Taming The Critic Within

Being your own critic is an essential part of being an artist. Why then, do so many do it so badly? Students in particular, can be unreasonably hard on themselves. As an instructor I have heard students do some pretty severe hatchet jobs on themselves, all under the guise of critique. At best, it is a waste of time, at worst, it can cause the derailment of the learning process. In this post we'll talk about some of the do's and don't's of the critique process.

Be Your Own Best Critic
"Do unto others as you would have others do unto you".  The Golden Rule. Words to live by. The Golden Rule of self critique, however, should be "Do unto yourself as you would do unto others."  What this means is that most students who suffer from the problem of being "their own worst critic" should truly take this to heart. This student is far more critical of his or herself than they would be of anyone else. This self derisiveness manifests itself in a variety of forms, self doubt ("I'm really an amateur and I shouldn't even be in this class"), self protection ("If I tell the teacher just how horrible this painting is then nothing he says could be worse"), fishing ("If I'm overly harsh then maybe he'll be forced to be extra nice") and arrogance ("I should be much better than this."). Wherever this comes from it is usually unreasonable and of a less constructive nature and therefore completely self defeating.

The Cycle of Self Doubt
One of the things that serves to quell self doubt is knowledge. Ironically, it is this same self doubt which hampers our ability to acquire knowledge. It is a self defeating cycle. The best way that I have found to stop any cycle is simply to do something different. It sounds easy but remember that these cyclic patterns have usually been in place for most of our lives, and however destructive they might be, we derive some comfort from them. They are what we are used to. The key therefore is to make these changes small.

Here are some simple ways to change your routine:

• Step away from the painting. Put your brushes down then take a few steps back away from your work. Place yourself out of reach of the painting. This will prevent you from working out of panic and will help to separate decision making from action. More on this later.
• Take a breath. This helps to accomplish two things. It will help you to relax, especially if you hold your breath for a few seconds then let it out slowly. It will also physically change your rhythm.
• Start any critique with a word of encouragement. No, I don't mean some ridiculous self affirmation. Remember, keep it simple. Before you start thinking about what might be wrong with your work start by saying the word "good." This serves to steer your thought process in a more positive direction.

The Critique
What I often hear from students is, "This is terrible!" To which I respond, "Can you be more specific?" Being critical of your own work can be an emotional undertaking. The key is to not let it overwhelm you. There is an all too familiar feeling when a painting is not going well, that the painting is getting away from you and that you are no longer in control. This is common. It happens to everyone. More experienced painters have learned to deal with it in a variety of ways from taking a break, to working on a different area of the painting, to drinking scotch. I don't recommend the last one, at least not until you've finished. However you decide to get through this, always remember that you, and you alone, are in control of the work. The paint and the brushes do not do things on their own.

One method of regaining command of your work (at least in your mind) is to always return to the basic composition. More specifically, line, tone and hue.

• Line: Check placement of objects (if you are painting representationally) by making sure that things are aligned with other things as you initially intended. Then check your proportions, height to width, object to object. This is also a good time to check the thrust of your work. Make sure that the edges of areas that were placed in ways to bring your eye through to different areas are still doing this.
• Tone: make certain that each area is sufficiently lighter or darker from its neighboring area to create the desired form. Check your overall values to make certain that the piece is not becoming to gray.
• Hue: Ask yourself if the colors are as good (vibrant, clean and plausible) as they can be.

By focusing on these three elements of your work it does not mean that you should ignore the rest but, like saying the word "Good",  this gives you a constructive point at which to start and it begins the critique in a more constructive way. After all, the point of a critique is to assess your work so that you can make improvements.

Another thing to remember is to take note of the areas of the painting which you like. Too many students overlook this. This is not just an exercise to keep you motivated, it can actually give you direction. It may help you decide on a path in which to take the piece.

Here is how I typically approach a painting session:

• When I start a painting session the first thing that I do is sit and look at the painting. I don't paint, I just look. This is done for two reasons. The first is that this is the best time to see if fresh, or as fresh as possible. I take note of what I see first, then try to figure out why. This can be either something that I like or don't like. The second reason is that I don't like to start working without a plan. I should say that during this initial observation I try to keep my mind clear for as long as possible and to let the painting wash over me. I don't look for anything specific. I let the work tell me where it wants to go. It is only after I do this that I come up with my plan.
• Next, after some time painting I like to take a break from the physical part of the work. I will walk away from the easel with my back to the work then turn around. Again this is to see the work as freshly as possible. I am now concentrating on the work that I've just done. Is it better or worse? Do I continue on this path or do I change direction? I check to see if the main colors are dispersed evenly throughout the picture plane. I make sure that verticals and horizontals are still vertical and horizontal. I make sure that symmetrical objects are indeed symmetrical. I go over my compositional pet peeve list (I'll leave that for a future post).
• I normally start painting during daylight but often I will work into the night (I don't mind painting by incandescent lighting, in fact I think it's important to see how it looks under these lighting conditions since that's primarily how it will be viewed after it is finished and hanging on a wall). I like to take advantage of the waning light to check my tonal values. I close the skylights and window blinds until there is only a hint of light. These conditions make it all but impossible to see color and most of the detail. What you have left is your basic tonal patterns. I check to make sure that they are balanced.
• During the painting session I take many short breaks so that I can check on what I'm working on at the moment. Each of these breaks is begun by stepping away from the painting, not only because I can see it better but I truly believe in the idea of separating the decision making process from the physical process. In a way, separating head from hands. The decision making needs to be more analytical, just as the painting process needs to be more subconscious.
• At the end of the day I start cleaning. Brushes, palette (most times) then my hands. It is only after I have finished washing up that I take a final look. This is because at this point I am tired and if I continue working I run the risk of undoing everything. This is why I clean before I look. What I am looking at is the good stuff. My reward is that I can sit in a comfortable chair and enjoy having pained. I find that this makes it easier to get back to work the next day.

