James Gurney put out a new "Color in Practice" video about Triads. Although it sounds sciencefictioney to me, it's simply a way to understand and practice the possibilities of a limited palette. Gurney puts out a ton of informational videos on YouTube but this series is the closest thing to having a formal course with him. There's also a Facebook group where you can share your painting struggles/adventure with others. James also pops in from time to time with a challenge and even awards prizes! Go to YouTube, visit his website, or best of all, buy his book Color and Light for a complete explanation.
The above is a page out of my 8.5x11 inch sketchbook. I picked my triads before I picked something to paint. The images are out of the royalty free site, UnSplash. The machinery photo is by Denny Müller of Germany. It's only part of the photo which had a glow about it. I would like to do a larger version that included more of the photo with a wider palette. The illusionary "glow" is what I would like to emphasize in a painting. Who knows? Maybe I'll return to it in the future.
After the fact, I realized that I did a pretty good job of drawing the machinery which is rare for me. The limited colors worked fine, not in duplicating the photo but in creating a harmonious painting. Because I mostly used paint that had dried on the palette from the triad chart, much of the painting is basically a watercolor. I think the transparency helped in keeping the contrast.
I'm less happy with the breakfast scene because I lost the feeling of weight and floppiness of the top pancake. After the border tape was off, I realize that, in concentrating on the color and highlights on the blueberries, I made them too big which threw off the size relationships in the entire painting! The lack of contrast in the sketch isn't helped by the black background of the blog and the high contrast painting next to it.
I'm in that mental spot of stalling. I need to paint more. I'm just not doing it. I found some nice 4K videos with great scenery but they're not things that I could fit in the sketchbook. Excuses, excuses.
Next: Bobcat!
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