Happy New Year Poking Around with Color Wheels

Still poking around... just haven't been up to posting.  As usual lots of projects going.... working on color, PYHAS 2019 has started, 3 large (for me) paintings one for my daughter and one for Noam and Amir. Have yet to get reference photo for Amir.

Somehow I get painters block when doing paintings for others, a sort of loss of freedom. Have to get around that but it's difficult. It doesn't look the reference, not the right colors etc. Anyone with a good formula!

I signed up for Color My Life 2018 by Kellee Wynne, which she offered for free. Never can get enough about color.  I made 2 color wheels and plan on several more. Good therapy!

The first was an earthy palette.  Indian Red  Prussian Blue Naples Yellow Deep

The second is what she calls a Modern Wheel based on the CYMK colors the printer uses.
Had to improvise with the colors I had. Used Cadmium Yellow Light, Alizarin Crimson, and Primary Blue (name on the tube). Interesting for me was the red-orange which is close to Cad Red and the Blue purple which looks like a real blue. leftover paints made great neutrals!

Both wheels used oil paints on paper. Any three of the primaries can be used for a wheel.

Now to do some of the exercises she has for all the colors!

Finishing Up...Until

Have been trying to finish up some of my figure work, well that is until I decide to fiddle some more. Been experimenting more with using my wax/oil crayons from Caran d'Ache, neocolor I. Like some of the effects with rubbing wax, or turps.

On the Stool by the Window

Gessoed paper Acrylic Background

Crayons and Charcoal

13.75 x 19 "

Tried some wallpaper effect, see top left, but the greens didn't seem to work. Previous version!

All Artists Did/Do This

We all have paintings that are sort of OK but not really worth keeping. Each painting teaches us something, but it's time to move on.  In 2012 I did a group of three quite large canvases, for me at least. Guess I never blogged them. They were of some childhood memories of a summer spent at a beach town in Rhode Island. I remembered walking through tall cornfields. Well, one is on its way for another memory, this one of my daughters, a recent trip to the Arava.

Dancing in the Fields

47 x 23.5 "

Oils on stretched canvas

Before Sanding

After sanding

Out in the garden on a warm winter's morning, the canvas is ready for a new memory!

First lawyers oils with cold wax medium!

Love the play of the shadows!