"Green and Red"

($40.00....6" x 6".....Water soluble Oils on Gessobord)

"Green and red are joyful expressions of Christmas." Red berries always remind me of Christmas. There is a reason they are so compelling. They are the most powerful of all of the direct complements...especially when the green is dominant.

In this piece, I was continuing to experiment with "jazz painting". It is a very loose blocking in of colors and many overlaps and gestural strokes with the palette knife. I did use a reference photo and placed the darks, midtones, and lights in the same places. After that, it was a "free for all". Over thinking the process can cause the whole process to look contrived.

One of the big surprises in this one was the exciting greens created with pthalo blue, cad. medium light, and alizarin crimson plus white. This combination was used in all of its tints, tones, and shades in several layers. The leaves were suggested rather than realistically interpreted which gives the piece its energy. In this way, all of those diagonals were created and overlapped.

What I typically do when I think the piece is almost finished is set it on an easel next to my computer so that I can see the photo and the painting side by side. After stepping back, I check to make sure the darks are dark enough and the lights are light enough. In most cases, I need to add more dark values which brings the whole image together.

So if you find yourself wondering why your piece (whether it's mixed media or a painting) is not reading well from a distance, it will almost always be the values. Squint your eyes, and you will see exactly where to make the values darker. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about. 

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.