Color Harmonies

"Casino Dawn"
oil on canvas, 16" x 20"



Today's piece was a serious one. Not just practice, but one that I hope will be accepted into a museum show honoring the 100th anniversary of the "Boardwalk" . . .an amusement park here that boasts an old wooden rollercoaster . . . .and the site of several movies in the past.


I have been 'working on' this piece for over a ten days without ever lifting a brush. I mean it! Really! I looked at and sketched several points of view. Went to the site several times, but never in this lighting conditions. Then photographs were taken because there was no way I could paint from this angle without being squashed by a car or truck. It just wasn't possible. So I had to use a photo . . .something I almost NEVER do. (I shall save that commentary for another post.) Once the drawing was done, color harmony and value emphasis had to be reasoned through before I painted it. I wanted the feeling of dawn with golden light, while the streets are empty and I wanted the emphasis to be on the building with the dome . . .the casino, as it is called. . . . .or the Coconut Grove. Reasoning wasn't enough . . .I had to resort to a very abbreviated palette and force myself to stay in it so I could establish relationships between every single color in the piece. Cad Orange, Cad Yellow Medium, Violet, Cad Red Lite and Green and, of course white. Every brush load was a mix of at least two of these colors and most often of three to insure it would all relate. Frankly, as I worked through the painting, I was amazed at how many different colors I was able to arouse on my palette. Again, it seems I am gaining some ground in this new medium.

Labels: , , , , , , , , ,