Who Do You Listen To?

It is common for artists to listen to someone in the back of their head while painting. The most common for students is that of a parent. This makes some sense in that most were motivated at a young age by the praises showered upon them by their parents. Unfortunately the same voices that inspired us in our youth can serve serve to hold us back as adults, at least as artists. Unless your parents happen to be very progressive artists or extremely knowlegable in art, the reasons for all of the praise is usually misguided. Most well mening parents love to see their children create pretty paintings of horses and puppies done with great accuracy and detail. Children receive accolades such as getting their work diplayed on the great shrine of all American homes, the refrigerator. Paintings not deemed worthy, whether it is due to subject matter or execution, would end up in the junk drawer. They used to call that the salon system. As adult students we bring our parents and their artistic sensibilities, along to guide us in the decision making process of painting, the critique. Fortunatly as we get older and hopefully wiser, we replace these voices with those of more knowledgeable people, our instuctors. This too can serve to hold us back to a certain degree but it is a much better alternative to our parents. Ultimately, if all goes according to plan, all of the voices are replaced with that of the only one that matters, our own. Hence the phrase, "finding one's voice". At least that's how I've always interpreted it.

Trust Begins in the Home
Now that we've found our voice we need to begin to trust it. The most common occurance in my classroom is that I ask a student how things are going. After the ubiquitous shoulder shrug he or she will eventually get to the critique. They will talk in non-specific terms, about one of the areas that is not working out, but then after some chiding the student will get to the point of describing exactly what it is that they do not like about the area. For instance, "The color is too light." "So, if I hear you correctly" I say, "making the color a bit darker will make it better, correct?" A definite "Yes" is the reply. "When did you notice that problem?" I ask. "Shortly after I did it." My response is always one of utter amazement "Why did you you continue using the same color?" This is a rhetorical question since I know the reason is that they do not trust their own judgment. My favorite is while explauining how to use complimentary colors to create a shadow or a dark version of a color (i.e: adding violet to yellow to get the dark side of a lemon). There will be at least one student who will have a bunch of lemons with yellow on one side and violet on the other. "Does this look right to you?" I ask. "No, I thought it looked strange." "then why didn't you stop and change it?" "Because you said to use the compliment." the proper way to use compliment in this way is to add just enough to make it a dark yellow not so much that it makes it violet. The reason that this happens is because of a lack of trust in one's own opinion. A simple rule of thumb is that if it looks strange to you it will probably look strange to everyone else. Or, if you think it's wrong, it probably is wrong. Learn to trust your own judgment. You do know, you just don't believe it. This does not mean that students do not need help, it simply means that they do no always need as much or the kind of help that they think they do.

Three Things to Remember:

1. Learn to separate the person from the work. When in front of the easel, critique the work. The time to criticize yourself is when you're on the couch.
2. If you're having trouble painting, you're not alone. Everyone who picked up a paint brush today had trouble painting. Just because you become more experienced doesn't mean that painting is easier. It just means that your troubles are of a different nature.
3. Keep things in perspective. While painting, the worse thing that can happen is that you get a bad painting. Very few people actually die from the process.

Finally, please remember to give yourself a break. Think of how many people that you've encountered over the years who said something to the effect of "I should take some art lessons. I used to be pretty good." Or, "One of these days I'll get back into art." You don't have to say that because you're doing it. There's an old saying that goes "Ninety percent of being a good parent is showing up." The same can be said for being a student.

Tone Values

This is a lesson usually given in a drawing class but it relates to painting as well. This is the basis for creating the illusion of form on a two dimensional surface. There are three basic tools for creating form, line, color and tone. These are really the only things that we have to work with in painting. We've discussed color and I'll save line for a future post, so today we'll be talking about tone or tone value.

Think Grey As a Tone Not a Color

Tone values are just different values of light and dark. A typical painting (as if such a thing were possible) will have a black, a white and an infinite number of greys. I'm not talking about the color grey but the tone. An example would be the paint color Cadmium Red Light being a grey-tone (see the previous lesson Color Mixing Part 4: The Quirks). Most students have little trouble identifying and placing the blacks and the whites. It's the grey tones that give them the most trouble. Commonly, the trouble arises when dealing with the lightest darks and the darkest lights. Huh? I'll explain. First let's define light and dark. We commonly use a single light source so anything that is being hit directly from this light source is considered a light. Conversely, anything not being hit by this light source is a dark. Here's a tip: Sometimes it is unclear which is a dark and which is a secondary light. Pass a paint brush or pencil across the area in question. Whatever area that the pencil casts a shadow over is a light and everything else is a dark.


