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.