

Some color theory

2010-10-18T07:42:00.000-05:00

The following is an excerpt from my forthcoming book. Yesterday, students my class at ArtSpace Herndon once again voiced a concern about how to mix color. This is a little information intended to help. As I've said before, the best way to help is to put paint to canvas.

General Color Theory

Hue is the property which distinguishes red from green. If you ask “what hue is the sea?” the answer might be: “Aquamarine” or “ultramarine” depending on where you are (and the weather). Hue is determined by the wavelength of the color. The colors of the rainbow are considered hues. Browns and grays are not hues.

Value (lightness-darkness) applies to color as well as the gray scale. Yellow has a naturally light value and blue has a naturally strong (dark) value.

Saturation refers to how much pure pigment of the desired hue is present versus medium or other hue. You can de-saturate a pure color by adding white, gray, black, or the complement of the color. Saturation is often referred to as color intensity or chroma, although chroma has a slightly different meaning to a purist. (Visual artists don’t usually seem to pursue this distinction.)

Temperature refers to whether the color is perceived as warm or cool and is a relative term. Red may seem warm in relation to blue, but may seem cool if placed next to orange.

These attributes (qualities, properties, or characteristics) work together to create depth and composition on the two-dimensional plane.

There are some additional terms, such as “shade” (amount of black added) “tint” (amount of white added, and “intensity” (the brightness or dullness of a hue). But I think the main concepts it’s important for a painter to get are the first four.

Use of reference material in creating "ART"

2010-10-10T12:56:00.000-05:00

Often, when teaching a class of students using photos as reference material, I find myself pointing out things that they haven't seen in the photo, or correcting their drawings with reference to the photo. But the duplication of a reference photo in its exactitude is not precisely "ART" (although it is handy as a tool for learning the basics).

Sometimes I will tell the student to stop(!) painting on a painting in progress, not necessarily because it is "finished" but because it communicates. (Often they don't listen to me, because (after all) it's their painting, not mine.)

But I am indebted to Sherry DeReuter for the above painting, an adaptation of a photo we were using.

it is painted with the palette knife, and it could be more "finished", but this painting communicates a mood. The small bits of light orange coming through the clouds are emphasized by the surrounding dark. The photo below is the one students are working from.