The Five Areas
There are five basic areas of light and dark. On the light side we have light and secondary light. On the dark side we have dark, reflected light and cast shadow. See the illustration below:

The two rules concerning these areas are simple: 
  1. Nothing in the dark side should ever be as light as anything in the light side. 
  2. Nothing in the light side should ever be as dark as anything in the dark side. 
Jerry Luisi, my college sculpture professor explained these rules to me some 30 odd years ago. So to cop a line from one of my favorite TV shows, "Thank you very much, Jerry." These rules may sound like a given but while looking at different areas it may get a bit confusing, particularly the secondary lights and the reflected lights. In fact it is for these two areas that the rules were written. Here's what happens. You see an object, let's say a vase. The light is shining on the left side. The light is fairly low which creates a secondary light on the shoulder of the vase. You may mistakenly identify the secondary light as a dark. Why not, it's darker than the light area next to it. Next, within the dark side of the vase you see a reflected light. Next to the vase is a white bowl which makes that reflected light appear to be a light area. It is therefore rendered as a light. Again, why not, it's lighter than the dark area next to it. The result is a vase which has a form like a washcloth. Specifically, the dark where the secondary light should be flips the edge forward instead of backward and the same thing is true of the light area where the reflected light should be. In all fairness, the secondary light might be pretty dark and I've seen reflected light that was blinding. But there is a saying in art "if you only draw what you see, wait 'til you see what you draw." Artists need to use not just their eyes but their brains as well.

Look At The Whole Form
Sometimes this scenario can be avoided by looking a little wider. Instead of looking only at the area next to it, look at some of the other areas. When working on a secondary light don't compare it to the light side, compare it to the reflected light. And, when working on the reflected light don't compare it to the dark area, compare it to the secondary light. An easy way to think about this is as a grey scale from one to ten, one being the lightest tone and ten being the darkest. Let's look at the illustration below:

Follow these rules: The darkest light-area is the darkest of the secondary-lights. This should never be any darker than a 5. The lightest dark-area is the lightest of the reflected-lights. This should never be any lighter than a 6.
 

The Five (or 6) Forms
As I've mentioned, the lights and darks can become a little confusing so it is important to know how a form is supposed to act in all light conditions. I'm not sure how many times I've had the conversation but, when light is coming from above, the bottom of a bowl is a dark. I don't even need to look at it because I know how a sphere is supposed to behave in any given situation. This is important for the simple reason that you can't always trust what you're seeing. As I've mentioned, some dark areas look remarkably like a light. Here are the five official forms and one rather unofficial form:

Now, Look At The Whole Picture

Now that we've learned how to give form to an object let's talk about tone values across the entire picture plane. What I'm getting at is that each object or form has its own tonal range. A white bowl, for instance has a lighter overall range than a red vase might have. The same might be said of a willow tree and a red Japanese maple. Let's look at the portrait below. The painting as a whole will have a tonal scale from 1 to 10 but each area has its own scale within that range. For instance, the shirt is 1-3, the face is 2-6, the background is 3-4, the drapery on the seat is 7-9 and the pants are 8-10. The thing to remember is not to go too far out of each object's/area's tonal range.

Full Circle (Portrait of My Father at 38)
2003, Oil on Canvas, 34"x 30"Series: Full Circle

Lastly, let's compare and contrast. First we'll look at the differences between the shirt and the pants. These two areas are on the opposite ends of the tonal scale even though the colors are in the same area of the color wheel (Violet). Now, let’s look at the background and the flesh. Notice how similar they are in tone and that they are actually complimentary colors (Red and Green). What we should take away from this observation is that even though the colors are similar the tones can be vastly dissimilar. Conversely, you may find similar tonal ranges even in very different colors. If any rule comes from this it should be that each area should be evaluated on its own and that all tone values are relative.

(c) 2010 Holm. All Rights Reserved.

A Systematic Approach to Painting, Part 2: Paint to Canvas

Let's finish the thought of the systematic approach and apply it to painting. The phrase "order from chaos" refers to this. It is natural to fantasize about being a painter in some previous time. Most people imagine themselves at some point while painting outdoors being Monet or Van Gogh quickly dashing off painting after painting. Or, they see themselves in a loft in Soho slashing away at enormous canvases with a big house-painting brush. What is actually being emulated is the finishing process which is, after all, what the painter wanted us to see. What most fail to see is all of the underlying structure behind the beautiful, bright brush work. This is the chasm that most students fail to leap. As an instructor I allow for this and let students fail miserably, at least at first, because it doesn't matter how much I talk or how many demonstrations that I give, most students need to find out for themselves that they do not yet understand how a painting is constructed. They will usually listen a little more intently from then on. The thing to remember is that most of the work throughout history, that we all know and love, was created using a system of some sort. Yes, even Abstract Expressionism.

