Monk 5

Whew, these monks are getting more complex and tedious.  Well, that's what you get for doing the easiest ones first.  Not sure that I am getting any neater as I go through these, need to probably slow down more and really try to make the lines consistently spaced or work on it at shorter stretches of time as I get tired and then sloppy.  Got myself some peepers, I am old ya know, and hope that will help on the eye strain and maybe improve my neatness too!!  Am going to persevere though and work my way through these as when completed I will have a great sampler of lines to choose from and hoping to have a sense of completion too.  Only 19 more to go ....

Currently I am studying the book, Color Harmony by Margaret Kessler, she recommends switching from the triadic color wheel to the Munsell color wheel, why:

- this wheel shows using just 6 colors, 3 warm and 3 cool of red, blue and yellow.  (More modern books vary the colors somewhat, will try both schemes and go with what I like and is most versatile).  By building the wheel, you see the effect from the individual pure colors to tints, shadows and grays all on one color wheel.  Grays are the life blood of value/tonal painting and making color pop in pictures
- it can easily handle bright and dull colors
- it simplifies the use of complex color schemes; by choosing your dominant color on the wheel the rest of the color scheme is immediately revealed
- it easily indicates both complementary colors, which are truer to  nature, and discord colors
- it takes the guesswork out of mixing and modifying colors by indicating how much, by proportion, to use of colors when mixing
- it reveals the colors contained in commercial semineutrals and neutrals
- BIGGEST ADVANTAGE, it reduces the risk of muddy colors
- it challenges you to use colors in a logical manner

So while not painting all out this week, hoping that by spending some time on the foundation, next task it to make this wheel myself and try several different color schemes, I will reap the benefits of getting more of a variety of color, the right color, in my paintings making them more dynamic.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great painting week.

Comments

Nancy Goldman said…
I can't believe how intricate this is! How big is it? You are a very patient person Nelvia.
February 28, 2014 at 10:21 AM
Nelvia said…
Well Nancy you just hit on the family joke, I never got in line to get patience but somehow have it for this. I switched supports after the first four and now am on Bristol Board and when cut 4 ways they are 4"x6". Looking at what is coming up am going to wish they were smaller, however I wouldn't be able to work the detail much smaller than I am today.
March 1, 2014 at 9:19 AM
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