I find myself frequently concentrating on elements of the landscape that exist beneath the sky. Consequently the horizon ends up quite high in my paintings. I think that approach to composition adds a sense of intimacy and a feeling of “being there.”
“Western Skyline” on the other hand is all about the glorious Colorado sky! Join me Thursday, January 2, from 5-8pm at Slate Gray Gallery in Telluride to take a look at the actual painting. I’d be happy to see you!
A few weeks ago I mentioned I was heading into the studio to experiment with a more limited color palette. I thought I’d show you the results of that experimentation.
The painting “Shadows on the Taylor Fork” uses five colors that are adjacent to each other on the color wheel, yellow-green, green, blue-green, blue, and blue-violet. OK, truth be told, a little bit of blue’s complementary color found it’s way into the painting. How did that orange sneak in there? But for the most part the painting succeeds on the strength of analogous color harmony.
When using a limited
color scheme it’s the modulation of value, lightness and darkness, of each
color that keeps the composition engaging. My eye keeps moving throughout the painting and slams to a
stop when it hits the orange.
That’s what creates the visual tension I want in my work.
Always trying to keep
things a little off balance guys. Let’s not get TOO comfortable!