Here is a quick tutorial on Systematic Painting. First, adhere to the Three Rules of Oil Painting. You should know them. If not take a look at the first lesson of this Blog (click here). Simply put, the three rule are: Lean to Fat, Thin to Thick, Dark to Light. Second, develop a painting in stages. These stages vary depending on the size of the canvas and how complicated the work is. In general, the stages look like this:

1. Sketch: Sketch in the composition. This is usually done with a thin wash of dark paint. This will allow you to check your composition lineally (more on this and composition in general in future lessons).
2. Turp Wash: Turp is short for turpentine which is sometimes used as a paint thinner. This stage requires that you mix colors for each element in your composition. remember that to create form you will need to mix one for the dark side and one for the light side, then mass them in with a washy mixture. This stage is much like watercolor and like watercolor little white if any is required. This will allow you to check your color composition. Be careful not to make this mixture too thin for after the thinner evaporates the remaining pigment from the paint will be nothing more than powder sitting on your canvas which will keep future layers from adhering. As a student becomes more proficient he or she may skip this stage entirely.
3. Thicker But Still Lean: During this stage your paint should be applied a bit thicker while still using only paint thinner to thin the paint. You should be thinking of darks and lights (tone values) and applying them to create form. Your colors at this point should be getting clearer and close to the finished color. The importance of this stage should never be overlooked in that it establishes form and overall structure. Whether it be bowls and pitchers, hills and trees or heads and torsos, it is the work that you do at this stage which gives you something on which you build.
4. Fattening Up: Little of what you have done to this point will be seen. This stage marks the beginning of the end. First, start to add some painting medium to thin with. Maybe half medium and half thinner. This can be done by dipping the brush in medium then into thinner to thin your paint. Paint as in the previous stage while adding subtleties such as reflected light, local color, reflections and details in the forms.
5. Refining: During this stage you'll be using only painting medium to thin your paint or to be more accurate, to make your paint move, since medium does little to make your paint thinner, on the contrary, medium is the fat in the lean to fat rule, at least the oil is. What you are looking to achieve in this stage is to first, refine smaller areas where a line may need to be sharper or softer. Second, during the painting process, we get so focused on color and drawing that we tend to ignore that the tonal values have ended up in the mid-range area resulting in a loss of contrast. This is a good time to revisit large, light areas and repaint some of them. It may sound drastic but it will make for a much more vivid painting and one that is more solid. Look for dark areas as well that have lost their depth. typically this will happen in cast shadows and small recesses. Finally, this is the time to apply highlights and accents. Highlights are of course the reflection of the primary light source which appears on reflective surfaces. Accents are the small areas of extreme dark.
6. Finishing: You painting may already be finished. God knows you've worked hard enough. However, this is the stage to be critical of certain aspects of your painting such as color and cohesion. Color corrections my be performed with the use of glazing and scumbling. Glazing is simply applying a mixture of a little paint and a lot of medium over the areas to be corrected. This is most effective in darker areas using darker colors. Scumbling is similar to glazing in that it requires a small amount of paint and a large amount of medium. Unlike glazing however, a light colored paint which is more opaque, is used instead of a dark color. This mixture can be used over a dark area as well as a light area. It is used over light areas to change the tint. When used over dark areas it casts a veil on that area. Cohesion of form can be lost by adding details, such as reflections that may have a bit too much contrast to successfully sit down on the form. What happens is that the reflections start creating forms of their own. To counter this a simple glaze is applied to tie the area back together.

This approach will help to ensure that your painting will always have the structure that goes along with whatever work you choose to do with the surface.

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In our next lesson I'll discuss form and how to create it using light and dark.

(c) 2010 Holm. All Rights Reserved.

A Systematic Approach to Painting, Part 1: Setting Up

For many years I have extolled the virtues of a systematic approach to painting. Painting for me is about making order from chaos. This systematic approach can be applied in two very basic areas of creating a painting, setting up your work environment and the actual act of painting.

Stop Setting Yourself Up To Fail

In my classes both in the studio and especially outdoors in my landscape classes, I watch students try with great difficulty to create a cohesive painting. The difficulty is due, in most part to their approach. Here are some of the most common problems.

• Equipment: Old, stiff brushes. Palettes covered in dried paint. Easels that do not hold the canvas steady.
• Materials: Probably the biggest problem students create for themselves is in their choice of paint either by having many of colors that they don't need and by not having the colors that they do. The other problem is the use of so-called "student grade" paint. Student grade paint has less pigment than artist grade paint, and some of the manufacturers use less expensive pigment which is not as strong as the real thing, so it requires more paint to achieve similar results, if it is even possible, and will ultimately cost more.
• Set-up: Paint that is laid out in a haphazard manner. Not squeezing out enough paint. Not having enough thinner to thin your paint or to clean your brushes. Placing things in the work area that do not belong there. Placing the palette too far away from the work causing you to reach around the easel. A palette that becomes a catch-all for cans, medium, paint tubes and brushes. The paint mixing area on your palette is valuable real estate, don't waste it.

All of this before we even start to paint. Painting is difficult enough without setting yourself up to fail. Here is how I set up my painting area to avoid these problems:

