Advancing with Watercolor: Working with a Family of Colors

Color - Color Family

Last week we began our study of color - specifically how do we simplify our approach to color and harness the power of transparency. The first term which I introduced was “Mother” Color. The color  perceived almost at first glance… but for us to recognize it we need to state it - out loud. Then our eyes become more sensitive to this color and we see it manifested throughout the scene. When we move to the paper that Mother color is the center of our color mixtures …Today we extend that notion into the “color family”.

The color family also centers around the mother color and you can see that in the color wheel. Colors that are next to or close to the “mother” color are part of the family

The family I am using LOOSLEY today is orange. I am working from   colors derived from orange of which yellow and red play a role.

This means I look beyond the photo

While the location the season and the photo are a source of inspiration I am intentionally restricting my color choices to the family of colors. The benefits of working with a limited palette are-  we start to look at the VALUE as much as we do the HUE. The light and dark qualities. This tunes our brain to find the contrast rather that the color. A second benefit is that we generalize more, meaning we see and paint similarities as one more so with a restricted palette. The last and perhaps most important change is that we become more likely to improvise and interpret what we see rather than report it. A big step to artistic expression.

What will we do today

Today we will build a painting using a limited palette based on the orange color family. After finishing a thoughough  version of this painting we will move to a sprint of the same subject - trying to evoke the scene but at the same time a more fluid and scene that points to the essence of the subject. A tall order for 3 hours. We learn a few helpful design strategies along the way particularly to this scene and a few ways of handling the brush to form convincing foliage - can I say SPLATTER - Aprons please!!!

What will we use today

COLORS

Cad Yellow Light, Cad Orange Red, Yellow Ochre, B Sienna, Sepia, Alizarin Crimson, Vermillion

Brushes

A large flat 2” and a 1 inch flat, a couple of sabelette rounds large and small..

I am also using a mop brush - old and worn

Tape, spay bottle, paper towel, hair dryer pencil drop cloth

Paper

12 x 16 2- pieces Saunders Waterford Rough but use what you are comfortable with