I went back again and did another charcoal sketch and an oil using just blues and yellows to try and catch the tone. We did this in a course I attended, the yellow (cad yellow med) being the light and the blue (cobalt) the shadow. It's a very interesting exercise because both the yellow and the blue are the same TONE. This shows you how shadows are NOT DARK The charcoal was done quite slowly and the oil quickly. The sun was coming up from the right hand side so I had to work quickly before they disappeared.
 |
| charcoal sketch 11"x8" |
 |
| oil on board 10" x 8" |
|
At home I did another oil from the sketch above, using cold yellows and blues (lemon yellow, manganese blue) on a canvas with cadmium red ground (hot). This is a very good exercise too, using the opposite complementary colour underneath (orange-red). If I had used a hot yellow (cad yellow med) and a hot blue (cobalt) I would have used a cold orange (comp of blue) (lemon yellow +alizarin) for my ground.
 |
| Oil on canvas 40cm x 30cm |
|
Can you see the lady in blue? Her left foot is in blue at the bottom left corner of the picture, she looks like she's jumping a hurdle..amazing how these figures come into the painting..I felt when on site that these rock formations at the bottom were very important to put in, now I know why...they are her foot, leg and knee.
I then take my charcoal sketch and use just the right hand side to make a painting, I think it is the right hand side that is interesting me most so concentrate on just that side: I try to keep it loose and to think of the feeling of the place, soft.
 |
| oil landscape 50 x 65cm using limited palette (ultramarine, magenta, ochre, titanium white) | | | | |
More studies done today:
 |
| oil on board 8" x 10" limited palette. |
 |
| Oil on board 5" x 7" limited palette. |