• Have a decent set of brushes at hand, preferably several of each brush. They don't need to be expensive (see my recommendations below). Keep them clean by simply using your paint thinner when you finish for the day. Clean them with soap and water, brush cleaner or a mechanics' hand cleaner every couple of weeks. When they wear out or get stiff, they will not do what you need them to do, so, retire them. Some students form an emotional attachment to their brushes which is fine. Don't throw them away, just don't use them any more. You're not cave dwellers (I'm guessing), so why paint with sticks?
• Clean your palette after you paint. This will help you avoid the question "Which one of these blobs is still wet?"
• Invest in a good easel. Again, it need not be expensive just one that holds a canvas firmly and does not wobble.
• I use seven paint colors and white. I can mix any color that I need with these colors. Period.
• I layout my palette the same way each time. I do this so that I don't have to waste time and loose concentration by having to search for colors. I know that layout is the same because I don't scrape off the excess paint that I've squeezed out along the edges. If I use this palette within the next few days, most of the paint will still be usable. Indeed, I've had some of the cadmiums last for months.
• I set up my painting area in a way that insures that I don't have to reach for my palette or solvents. I keep my tubes of paint within easy reach while removing some of the less critical items like hand cleaner and drinking water to the periphery. Think of it in terms of zones: Zone 1, the happy zone, contains the easel, canvas, palette, cans for the paint thinner, jar of premixed medium, brushes and palette knife, several sheets of paper towel. These are the items that are directly needed for painting. Zone 2 purpose is ts to replenish zone 1. This is where I keep paint tubes, thinner (either in a jar or in a small can). paper towel roll. Zone 3 contains larger cans of thinner, additional tubes of paint and the box in which they may be kept and the aforementioned hand cleaner. Zone 4 has all the non-painting items such as drinking water, personal items and any additional boxes or bags used to carry your painting supplies.
• I keep the area directly behind me free of clutter so that I may step back from my work to see what I've done. I also keep the area directly in front of my easel open so that I am not leaning over things or kicking and tripping over them to reach the easel.
• When possible, I place my palette between the subject and the canvas. This makes it easier to mix colors from either the subject or the painting.

As a painting instructor I try my best to see every student in the class and to offer each of them an equal amount of time but I am only human and have come to realize that, fair or not, I gravitate toward students who have a well organized painting area. When a student has a cluttered work space the first thing that I do is reorganize it. this takes valuable time away from the more important work.

The Diagrams

Below are several examples of how to set up a painting area. Please believe me when I tell you that I am not someone for whom organization comes naturally, as anyone who has been to my studio can attest. That being said, good painting requires efficiency and efficiency demands a certain amount of organization.

Studio Set Up

Class Room Set Up

Landscape Set Up

These are suggestions and obviously do not cover all of the situations in which you will find yourself. The two most important ideas that you should come away with are that you should keep the things that you need handy, and, to keep everything else out of your way.

The Recommendations

Paint: There are several basic quality levels of paint which all blend into each other. For lack of a better grading system let's say A, B, C and D.

• A: Old Holland, Blockx, Schmincke, Sennelier -- Great quality, Very expensive
• B: Windsor & Newton, Utrecht -- Good quality, Expensive to Affordable
• C: Grumbacher -- Acceptable in a pinch, Affordable
• D: Winton, Georgian, Anything labeled "Student Grade" -- Avoid these at any cost!

If you're unsure of which paint to use, try a small amount of different brands. My favorite is Utrecht, not because it's the best quality but because it's the best quality for the price. Here is my palette:

• Ultramarine Blue
• Cerulean Blue Hue
• Viridian
• Yellow Ocher
• Cadmium Yellow Light
• Cadmium Red Light
• Alizarin Crimson
• Titanium White

The colors are somewhat different from brand to brand so you'll need to adjust how you mix them. Some manufacturers like Old Holland use an older naming system altogether. To introduce these colors to your palette look at a color chart or visit a store that carries them and ask to look at the actual paint. Some of the better stores will have a color chart made from actual paint.

Brushes: Brushes fall into four basic shapes: Round, Flat, Bright and Filbert. Rounds are barrel shaped with a pointed tip. They have a terrible consistency in there stroke, leaving the center thin while pushing most of the paint to the sides leaving a heavy build-up or bead. Flats are configured into a rectangular shape (the better quality Flats taper inward slightly at the tip); Brights are the same as Flats but shorter. Flats and Brights leave a good center area in the stroke but still leave a pronounced bead on the edges. Filberts are something of a hybrid of round and flat. They are flat with a rounded tip so that the beads that are produced with the other brushes are smoothed away leaving an even, brush stroke. I prefer to use Filberts, both in Bristle and Synthetic Sable. 

Utrecht makes a decent, affordable brush. Here is what I use:

• Utrecht Series 209F (Natural Bristle, Filbert): #4, #6, #8, #10
• Utrecht Series 325F (Synthetic, Filbert): #8, #10, #12

Easels: Easels fall into two basic categories, Studio and Landscape or Portable.

• Studio: Best, Santa Fe II, or any Best Easel -- There are many good studio easels on the market, just be sure that you try them out. Find a store that carries different types. Make certain that they don't wobble. Put a canvas on it and make sure that it holds it steadily.
• Landscape: Jullian, French Box Easel -- I've had mine for 30 years and it still works beautifully. I have seen many other brands and no other easel comes close. The Jullian Half Box Easel is a good alliterative. It's smaller and slightly less expensive.

Easels are big ticket items (at least they should be) so shop around. The Internet makes this a relatively easy process.

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In our next lesson I'll talk about how the systematic approach translates into the act of painting.

(c) 2010 Holm. All Rights Reserved.

Color Mixing Part 4: The Quirks

This lesson is actually the second part of the previous lesson which was way too long.

The Quirks

Most colors schemes follow the rule of compliments pretty well. The dark colors, however are real troublemakers. Viridian is pretty easy because its compliment is derived from Alizarin. Violets and Blues give some students fits because the compliments are fairly light (at least on our palettes) and don't help much with the shadow making process.

