Wednesday 18th November at 6PM Uk time (10AM Pacific, 1PM Eastern)
We’ll be using the study we made in the previous session to translate values into colour.
The main point of this session will be to get believable colours in light and shadow for both locals, the red and the yellow-green.
If you’re happy with the values fo your value study from last week, you can paint directly over that. Alternatively you can start a new study on a fresh surface from scratch. You will probably get higher chroma this way.
If you’re doing a new one, please make sure you have the subject drawn out in out in outline before we start and a couch layer of oil, or a similar medium, on your panel. Don’t apply the couch too long before we start, or it will start to dry – ideally do it about 15 minutes or so before we start the session.
Tube paint choices
Reaching these colours will depend on the tube paints you have to hand. There are often many ways to achieve a given colour, but you will definitely need: a high chroma blue red – a quinacridone will be good. Most of the other colours you will be able to get close with pretty standard tube paints, although there are a few it would be useful to have.
In the list below, I’ve given the ideal choice, but often people won’t have these, so I’ve given substitutions too.
Tube Paints to have to hand:
- Titanium White
- A yellow – cad yellow with a lemon yellow should be ok if that’s all you have, but if you have hansa yellow or another arylide yellow, like Michael Harding bright yellow lake, that will be better.
- Yellow ochre
- Cad red (naphthol red if you have it)
- A blue red – quinacridone ideally
- Transparent red oxide. If you don’t have this, try burnt umber, preferably with a strong orange on your palette too like a permanent orange
- Green gold if you have it, if not a phthalo green
- Raw umber
- Ivory black
How close you can get to the actual colours of the apple will depend on your paints, but I’ll show you where you can compromise a little on hue – we want to put value first, then chroma.
I’ll be working 8 x 10 inches, and the photos are that proportion. So if you grid up your panel to lay in the drawing, make sure you have the same proportions or your apple may get stretched! This session is really about the colour, though.
Other materials
Something to paint on, ideally 8 x 10 inches
A range of bruses. I’ll be using mostly hog flats and filberts, but the brush type isn’t crucial, whatever you prefer is fine. Do have a range of sizes from, say, half inch down to a quarter inch
A palette knife
Medium: I’d advise linseed oil. If you want to paint over your value study from last week, rub a very, very thin layer over the study before starting. Wipe it off a little if it’s too thick.
If you’re doing a fresh study on a new panel, apply a couch of linseed oil mixed with a little solvent – turps or gamsol or similar – before starting. Wipe it back so it’s a very thin layer.
Reference photos
