Better Blacks

Better black? "Black is black" I suppose many would say. "And besides, a tube of black paint came in the set of paints I bought."

It's true, black right out of the tube is definitely black, but you'll find that a mixed black gives a beautiful depth and is much more interesting to the eye.

The easiest way to mix black is to take two colors opposite each other on the color wheel and mix them together: green/red, blue/orange, purple/yellow. As you mix, you may first get a shade of brown. That's how I mixed brown for my violin painting http://bearhollowcreations.blogspot.com/2008/09/mixing-brown.html But you'll notice on that painting that there are parts of the body of the violin that are dark and could become black with a little more of the blue added.

In this painting I used my favorite color combination for making black - red and green. I used alizarin crimson and veridian. Actually, I first painted the entire canvas with inexpensive black acrylic. This way I didn't have to worry about any white shining through the background. I then painted the entire background with liquin paint thinner. The liquin allowed me to cover all the background quickly and without using a lot of thick paint. (I wanted the calla lilies to be thick and didn't want them to have to compete with the texture of the background.)

I took my red and green and barely mixed them. I didn't want to lose all of the red or green. Using a criss-cross painting motion, I painted the background with my red/green mix. I don't think you can tell from this photograph, but the red and green can be seen here and there in the background. That's what gives the background some interest and some depth. I think I threw in a little blue here and there too. Not that you really see it, but I really love blue and think everything should have at least a little touch of blue.

So the next time your piece calls for black, see if a mixed black will do the job. You'll be very pleased with the results.

Sycamore Art

Bear Hollow is filled with trees: tulip poplar, redbuds, oaks, maples, elms, black walnuts... and giant beautiful sycamores. In late July through August the sycamore trees shed their bark. It peels off in beautiful shapes.

I've always wanted to do something - art wise - with these beautiful pieces of bark.

I have a few old planks of barn wood out next to my pole barn. I decided that the rustic wood would make a great backdrop for the sycamore bark. I had thought of mounting the bark on canvas, but it is very strong and tries to curl back up as it dries. I don't think it would stay on the canvas, or would curl and pucker the canvas.

So I took a plank, laid the piece of bark on it that I wanted to use (to know how long to cut the board) and took out the trusty circular saw. Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

I used water color for my paint. I wanted it to just color the wood - not really cover it. I ended up needing to use a lot and I didn't use much water on later layers because when it was watery it just soaked into the wood and didn't leave much color behind.

Here's my first piece using a piece of sycamore bark. I called it Sycamore Lightning. You can see it in my Etsy shop here - http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=15203409

Stress cracks from the bark trying to curl back up the way it was on a branch and the grain of the barn wood give a rustic feel while the contemporary abstract background lends a sophistication that will compliment any decor.

The piece is approximately 32 1/4" x 9 1/2". (It curves a little making the top a little smaller. It is old barn wood after all.) The edges are painted black to give a framed look. It is finished with a clear coat of varnish to protect the paint and the wood.

Mixing Brown

When I painted this painting of my violin I had to experiment quite a bit to find the correct color of brown. I wanted the painting to be very close - if not exact - to the real color of the wood.

Now I've seen many fun paintings of violins in purple or blue or whatever, but for this piece I wanted the real wood color. Violins come in many shades of brown. For that matter, brown comes in many colors. Is that the right word? (shades?, tints?, hues?) You know... some browns have gold in them, some have red or yellow or blue.

My first try was just to take some burnt umber and lighten it a bit. Yuck. So I tried burnt umber with yellow, burnt sienna with blue, lots of different combinations.

The color combination that I had the most success with in mixing a nice brown - and especially a golden brown like my violin - didn't have anything burnt in it. It was orange and blue! This makes sense since they are across from each other on the color wheel. Another combination across from each other are red and green make a nice dark brown that's almost black. When you combine colors that are across from each other on the wheel you are adding together all the colors. This combining of all the colors makes black or brown.

For my violin I started out with orange right out of the tube (I didn't mix my own orange). I then added different blues and even some purples to create the exact brown of my violin. It's been awhile, so I can't tell you exactly which blues I used in the end. I'm thinking it was phthalo blue and cobalt blue and then some purple and more orange for some of the darker areas.
You'll want to experiment to find which combination works for the particular brown you are trying to achieve, but beginning with colors across from each other on the color wheel will give you a great beginning place.

Here is the painting hanging in my office over an antique pump organ.

Water Color with Hannah and Benjamin

This is Hannah and Benjamin's first time painting with watercolor. Benjamin liked putting his finger in the water and then putting it in his mouth. Grani was hoping the paint is non-toxic.

Hannah is 2 1/2. Benjamin is 18 months.

Trying Something New

I've started a few new art projects. I'll explain them better in a future post. I just wanted to put something new up on this blog.

These are pics of the start of a couple of them.

Red Cross Featured

My red cross has been featured on a blog. I thought you would enjoy seeing all of the beautiful "red" things there. It changes - hmmm, I think every day, so you'll have to go there now to see. If it has already been replaced I know you'll like the other things there.

http://redladyart.com/EtsyExhibit.html

A Funny Story

I was searching for some devotional thoughts to start the days of our Children's Fine Arts Camp that takes place next week. I ran across this funny little story.


ART!

One semester when my brother, Peter, attended the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, an art-student friend of his asked if he could paint Peter's portrait for a class assignment. Peter agreed, and the art student painted and submitted the portrait, only to receive a C minus.
The art student approached the professor to ask why the grade was so poor. The teacher told him that the proportions in the painting were incorrect.
"The head is too big," the professor explained. "The shoulders are too wide, and the feet are enormous."
The next day, the art student brought Peter to see the professor. He took one look at my brother and said, "Okay, A minus."