To start with, the compliment of violet is, what? Come on, think about it. That's right, Green. No, yellow. No, orange? No. Yes, Orange. Definitely, orange! Right? ..... Learn the color wheel. You will be quizzed. The answer is Yellow. If you add Cadmium Yellow Light or Yellow Ochre to a mixture of Ultramarine and Alizarin, well, it's not going to make it very dark, is it? Let's look at it another way. For the light side of the violet thing that you are trying to paint, adding white is fine. For the dark side, get rid of the Ultramarine, or most of it anyway, and use Viridian instead. Yes, Viridian. Think about it. Technically, you are combining red and blue (violet) with yellow. It really doesn't matter where you get the red, yellow and blue, you just need to combine them in a certain way. How about combining blue and yellow (green) with red - or - Viridian with Alizarin. If the object that you are trying to paint is blue you might try adding its comliment, orange (red and yellow) which would again be too light. Instead, try combining green (blue and yellow) and red. In terms of paint it would be, again Viridian and Alizarin (and a little Ultramarine) but in a different proportion.

This brings up an interesting point. If you haven't already noticed, each color that is mixed for the dark side of things is actually a combination of all the primary colors. Think about it this way: look at the color wheel and you will notice that first, the compliment of a primary color is a secondary color, which is made up of two primary colors. Second, the compliment of a secondary color is a primary. This is usually where I loose some students. They normally repeat this several times slowly then look at me with a blank stare. Not to worry. If this part confuses you, don't worry you're not alone. Forget it for now. It's just an observation and a different way of looking at it. At some point however, this may help to clarify many color mixing issues.

The Poor Misunderstood Red

Sometimes the name that we give a color can effect the way we see a color and ultimately how we mix a color. I've never been a big fan of naming colors like Kelly Green, Beige or Mauve. These names don't lend themselves well to color mixing so, when it comes time to mix... well, what color is Kelly, anyway? The word Beige in a classroom is usually preceded by the phrase "I don't know." And, we can't even decide on how to pronounce the word Mauve. These words muddy-up the whole color mixing process, not to mention the colors.

I Got The Pinks

Sometimes the problem is more deeply rooted as in the word Pink. If we add white to blue we get light blue. If we add white to green we get light green. When we add white to red however, we get Pink. Pink is a word more established than the aforementioned Mauve. It engenders a whole gender. The problem with the word Pink is that it prevents us from seeing the color for what it really is, light red. Poor misunderstood red, the most noble of colors, it must share its spotlight with that interloper, Pink.

Every student new to painting will at some point ask the question "how do I lighten red?". If you're a fan of Pink then the answer is: you can't. If you believe in the separation of red and Pink then chances are good that what you're trying to paint is probably as light as you can get. What a lot of students don't understand is that If we use Cad. Red Lt. for the lightest red (without making Pink) what you have is a color that is gray in tone. Not dark and not light but mid-tone. See the illustrations below:

The lighter red in this painting is mostly Cad. Red Lt. It is probably the lightest red that can be achieved without using white.

Now let's look at the image in black and white or greyscale.

Notice how dark this red area is. What most students perceive as a light red is actually a mid-tone red.

We can see in the color image that the red on the table is bright but as we see in the greyscale image, it is not very light. Never mistake bright for light.

Now look at the diagram below.

Students are forever trying to make color a as light as color b. The result is either something too pale or too orange (if you add Cad. Yellow Lt. to instead of white) and far too frustrating.

White

Finally, I've been dancing around this for the better part of four posts. How does white officially factor into all of this? It's pretty simple, It's used primarilly to facilitate most of our basic color theories.

The Paint

I normally use Titanium White because it relatively warm straight from the tube. I usually tend toward warm whites so this saves time. In general, white areas on a painting are somewhat thicker so when choosing a brand look for something thick. It should have little, if no extenders. Opasity is paramount in a white, so when you find one with these qualities you can be assured that it will be opaque.

Uses

White is used in several different ways. I'll breifly discuss three of them. First, it is used to lighten all the other colors on your palette. Without it almost half of the colors on our palette would never be seen. I'm refering of course to the three darkest colors Utramarine, Alizarin and Viridian. In regards to color mixing the rule of thumb for white is "use as needed." That having been said it is often mis-used. Many beginner s will use far too much white either because they can't think of an alterative of because they are trying to adjust colors while there is too much white canvas showing. Painting on a white surface will cause all of your colors to loof too dark (this may also be said of mixing on a white palette. But that's another lesson). The rewsult is a pasty image.

The second way to use white is for highlights. These are the reflections usually from the primary light source. Basically they are applied heavily slightly larger than needed then they are "carved" away until the desired size and shape are achieved. The white used for highlihts is always tinted in some way either by adding an orange to make them warmer or some painters add the compliment of what the highlight is sitting on.

The third way that white is use, is when you paint something that is white. As with highlights, the white used to paint this object will need to have other colors mixed in. White should never be used straight from the tube no matter how tempted you may be. This rule also applies to every color. There are an infinate number of colors in the spectrum and only seven on our palette. The odds are pretty good that you can mix a better color than any that comes from a tube. Choosing the proper color for a white object is tough. I've often asked new students what color they see and without fail the answer is "white." Without training it is difficult but I keep coming back to the rule of compliments. There is little color in a white object so the only thing left to influence it is the light that is shining on it, either direct or indirect. If a white object is being lit by an incandescant bulb the it will the color will be warm. Think orange, yellow-orange or red-orange. Consequently the dark side will be its compliment, blue, blue-violet or blue-green. Sometimes it's easier to choose a color by looking at the dark side. Again, look to the compliments. You should, of course never overlook the natural tint of the object itself as this does have an effect on its appearance.

