Painters Online

56 www.painters-online.co. uk October2012 COLOUR MIXING: 11TH IN A SERIES OF 13 SorayaFrench discussesbalanceandharmony in colour relationships Colour harmony C olour is themostpowerfulelement in thedesignofapainting. Ithas amazingexpressivequalitiesand sets theoverallmoodandambiance for thepainting.Aboveall thecolour scheme needs tobeconsistentand thebalance andharmonyareachievedby thevisual contrasts thatexistbetweencolour combinations.Tocomposewithcolour successfullyweneed tounderstand colour relationships. In thisarticlewewill beexploring twoof themost important colour relationships:analogousand complementary. Analogous colours Analogouscoloursare thecolours adjacent toeachotherona12-partcolour wheel, suchasblue,blue-greenand green,and theycreateaharmonious colour scheme.Forexample, thecool combinationsofbluesandgreensbringa feelingofcalmand tranquillity, soare particularly suitable formoodyand atmospheric subjectmatter suchas seascapes.Warmyellowsandorangesare more fiery.Harmoniouscolourshaveone primarycolour incommon, therefore the eyemakesa softand smooth transition when travelling fromonecolour to shareonecommonprimarycolour– yellow. Ifyouaddeda sixthcolour, red- orange, itwouldno longerbe harmonious.The red in the red-orange is thecomplement togreenandwould reflect theopposite light, thusupsetting thebalance. Thesepleasing combinationshappen overandover in thenaturalworld.An autumnwoodland, forexample, isa rich tapestryofyellow,orange-yellowand orangewith the remainingofgreenand yellow-green leavesof summer. Formaximumharmonyavoid combiningwarmand cool colours inone painting.Useone colouras thedominant hueand theothersasaccents.Your palettemaybe limited in this colour schemebut itdoesn’thave tobeboring. Byusing the lightanddark,mutedand brightversionsof thehuesyou canhavea painting that isboth interestingand harmonious. Striking combinations Complementarycoloursareplaced oppositeeachotheron thecolourwheel. Detail of a larger painting, showing harmonious colours. This is an example of how the harmonious hues of violet-red, violet-blue, blue, blue-green and greenmerge and melt together another.Thesecolours reflect the same lightwaves.So for instancegreen,yellow- green,yellow,yellow-orange,andorange wouldbeharmoniouscolours.Theyall Yellow-green Green Blue-green Blue Blue-violet Violet Red-Violet Red Red-orange Orange Orange-yellow Yellow Complementary colours Analogous colours Colourwheel October2012 www.painters-online.co.uk 27 abouta senseof freedom, combinedwith the feelingofbelonging. Iapproachmy subjectsusing twomedia –watercolour andoil.Why?Well,watercolour is eminently suitable for locationworkwhen abroador inapublic space,andoilpaint isanexcellentmedium forgetting to gripswitha large composition in the studio–both share theemphasison GrandCen ral,NewYork Thehustleandbustleof this iconic railway terminalon42nd Street isa sight tobehold.Themainhall iscavernous: its marbleand steel interiorechoes t soundsandcoloursof commutersgoingabout theirbusiness. It’samesmerising scene that is synonymouswithcity life. In themiddleof the concourse isacarousel-stylebrasspagodawitha spherical four-faceclock thatallows time tobeviewed fromallangles. This ticketboothalsoconcealsa spiral staircase to lower levels. My composition isbalanced,with reflectionsand shadowson themarble floorechoing lightandmovement.The result isamelangeof figuresand fe t, posturesandgestures,witha constant lightpouring in from theenormous archedwindowgrills. A tip ifyou try thisyourself:donot set upon the concourseas theNYPDwill moveyouon,as Idiscovered! GrandCentral, watercolour on paper,12 16in (30.5 40.5cm). This rapidwatercolour of the commuters has relatively no defining lines. I used lots ofwashes and allowed the colours to bleed into each other. Iwanted to capt re th atmosphere Morning,GrandCentral, watercolour on paper,12 16in (30.5 40.5cm). Here I used thewhite of the paper combinedwith yellow and orange to capture the effect of light in themarble terminal. The luminance within this gigantic hallwas amajor concern tomewhenworking on my composition and I tackled this by using bold, bright colours. Yellow can be a difficult colour but here I found it a useful key formy composition.Cadmium yellow andwhitewere used to create the focal point ofmy composition. Adding oranges and reds, I attempted to heighten the impact of reflected light as itmoved around the space. In contrast the people and shadowswere created using cooler colours ranging from lemon green, king’s blue and violet. Violet is particularly vibrant inmy painting as it is the complementary colour of yellow, and sets up an interplay between warm and cool colour THE FINISHEDPAI NTING GrandCentral,NewYork, oil