This is an update for my 6/8/12 post. The following photo depicts the current state of my Empire State Building Painting.
This is a fascinating painting because it unfolds as I work on it. As you establish the shadow patterns you realize which building are in front of which. You get to establish the window patterns, and the light and reflections from the individual window panes. The various colors and groupings of the water tanks is another area that unfolds as you proceed. The billboard signage is also interesting, in that I get to draw and paint cars, various types, and the sign in the lower right is an add for a Broadway Play and will contain 5 portraits. That is yet to be done an will be a real challenge.
Notice that the various building planes have a great variety of colors and values. This is a real challenge for color mixing. This is where the color pool pallet management that I have described in previous posts really pays off, in that I have all of the various mixtures that I have used always available on my pallet. This makes it easy to modify, touch up, or add to the existing color planes. The only reason this works is that the Golden OPEN acrylic paints will stay useable on my pallet for the weeks or months that I may work on a complex painting of this type (using the pallet management techniques I have described in previous posts).
Another interesting insight into the pallet management is illustrated in the following photo of one of my pallets for this painting.
Notice that the various building planes have a great variety of colors and values. This is a real challenge for color mixing. This is where the color pool pallet management that I have described in previous posts really pays off, in that I have all of the various mixtures that I have used always available on my pallet. This makes it easy to modify, touch up, or add to the existing color planes. The only reason this works is that the Golden OPEN acrylic paints will stay useable on my pallet for the weeks or months that I may work on a complex painting of this type (using the pallet management techniques I have described in previous posts).
Another interesting insight into the pallet management is illustrated in the following photo of one of my pallets for this painting.
I will describe this in greater detail in future posts. However, for now, note that many of the buildings in the New York painting have color notes related to the earth colors, such as yellow ochre and raw sienna.
With my pallet based on the Golden OPEN modern color set, I mix all of these colors from the modern colors. The process is one of mixing the base color combination and then adding white to tint it to achieve say raw sienna. The basic color pools, prior to adding white, for yellow ochre and raw sienna are in the center of the above pallet. Yellow ochre on the left and raw sienna on the right. What I have discovered is that I never really mix the color that would match the ochre or sienna tube color!!! However, these base color pools are used to mix a wide range of harmonious colors which are tinted (with titanium or zinc white), or shaded (with bone black or a complement), or mixed with another color to achieve the wide range of related colors that you can see in the Empire State Building painting. This works well because the colors in the Golden OPEN modern color set are very pure and do not readily turn to mud when mixed with other color.
This color mixing strategy turns out to be a great advantage and simplification in achieving many harmonious tones, and having the colors available for further use and modification as the painting process evolves. Surprisingly, I find it easier to mix my own colors from scratch that to rely on using a multitude of tubes of various speciality colors. Not only is it easier, but it focuses me directly on seeing the color I want. Is is warmer, cooler more blue or more green, as opposed to which tube of paint should I bee using. The more I use this methodology the more I like it!!! I will be describing more of what i learn as I go along.
With my pallet based on the Golden OPEN modern color set, I mix all of these colors from the modern colors. The process is one of mixing the base color combination and then adding white to tint it to achieve say raw sienna. The basic color pools, prior to adding white, for yellow ochre and raw sienna are in the center of the above pallet. Yellow ochre on the left and raw sienna on the right. What I have discovered is that I never really mix the color that would match the ochre or sienna tube color!!! However, these base color pools are used to mix a wide range of harmonious colors which are tinted (with titanium or zinc white), or shaded (with bone black or a complement), or mixed with another color to achieve the wide range of related colors that you can see in the Empire State Building painting. This works well because the colors in the Golden OPEN modern color set are very pure and do not readily turn to mud when mixed with other color.
This color mixing strategy turns out to be a great advantage and simplification in achieving many harmonious tones, and having the colors available for further use and modification as the painting process evolves. Surprisingly, I find it easier to mix my own colors from scratch that to rely on using a multitude of tubes of various speciality colors. Not only is it easier, but it focuses me directly on seeing the color I want. Is is warmer, cooler more blue or more green, as opposed to which tube of paint should I bee using. The more I use this methodology the more I like it!!! I will be describing more of what i learn as I go along.
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