There two other major color influences which are reflected light and local color. I promise to go over these in future lessons.

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In our next lesson I'll begin to discuss tools and materials.

(c) 2010 Holm. All Rights Reserved.

Color Mixing Part 3: A How-To Guide

Putting Theory Into Practice

Theories are wonderful. They are a culmination of a series of "what-ifs." Without theory life would be a continuous stream of reactions with surprises waiting around every corner (much like driving around this area). The natural progression of a theory is to put it into practice. In our last lesson I began talking about just this. In this lesson I will get a little more specific about color mixing.

Palette Layout

The most important part of laying out a palette is that it be layed out the same way each time. It is important that it makes some sense, either basing it on the spectrum or color wheel (see previous post) or based on practicality. This will help prevent a loss of concentration from having

to constanly search for your colors.

Below is a common palette layout that is based on the color wheel.

Think Pairs

It is safe to assume that most subject matter that is painted representationally will have a dark and light side, it is the primary way in which we create form in a painting.

What I would like you to remember is to always mix your colors in pairs. A color for the light side and the corresponding color for the dark side. This also applies to cast shadows.

Let's Get Our Hands Dirty

Let's go over some common color mixing scenarios step-by-step. We'll start out with our old stand-by, the lemon:

1. Look: Look at your subject. This sounds like a given but you'd be surprised how many students don't.
2. Closest Color: Ask yourself which color on your palette is closest to the subject color. Think about it this way, if you had to describe the subject with only one paint color which would you choose*. You're looking for a starting point. In the case of the lemon you would probably choose Cadmium Yellow Light.
3. Base Color: Pull a small amount of this color into the mixing area. Now, to get this color closer to what you need it has to be adjusted. Rarely does a color work straight from the tube. We adjust a color along the color wheel, one way or the other. Assuming you've chosen the right color you will need to add one of the analogous colors (see previous post). On the palette it may its neighbor. This mixture is your Base Color. In the case of the lemon however, Cad. Yellow Lt. itself is pretty close.
4. Divide: Divide yourt base color into two small piles. One side will be your light color the other will be your dark color.
5. Light Side: To the light color you will probably only need to add a small amount of white.
6. Dark Side: To the dark side you add its compliment (see previous post). This is the most confusing step for most beginning students because it is so counter intuitive. That is to say that the compliment is probably the last color that you would think of. In the case of our lemon the compliment is violet. This is mixed using Ultramarine Blue and Alizarin Crimson. Things to remember about this step: a) Your goal is to come up with a dark version of the base color so if you're coming up with a violet on the lemon's dark side you need to add more yellow. b) Just because you've added violet it does not mean that you've added the right violet . What this means is that if the dark side of the lemon turns green then there's not enough red, so, add more Alizarin Crimson. Conversely, if the dark side turns orange, there's not enough blue, so, add more Ultramarine Blue. c) Most importantly, NEVER add the compliment to your light color to make it a dark and, you guessed it, NEVER add white to the dark color in hopes of getting the color for the light side. There are colors used in each that are incompatible with the other. Doing either of these two will only result in mud not to mention extreme frustration and a waste of paint.

For Those Who Prefer Diagrams

Are you confused yet? No?

Lets try mixing colors for an orange.

How about a lime?

In our next lesson I'll discuss some of the quirks in color mixing. They may not seem to follow the rules but its all in how you look at it.

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* Some paint colors are darker than others. This may cause students to choose the wrong color because the right color looks too dark. For instance, in my landscape class it is common for new students to choose Cerulean Blue for the sky over Ultramarine Blue merely because it is the right tone. To help avoid this and to become generally more familiar with your paint, lay out a small amount of each color on your palette then add white to them as needed to make all the colors equal in tone. Remember you don't need to add white to the Cad. Yellow Lt..

(c) 2010 Holm. All Rights Reserved.

Color Mixing Part 2: Palette v. Color Wheel

The Paint

In our last lesson I talked about the theory of color mixing. Now let's begin to discuss the nuts and bolts of it and how it relates to theory.

I generally use, what is called a limited palette. All that this means is that I use a limited number of colors, seven (and white) to be exact. Although anyone who has had me as an instructor knows that I usually only talk about six (more on that later). The seven colors are representative of the spectrum or color wheel but none of them align precisely with its colors. Remember in the previous lesson that I mentioned that in theory, primary colors are ones which can not be mixed? Well, in practice it's another story. First let us list all seven colors:

1. Alizarin Crimson
2. Cadmium Red Light
3. Cadmium Yellow Light
4. Yellow Ochre
5. Viridian
6. Cerulean Blue
7. Ultramarine Blue

......and Titanium White.

