Using art to improve ones view on life

[Jane HM Thompson]

Hi my name is Jane Thompson and I am a new member.  I have been following Richard for some time but never plucked up the courage to join the group.  This workshop on sunsets really got my attention though.  I live in central Canada and the winters are long and hard and after months of snow bound black and white living I am usually pretty depressed by the time the April thaw comes round.  So I started photographing the seasons and then started painting them.  My paintings haven't gone all that well as I haven't managed to get the right atmosphere of a true Canadian winter.  But Richard's example of the importance of values reminded me of the basics I had forgotten.  Now I am very excited about getting down to this painting.  Of course Central Canadian winters tend to be in the grey scale anyway, so I might have a problem finding some colour to add.  Anyway looking forward to join the group.

[Silvana M Albano]

WELCOME JANE!!!!

I am sure you will find a lot of help around, so your paintings look the way you want them to . a lot of excellent artists stick around this site, and the are very outgoing and helpful too!

[Jane HM Thompson]

Thank you Silvana.  I am looking forward to the experience.

[Carolyn Brunsdon]

Hello Jane, and welcome! I'm new also, but have found that we have a great bunch of folks here and many, many talents artists. All very friendly and helpful. As to the monochromatic landscape in Canada, I thought of one of Richard's paintings (I think it was his)  of a snowy view and a red cabin in the far distance and how all the subtle snow/sky colors gave it a wonderful stage. Another example of his is a beach scene, very neutral palette, all except for the brilliant umbrella. Find some spots of color to inject into your work and perhaps you will enjoy the effect. Again, glad that you joined us.

[Jane HM Thompson]

Hi Carolyn

Thanks for taking the time to comment.  I intend to use this grayscale in the workshop and glaze in the colours of the sunset.  So I am hoping it will look entirely different after the glazing stage.   I will look up the paintings by Richard that you mention.  Because Canadian winters are so cold even the evergreen trees go black, so the only colour we get is in the sky.  I am hoping the contrast will work.  It is going to be an interesting exercise and I am looking forward to learning a lot from it.It is great to chat with other artists and I am looking forward to the comments and advice from artists such as yourself.

[Carolyn Brunsdon]

Will look forward to seeing how you handle it. Don't forget Rule one: "As  artists, we reserve the right to take license and interpret what we see, differently if need be. Although, I wouldn't suggest putting a beach umbrella in the snow. Lol A member here: Dirk Rampling in his painting 21 has used a limited palette and seemingly simple subject to create an amazing painting...hardest part is just doing it, yes? Have fun!

[Jane HM Thompson]

Yes I like Rule one and I will definitely bear in mind your advice regards the umbrella :).  I took a look at Dirk Rampling's site and was very impressed. I noticed you are from Arizona. A very long time ago I visited the desert in Arizona and loved it and seem to remember that it had that bleached low detail look that our winters have.  That dry air and bright sun have a habit of flattening everything.  You have fun too. 

[Wendy Cunningham]

Jane - I think one of Richard's most powerful paintings is the boat done nearly in monochrome - you can certainly add color to greys and some are beautiful, like the purplish grey we see in a lot of sky paintings (pinkish and purplish gray are my two most used pastel sticks).

That said, I remember in Richard's Mastering Color video, there is an exercise where we do a painting and then another pushing the chroma way up.  It's like the old TV screens where you dialed up the saturation - you have to do it in a controlled way so that the painting doesn't end up garish.  A good way is to only ramp up one color family or one element, just like that painting with the umbrella.  He also makes a good case for doing paintings with only chromatic greys (using two complementary colors) and a third color.

I think that having greys in the painting make the colors that ARE there really pop.

[Carolyn Brunsdon]

Great tips/advise Wendy. Very practical.

[Jane HM Thompson]

Hi Wendy - Very interesting points and I agree absolutely about pumping up the chroma.  I am sorry I missed Richard's exercise.  I am a fan of a Russian painter called Isaak Levitan and I kept looking at his paintings and wondering what it was that captured my attention, as some of them are very simple as to composition, and then I realized it was the way he used his values at the high end.  Because Richard has been reminding us of this through the workshop videos I have been forced to go back to the basics and re-establish these rules in my own painting.  It is a really great workshop and I am so glad I signed up for it.  I have seen the painting of the boat and liked it very much.  Thanks for taking the time  to chat.  I really enjoyed your input.