complimentary colors
Worked on the painting yestseday and got here – I try not to use earth tones – it dulls the glow. I use a lot of sap green, cobalt, ultamarine, alizarin and cobalt violet – those wonderfuly rich cadmiums will dot in later – I hope they are not banned – I’ve already been exposed to the toxins!
This painting is 4′ x 3′. Again it’s the Skagit Delta as seen from a Cessna. (see the previous posts for state one and two.)
Check out my new all inclusive website – www.annheideman.com for all links and information on my upcomming Seattle show!
starting a new painting …
Here are state one and two of a new oil painting. The motif is the Skagit Delta as seen from 2,000′ – a view from a small plane. This one is unusual in that I am working on a white background — I usually put down a color first to give a glowing tint – oil paint has a transparency to it that is wonderful.
Light travels through the paint and refelcts back from the white or colored canvas on the back – in an ever so subtle way. That’s one of the beauties of the medium, and something that can’t be matched by acrylic. It is the qualities of oil itself that make the colors rich.
I grided my photo – I had made it to scale by croping it slightly in photo-shop so it would go with the 4′ x3′ format of the painting – and I grided the canvas as well. I made a lose pencil drawing to locate the big shapes and then began. As you can see in state two the idea of caligraphy begins to take hold. At this point the painting very much guides me as to where to go …
how to paint an oil painting
first I put a colored wash on it and drew the basic shapes with penicil. Then I started painting in the large masses with broad gestures of color
As the painting contines I begin to interweave areas and use color and edge to delinate forms – the garden grows!
I use the darks to push back the space and the bright colors to bring it forwards. I like to concentrate on where forms intersect.
Bellow is the slide show of the stages …
I hope you can join me at my show – follow this link to the gallery site
new watercolor from July 4th
painted on a mountian top in Eastern Washington on a beautiful day – Old Blewett Pass Road. Wonderful day! See home page for Seattle Exhibition details.
Ann Heideman 