Hydrangeas with Pincushions and China Berries 20x16 Oil
I did the set-up for this still life over a year ago, and even though I was excited about painting it for some reason I couldn't make myself get started. I got as far as completing a rough drawing on the panel and there it sat, staring at me for months.
Still life has primarily been what I've painted--especially florals. Early this summer I was feeling like I needed to change things up a bit and I started looking at painting videos posted on YouTube. I came across Karin Jurick's video* that shows her laying out her palette, which if you haven't seen the video is extensive. I loved her comment in reference to a limited palette that, "People, there's a world out there." I got inspired by all that color and immediately bought some new tubes. What fun!
Here are some of my new favorite colors and why I love them:
Asphaltum (Rembrandt) A transparent warm dark. Great addition to your palette if you use Transparent Oxide Red. Add white and it becomes the perfect color for a sandy beach.
Greenish Umber (Rembrandt) A transparent cooler dark. Add white and it becomes a warm green/grey (cooler than Monochrome Tint Warm below) (Note: This is nothing like Grumbacher Greenish Umber. When you add white to that you get a grayed viridian color. Both are good.)
Monochrome Tint Warm (Holbein) A mid-value greenish gray. Very handy to use as a beginning mix.
Yellow Grey (Holbein) A mid-value warm sand color--sort of a grayed down version of yellow ochre pale and warmer than Monochrome Tint Warm. Also handy to use as a beginning mix.
Blue Grey (Holbein) This mid-value blue looks fairly intense out of the tube, but it doesn't have a strong tinting ability. Add a bit of white and you've got a very workable light sky color, add a bit of naples yellow pale to that mix and you've got a great green for the sky.
Violet Grey (Holbein) A periwinkle color--similar to the blue grey above but a better tinter. I was lucky enough to spend a week in Provence this summer, and if you want to paint those vibrant blue shutters this is a great color to have on hand.
After adding these colors (and a few more I'll talk about at a later time) to my palette, I took another look at the Hydrangea drawing and decided to give it a go. The entire painting is primarily these colors with the addition of Gamblin Titanium/Zinc White, a touch of Windsor Newton Yellow Ochre Pale and Ultramarine Blue, plus a touch of Rembrandt Transparent Oxide Red and Viridian.
What I discovered was that while I could certainly come close to mixing all my new colors, I not only saved time but it gave me a cleaner color with which to start. The more colors you mix together the more grayed down your mix becomes. Rather than mixing from several primaries, if you can start with a color that's already close in value and hue it gives you more room to make additions to get what you want and still keep it clean.
*If you haven't seen Karin Jurick's palette video, check it out. If you're not familiar with Arizona Fine Art Expo, look at my last posting or click on the link to the website.