on canvas, 36 36in (91.5 91.5cm). Rich saturated colourswere used to give this scene awarm atmospherewhere the hustle and bustle ofmodern life is something tomarvel at FROM STUDIES TO FINISHED PAINTING Grand Central, New York 46 www.painters-online.co.u k October2012 JulieDavis, portraitistand tutorwith the OpenCollegeof theArts,discusses the function ofportraiture I can’t remembera timewhen Iwasn’t interested inportraitsand in the representationof thehuman figureand havealwaysbeendrawn topaintings that couldgazebackatme. Iwould routinely cajole friendsand familymembers into sitting stillwhile Iattempted tocapture themonpage.Peopleare interested in people–wehavean infinitecuriosity aboutotherhumans,and in the faceswe show to theworld. Aportrait isa recordofaunique collaborationbetween the sitterand the artist,or theartistand theirown senseof identity, in the caseofa selfportrait. Everythingabout thework– clothes, setting,anyobjects included,etc–will havebeen carefully chosen to tell the world somethingabout thatperson. In portraiture,nothing is random. Theadventofphotographyandother mediamighthave changed the function of thepaintedportrait,but littlehas altered in termsof the reasonsaportrait mightbe commissioned.Aportrait isnot onlya recordofwhatwewant to show theworldaboutwhoweare,butalsoa representationof the impression thatwe havemadeonanotherperson,onewhose job it is to interpretusand tonoticewhat makesusunique. What I thinkhas ch d is the function of theportraitartist;althougha likeness is (usually) still important, it isunderstood tha apainting isnotaphotographand the rtistwillhavebeen chosen for their painting styleandability topresent the sitter inauniquelypai terlyway. Portraitproc dure Theprocess startswithmeeting the sitter, quiteoften in th ir nhomewhere they are surround dby things that reflect somethingabout them.Having said that, muchofmy figurativework iswithout context,andbecomesallaboutemotion and thepareddownphysicalpresence. Although I’mnotpartic larlyextrovert I thinkbeinga ‘peopleperso ’helpsa portraitartist toesablisha rapportand get the sitter t relax; itcanbea little nerve-wracking forb thpartiesat first. Imightmake some sketchesandother observationalnotes,but it is important to takea largenu b rofphotographs usingagood camera thatyou trust.A digitalSLR isessential f ormebecause I tend to refer to thephotosdirectly from the computer screen rather thanprinting themoutand thusworking thirdhand. There isa certainattitude thatworking fromphotographs is cheating,butmost peopleare rarelyavailabl towork from fora lengthof time, soagood setof interesting,well-litphotographs is essential. I like to takeasmanyaspossible indifferentpositionsand situations toget a r allygood feel for the sitter.The final choiceofpose is stillverymuchmy decisionbasedon the impressions Ihave of thatperson,and thephotographsare an important rtof thewholedecision makingprocess. Iusuallywork inoilon canvas. I stretch myown canvases– I like touse thin, unblea ched cottonwhich Iprimewith gessobeforegiving itawashof thinned burnt sienna toprovideanunderlying warmth. I thinkoilpaint is thenatural choice for figurativeworkandportraiture as its fluiditymakes itmore sensuousand suited to flesh. I find thatacrylic tends to be too syntheticandplasticky,and I dislike the fastdrying time,although I don’twant tobeprescriptive– Iurge students to tryeverything. Thenext stage is to sketchout the subject–usuallyusinga thinbrushanda fairlyneutral, chromaticdark toget the Thoughts on portraitu re Still Looking, (self portrait), oil on canvas,39 1 ⁄ 2 31 1 ⁄ 2 in (100 80cm) to r e ceive 3 print issues for £5 or telephone us on 01580 763315 (and quote SATA8) SAVE over 54% on the shop price Be inspired by practical demonstrations covering all media, techniques and subject matter Receive hints, tips and practical advice from popular artists Our expert panel reviews new materials and techniques Learn how top professional artists approach their work Paint atmospheric cityscapes PLUS: SELF PUBLISH YOUR OWN ART BOOK • WORKING EN PLEIN AIR October 2012 £3.70 www.painters-online.co.uk THE PRACTICAL MAGAZINE FOR ARTISTS BY ARTISTS – SINCE 1931 COVER TOP TIPS for better portraits Coloured pencil techniques Be inspired by the remarkable drawings of Stephen Wiltshire FREE INSIDE Art Courses & Holidays supplement Click here for£5 delivereddirect to your door of Top reasons to try Try 3 print issues The practical magazine for artists by artists The UK’s most authoritative, practical art magazine providing information, advice and inspiration for aspiring and professional artists. is your masterclass from well-known artists who reveal their working practices and techniques in drawing and painting