Tuesday, July 28, 2009

"Vibracolor Apples" - n/a



I couldn't wait to post this tonight! I'm so excited that I actually did it. Wild and crazy colors. I got a lot of suggestions that I follow a certain strategy, like always paint the compliment of the color I see, or have a certain color assigned to each value ... but I really wanted it to be spontaneous. And what I learned is: yes, as long as the values are correct, you can use any old color you want! I think I got lucky that it didn't turn out horrendous - I actually like the result. Now I can tone it back and change colors on purpose, just where I want them to be different. I did start out with a value study for this one - I put down a burnt umber ground, then drew in the darks with my brush and wiped out for the lights (see below). That helped.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a FUN, WONDERFUL painting! It just keeps the eye coming back for more. Can't wait to see your next one! You really pulled this off beautifully, Carol.

Gwen Bell said...

Oh my goodness...Carol, this is stunning. I think you're on to something new here, girl!

I already love your work, but this new color exchange experiment is so wonderfully new and completely different from anything I've seen.
Really GREAT work!!!

(think he meant boooooobs????)

Honor Woodard said...

I see the lady. My, she has big boobs..! Nice apples... Interesting new colors.

myra anderson said...

Beautiful! You have encouraged me to want to try something new - one day very soon!

Becky Brocato said...

nicely done! this is lovely. how exciting to try something new and have a great first try!

Catherine Jeffrey said...

Love these new colors, Carol. I think we are often torn between painting what we see vs what we want to paint to make the picture more alive, more interesting, or just because we want to see where it can go. "As long as you are faithful to the shapes, tonal values and edges you see in your subject, color can be pushed in any direction and still be believable." I love this quote by Mike Svob who is a master of pushing color very successfully.

Beth said...

Oh my god...this is SO GREAT!!! Love it!!!

Bobbi Heath said...

Wow, Carol, I love the abstract stuff going on in the background, maybe fabric folds, maybe not, doesn't matter because it just looks great. And the color changes among the apples, really nice.

Bobbi Heath said...

And thanks for sharing the value study. I found your add and wipe approach to that really useful in your workshop. It's good for us to see how it continues to help you (maybe I should do it more often!).

Kurt Ankeny-Beauchamp said...

Well, if you start playing with color like this, soon your paintings will be all about color. And I'm sure you would *hate* that, right?

It looks beautiful. I can't wait to see where you go with this. Changing/evolving as an artist is always a tough stunt to pull off, especially if you've already got an audience and buyers. Bravo for taking the first step.

Damian Goidich said...

I've followed your blog for a couple of years now, but felt compelled to post about this painting.

This is a very important piece.

It isn't often that we can view an exceptional example of the tonal values superceding local color in a painting.

I predict that this will mark a new stage of development in your art, and I'm excited to see where you take this.

Elfi Bonn said...

Your style truly speaks to me, it's what I privately call "abstract realism", which I know is an oxymoron but somehow describes it best. The colors are gorgeous. Bravo. (PS - I was born in Calgary but raised in Victoria, BC)

Carolina said...

The pink and the greenish-yellow are amazing, the whole painting is. Great work!