Grey Dots- they match the sky

The sun came out for a few minutes today. We have had nothing but dark days for a while now, and a few days of ice storm. I was so excited to see the sun that I ran out and snapped a picture.

The weather has me getting to the studio later, and cuddling up with a book and a warm drink when I get there. I have a few things on the easel, for future unveiling, but for now, I can share this little exercise. I know it looks simple, but mixing the grays to the right value was the exercise, and I am pleased with how it turned out. In this picture, it is hard to see the difference in the higher values. I will try to get a better picture- because the steps are there, perfectly munsell too.

I saw a picture of something like this somewhere on the web, a Reilly demo or page about Munsell, I don't remember where I saw it, but it looked like a valuable lesson. And I am not one to pass up a painting lesson. If you know where I got this idea from, let me know so that I can give someone the credit.

Lemon Yellow Day

I love
my
Munsell book!

Today was a color study day for me, this is what I was working on. Pretty self explanatory, so I wont expand.

It looks so easy, painting a lemon, but do notice that I am not showing the painting that I made. :-)

Orange

Today was one of those glorious slow studio days. No painting on the easel, but a beautiful day with good music on the ipod and good coffee in the pot. I re-read the whole color chapter in Grado's Mastering the Craft of Painting and took the poodles around the mansion taking reference pictures. And I got out my big glossy munsell book and mixed paints.

Three new colors on my color wheel, and since I painted all of my high chroma cubes using only the swatches in the student book, I have been re-painting those. Today I got the 5yr, 5BG, and 5G . I also completed tubing my greys. You can see here that the orginal 5YR was not matching the chip. The new one matches so well that I could not see it when painted on the chip, (thanks to Rob's amazing optical white). Looking at this photo, it looks like they do not match, but it is only because of the light from the window reflecting on the paint.

I guess for a slow day, I did get a lot done.

I am excited about all that I am learning about color- not sure where it is taking me, but will chug along until I get there. So far, the biggest value in these studies is how sensitive my eye is for color, and especially chroma. So that makes it worth the effort right there:-) I am working on a thread to talk about this at Rob's place. Just have not had a chance. But soon.

Being more Clear about Babel Color

It has come to my attention that my words about babel color have been mis- understood. The reason that I have been playing with bablecolor is because Richard M sent me a link to it last April and insisted that I familiarize myself with it before the upcoming color course. He is the one who told me that it is the key to the book. I have figured out how to use it, and today am really not interested in locating color in that way. I may play with it again, or not.

I am on a journey here. One that is not part of any flame war but a personal journey to learn how to paint. At the moment, I am very interested in learning the many wonders of color. What I wrote last week might have nothing at all to do with what I am learning today. As to the mine field that all this mean spirited posting is causing. I do not understand it and you will not find me participating in it.

babelcolor

I have been told by three who know that bablecolor is the key to unlocking munsell. Not that it is so locked up. It is making a whole lot of sense to me- even without the babelcolor. But the babelcolor combined with the student book and doing the work is where the big "secret" lies. This is not just your momma's munsell- but a whole new way of using color! I will unscramble it, if it is the last thing that I do.

I am reading the text in the student munsell book again looking for clues, painting cubes and spheres and pictures of cubes and spheres. Sometimes just putting the spheres in different light and really looking.

The time spent with both Rob, Graydon and others has taught me, if nothing else, a direction to move. If I never get there- the new understandings that I have already gained are bringing a new life to my work.

*Labor Day Weekend Saturday Night Greeting*

Happy Saturday night.

I have been painting, I promise- just nothing that I am ready to share yet.

My Munsell studies are going well- today I resolved some of my issues with the "Norma as flamenco dancer" painting. An attempt at low chroma flesh that I am still not quite happy with, but am much happier than I was before today. I will get it.

That is the thing that I really love about being a painter - getting to spend the rest of my life learning how to do it. I can not imagine ever getting to the end of learning. I am sure that even Rembrandt was still learning new things. And there is no way in my mind that Velazquez could have ever said that there was nothing left to discover about paint. When thinking about the avenues for discovery I just get excited. Color alone could fill a lifetime. There is drawing, composition, paint handling, the whole chemistry of the different mediums and what they will do for you, studying the masters.... And not to mention Content.

I hope that I never get to a place where I think that I already know how to paint., Because there is always more to learn, and this learning is the best part of being a painter.

Happy Long weekend!
Lori

The Big Glossy Munsell books arrived yesterday so today I am busy mixing paint and sampling colors. (Thank you Rob!) BabelColor is a tool that was recommended to me once by someone who understands this color system. Used with the eyedropper in Photoshop. it is a very cool tool- giving the exact munsell notation for any part of an image. The combination of the book and the computer tools are really going a long way toward training my eye for color. I have lots of work to do- cubes and spheres to paint and then paint pictures of. My plan right now is to take one day a week to learn color- mix colors and explore munsell. The rest of the week will be devoted to applying what I have learned in new works.

This is a detail of a painting of Norma that I left facing the wall some time ago. It is still probably destined for the burn pile, but for now, I am using what little I understand about the color system to try to fix it. Not fixed yet- but so much better than it was.

Tomorrow is a new cityscape- see you soon:-)

Tower stairway WIP

This is what is on my easel this week (work in progress). A simple little painting, but sometimes simple is harder. I am still working on the ceiling, and fighting with color.

In other news, I finally got my hands on all four volumes of the
"Famous Artist's Course". They came in today's mail, an exciting addition to my library! And even better, my big glossy edition Munsell book is due any day now too. Which will make me the luckiest girl in studio book land. :-)

Learning and growing

Today I am working on flesh again. I have been struggling with flesh colors ever since the munsell conversations started. Having spent a bit of time on this , I am feeling a little discouraged that it is not working for me. But I know from experience that the struggle always comes right before the light. I have been struggeling for a while now- so I hope the lights come on soon.

I have painted flesh before and liked the results. But now that I am aiming for a specific target- it is more complicated and difficult. :-)

I will get it. I have a whole bunch of books here, and aa lifetime to figure it out.