The seventh color is Yellow Ochre which is an earth tone. I don't use many earth tones. I believe in using the brightest colors that I can find. The reason is that it is easier to make a bright color dull than it is to make a dull color bright. If you start with earth tones inertia dictates that you will probably end up with what I call a brown painting. Most students tend to mis-use earth tones -- Black for shadows, Umber's for ground, Sienna's for tree trunks or anything made of wood. The only earth tone that I use is Yellow Ochre and I use it sparingly. Only as students get further along do I even "allow" them bring it into class. There are many reasons for the aversion

to earth tones which I'll probably address in future lessons (in live class sessions my aversion to earth tones usually results in an inadvertent and more than likely inappropriate response. Please feel free to imagine your own expletive).

Aligning Your Paint Colors with The Color Wheel

Now let's talk about aligning your palette to the color wheel. Because none of these seven paint colors falls on any of the primary or secondary colors it would help to know just where they reside. Below is our color wheel with the paint colors situated between the primary and secondary colors.

Brand Differences

Please note that this diagram shows where my colors fall, not necessarily where your colors will fall. It depends on the brand of paint you use. I currently use Utrecht but at one time I used Winsor & Newton. I remember that WN Cadmium Yellow Light was a bit warmer than Utrecht. They also offer a Cadmium Yellow Pale which was a little cooler than Utrecht Cadmium Yellow Light. You may also have noticed that most of the paint colors are located on either side of a primary colors in pairs. If you mix the paired paint colors a certain way you should be able to come up with that primary. For instance, if you mix Ultramarine Blue with Cerulean and you get Primary Blue (shooting that "Primaries can't be mixed" theory all to hell). The only stand alone color is Viridian. This is on my palette for practical reasons which I will discuss in the next lesson.

Why We Do This

Even though this alignment is rather subjective it is a necessary process if, for no other reason, than that it will get you thinking about the properties of your paint. The most important reason is that it is helpful to know what the compliment of each of your paint colors is. This will give you an idea of which direction to move a color. Not just in theory but in practice.

One of the most common mistakes that a student will make is to assume that a paint color is what it is called. For instance, Cadmium Red Light is not so much a red as it is a reddish orange, Alizarin Crimson is more of a reddish violet than red. Another common mistake that I see regularly is when a student over simplifies the process and assumes that each color on their palette has a ready-mixed compliment, resulting the question: "Why is the dark side of my lemon turning orange?" The answer is: "Alizarin Crimson is not the compliment of Cadmium Yellow Light." Alizarin Crimson may be a violet of sorts but not necessarily the right one. See the diagram below.

Best Guess

Color mixing is, in the end, a lot of guess work. There are too many variables to reasonably come up with a concrete formula from which to work. That said, there are methods and procedures for color mixing that can make it much more of an educated guess so that you're not starting from square one each time you need to mix something.

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In our next lesson I will discuss one simple method for color mixing. It is, by no means the only way to do it, but, it may be a good place to start. In future posts I will also discuss some of the quirks of color mixing and answer the question "How does Titanium White fit in to all this?"

Ah, patience.

(c) 2010 Holm. All Rights Reserved.

Color Mixing Part 1: The Power of Compliments

The thing that never ceases to amaze me is the power of complimentary colors. Time after time the answer to almost any color mixing problem is found by looking across the color wheel. For those unfamiliar with the color wheel let me illuminate. When light is sent through a prism it is refracted or separated into its parts. The parts of light are color. Think of a rainbow. For clarity, artists depict these colors in a wheel. The primary colors, red, blue and yellow, are placed evenly around the wheel. The secondary colors are placed between the primaries from which they are mixed (orange goes between red and yellow, green goes between blue and yellow, etc.).

The basic theory goes like this:

1. There are three primary colors: Red, Yellow and Blue. In theory these colors can not be mixed from any others. These are the colors from which all other color are made. The holy trinity of color.
2. There are three secondary colors: Orange, Green and Violet. Each secondary color is created by mixing two primary colors.
3. The colors that are next to each other on the color wheel are called analogous colors.
4. The colors that are opposite on the color wheel are called complimentary colors. Pay close attention to these relationships.

For those who get more from pictures than words, (and lets face it isn't that why we do this?) let's look at the diagram below.

Color Wheel

There are two ways to use complimentary colors. First is how we create shadows, both cast shadows and the dark sides of objects. Second, is to create depth without necessarily, using contrast.

1. Shadows: The common misconception by beginner painters is that you make a shadow by adding black. In reality, all that this makes is a mess. No, worse, a dull mess. The best way to create a shadow is to add the compliment. If I were to paint a lemon, I would start with Cadmium Yellow Light. For the light side I would add a small amount of White. For the dark side, I would add (to the Cad. Yellow Lt.) its compliment, Violet made from Ultramarine Blue and Alizarin Crimson.
   
2. Depth: Most students who have done any painting at all know how to create depth in a painting by using varying tonal values, darks and lights. few, however know that there is an equally powerful method for creating this illusion, I call it an illusion because it is impossible to create actual depth within a two dimensional surface. The second way to create depth is by using complimentary colors. By placing the subject, let's say the same lemon, in front of its compliment, violet, you are creating the illusion of depth. Now imagine the same lemon in front of one of it's analogous colors, orange. The depth is now lost. Try to think of it this way: the further away something is on the color wheel the further away it will appear to be in your painting.
   

This is the theory part of color mixing. Next, we'll talk about how this theory translates into actual paint.

(c) 2010 Holm. All Rights Reserved.