I finished my paintings for my personal project. I say finished, but really they’re not. I’m feeling a little frustrated with them. I like the design and composition and I like certain colours but I’m really struggling with the colour of the main objects in all of them. The paintings are too dark. The colour feels flat as well. Regarding the darkness, I wanted something lighter like a light yellow/gold but I can’t seem to mix it. I tried different combinations but fell flat on all occasions. If anyone can add any suggestions on mixing and/or colour suggestions. Oh, they are all the same colour but the light is playing tricks. They are closer to the top and bottom image. You can click on each one to enlarge.
I am not following what you want to do with these. I would think you could just mix lighter color and shape in some of those round circles like a value study. Maybe it's the material or the undercoat of paint interfering with the color when You apply it? I do like your designs, though.
I've managed to sort out some of the colour without making too many changes Leslie. I had one of those happy accidents that often dramatically improves a piece! I will finish them off on Thursday as they're at college just now but I'll post pictures when they're complete.
I really like the lyrical quality these pieces have Heather. They dance! and the textures are wonderful.
A color you may want to experiment with in the future (if you haven't already) is Nickel Azo Yellow – when I do a final wash of this color, I often find that it really makes my work glow – pop! I just brush a thinned coat on and wipe it off with a paper towel. A couple others that do the same thing are Quinacridone Nickel Azo Gold, Quinacridone Burnt Orange etc. Just about any Quinacridone color (magenta, red, violet…) has a transparency that when washed and worked into areas really enhances things for me. A little goes a long way, but I find it a simple way to add dimension and depth magically.
Thank you Karin. I'm glad you like the movement in this. It's what appealed to me initially. The textures did take a while but it was an experiment and I think it worked out ok.
I've heard of Quinacridone colours but had no idea what they were. I've looked them up and will check out my local art shop to see if I can find it. It's been driving me nuts trying to get that nice yellow gold rather than a reddish or copper gold colour. Thanks for the tip!