Hi again, Stephanie has sent in some tremendous work, with the following comments :
"I have been doing a wonderful course this summer on ‘The shape of colour’ at the art Academy, which has suited me tremendously. I have had the greatest fun experimenting with pure pigments and acrylics, layering colours up on colour, and experimenting with different surfaces: board, canvas (primed and unprimed) and pure stretched linen (expensive and delicious). My photography is not great, but here are some examples: I have done about 20 and want to do a series of 50 square canvases. It’s like learning to be Rothko. I am trying to put these in order:
No. 1 was a collage. We had to play with contrasting colours. Then (No. 2) I decided to try and paint these….and started with a layer of vivid pink followed by blue on linen, which is the second painting. The teacher suggested a band of contrasting yellow. On reflection I would not have added it.
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| Stephanie no. 1 |
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| Stephanie no. 2 |
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| Stephanie no. 3 |
The green (No. 3)
got out of control, and was too shiny: on board.
The red and blue (No. 4) was more what I was originally trying to do, but a bit predicable. Taping up areas didn’t work well as they bled, but I quite like that.
No. 5 - The yellow is an experiment in pure tone, drawing you in.
No. 6 - The orange to see what it would look like.
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| Stephanie no. 4 |
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| Stephanie no. 5 |
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| Stephanie no. 6 |
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| Stephanie no. 7 |
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| Stephanie no. 8 |
Nos. 7 & 8 - The purples because I was playing with this extraordinary violet and electric blue and was messing about. They are all about 30 X 30. I have a lot more….
I hope everyone has a marvellous summer and that we meet again in the autumn."
WOW! Stephanie! What brave and interesting paintings. So much to talk about. Forgive me if what I am saying has already been said in your class, but it's so that we can all share and understand why things work or don't work.
No. 1 is a great way to start. It's just like the exercises in the Itten book that I used to flap under everyone's noses. Doing this with bits of collage really gives you a feel of how colours talk to each other. Some of them sink into each other, and some of them lift clear. Some of them contrast in terms of hue (like purple and yellow) and some in tone (again like the purple and yellow). It's also a really good way to see HOW MUCH of any one colour works - ie. in this particular piece, you wouldn't have wanted lots and lots of yellow. Such a good way to play with colour possibilities.
There is one thing with paint that can't be anticipated with collage, and that's to do with the edge qualities. The collage creates sharp edges. Once you are working with your brush, you are creating soft, fused edges. These determine how the colours speak to each other as well. It's very interesting to compare nos. 1 & 2, because although the colours are similar, the edges are completely different. Reds and purples grow out of each other in a most tantalising way.
That's very true of no. 3 (greens). This is primarily a tonal study, because all the colours are related, but how the patches work spatially is determined by their edge qualities. They float above or sink in as a result.
No. 4 is interesting because it straddles these different elements. Some of the edges are soft and brushes, and some have been exaggerated in their black-edged hardness by the pull of the tape. I like that tension. It's less 'beautiful' than the softer edged ones, but I think it makes it more arresting.
Nos. 5 & 6 are all about the spatial qualities of tone and edges. In both of them, you are using a lighter tone in the centre to draw you in. In the yellow one, that change is very subtle and gradual (yellow is so light anyway), and then in no. 6 the change is more obvious. The edges are still ambiguous though, and it's almost like a light shining out.
Now, nos. 7 and 8 are very much more complex, and .... fabulous! The reds & violets hum and shimmer and sulk in the background. These two are taken onto a new level by the little explosive elements of yellow in each. These create a different energy and scale to the rest of the painting.
MOST exciting Stephanie. How great to have found this course. get as much from it as you can, and thanks for sharing it with us!
WOW! Stephanie! What brave and interesting paintings. So much to talk about. Forgive me if what I am saying has already been said in your class, but it's so that we can all share and understand why things work or don't work.
No. 1 is a great way to start. It's just like the exercises in the Itten book that I used to flap under everyone's noses. Doing this with bits of collage really gives you a feel of how colours talk to each other. Some of them sink into each other, and some of them lift clear. Some of them contrast in terms of hue (like purple and yellow) and some in tone (again like the purple and yellow). It's also a really good way to see HOW MUCH of any one colour works - ie. in this particular piece, you wouldn't have wanted lots and lots of yellow. Such a good way to play with colour possibilities.
There is one thing with paint that can't be anticipated with collage, and that's to do with the edge qualities. The collage creates sharp edges. Once you are working with your brush, you are creating soft, fused edges. These determine how the colours speak to each other as well. It's very interesting to compare nos. 1 & 2, because although the colours are similar, the edges are completely different. Reds and purples grow out of each other in a most tantalising way.
That's very true of no. 3 (greens). This is primarily a tonal study, because all the colours are related, but how the patches work spatially is determined by their edge qualities. They float above or sink in as a result.
No. 4 is interesting because it straddles these different elements. Some of the edges are soft and brushes, and some have been exaggerated in their black-edged hardness by the pull of the tape. I like that tension. It's less 'beautiful' than the softer edged ones, but I think it makes it more arresting.
Nos. 5 & 6 are all about the spatial qualities of tone and edges. In both of them, you are using a lighter tone in the centre to draw you in. In the yellow one, that change is very subtle and gradual (yellow is so light anyway), and then in no. 6 the change is more obvious. The edges are still ambiguous though, and it's almost like a light shining out.
Now, nos. 7 and 8 are very much more complex, and .... fabulous! The reds & violets hum and shimmer and sulk in the background. These two are taken onto a new level by the little explosive elements of yellow in each. These create a different energy and scale to the rest of the painting.
MOST exciting Stephanie. How great to have found this course. get as much from it as you can, and thanks for sharing it with us!
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