COLOR STORY
COLOR is the element of art that first drew me to the material of oil paint and the process of painting. Not in the traditional sense of primary & bold color, but color as nuanced and earthy and warm and muddy and subdued. Color as a shoreline to emotion. Color as a language.
I'm working on a new series called Color Story. I will be working on small groups of paintings--8 to 10 paintings priced from $300 to $1100-- where I explore one color. In the process of painting with the chosen color I'm hoping to discover that color's unique qualities and use them to express an associated subject. And then I'll move onto another color and create another group of paintings.
Color Story i : French Burnt Ochre
My first color exploration is with French Burnt Ochre from Williamsburg Paints. This chocolate brown is semi-transparent and very matte. It warms the subject and allows me to paint nocturnal scenes without the risk of an oily reflective surface.
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Color Story ii : Indigo
Indigo will be the second chapter in my Color Story paintings. I’ve used indigo for a few paintings in the past. It’s a bit on the turquoise side (Williamsburg Oil Paints) and layers great with black and earth green. I use this color for those deep moody moments, like a storm at sea or mist on shadowed mountains. I describe this color as primordial—it feels otherworldly or before time. It is also a great nocturne color but unlike French burnt ochre (my first color story) has a more unsettled vibrancy about it - like an energized darkness. Night sea journey is the purest description of this color. Also velvet evening. Here is one of my previous works using the paint color indigo.
As with my first color story, I’ll be creating a group of paintings that connect specifically to this paint color’s properties and mood. These paintings will be priced from $300 to $1100. I will likely show and make available to purchase the new works the first week of November. Make sure to sign up as a subscriber to my email list to receive early notifications.
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Color Story iii : Italian Rosso Veneto
The third installment in my color story series is ITALIAN ROSSO VENETO. This is another Williamsburg Oil Paint color which I have used for many years to bring warmth to atmospheric elements. Mixed with white it speaks a subtle pink and layered with black becomes a deep, rich and earth warm shadow. I have thought of it often as a color of the dawn or “to open the well of color that fosters the brightness of day”. Largely the paintings become warm duotones.
As with my first color story, I’ll be creating a group of paintings that connect specifically to this paint color’s properties and mood. These paintings will be priced from $300 to $1100. I will show and make available to purchase the new works on December 6 both online and at my studio for Art Walk. Make sure to sign up as a subscriber to my email list to receive early notifications.
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Color Story iv : Transparent Earth Orange
20 years ago when I began my exploration into painting atmosphere, I relied heavily on transparent colors, particularly transparent orange. There was something about the way it shimmered as a midtone and offered interesting layering effects. I haven't used it for so many years having adopted Italian Rosso Veneto as a warming color, so it was a welcome revisit. The three smaller paintings I created with this color sold quickly as a group, but I have this larger scale orange painting available.
Color Story v : Metallic Silver
I'm not much of a metallic paint person having only used it ocassionally as a gold gessoed underpainting. I had wondered how it would respond in my seascapes where the underpainting is often allowed to remain as a part of the finished painting. Here are two examples of this experiment. More to follow.
Color Story vi : Shadow Blue
Currently working