10 June 2023

W.I.P. with a sevely limited palette

Verna Vogel paintbrushes after use red violet brown black white

A few nights ago I began working on a couple of small canvases I'd prepared with oil ground a few days prior.  Thought I'd try some more colour studies.

At 20x22 inches, these are a bit larger than the "Notes on Colour" series.  You can see those on my website and at Bluerock Gallery
(happily they've already sold a few!)

My starting point was to use a severely limited palette of analagous(ish) colours.

Vogel colour study work in progress

First, blind drawing with Kama oil sticks.
Then oil paint: Burnt Sienna, Mineral Violet, Titanium White.


Verna Vogel work in progress colour study limited palette

A little Cadmium Red Light to brighten things up a bit, then Payne's Grey toned with a touch of Pthalo Green Deep.
I sometimes apply little splothes of paint mixes to test the colour in concert, before painting in whole areas.
Greys can be a bit tricky to get right: warm or cool, dark or light?  
The spectrum of so-called "mud colours" is broad.


Verna Vogel work in progress colour study limited palette of red, violet, brown, black

After several hours, arriving here.


Verna Vogel studio late night after painting work in progress limited palette

Finished for the night at 3am - Whew!!
This sometiems happens when I've not painted in some days.

I've been experiencing some shoulder, elbow and wrist issues, a repetetive stress injury caused mainly by painting alot and not taking breaks. (d-uh)
Then I have to rest - rest!!  Truly, resting is an excercise in willpower.
Nice problem to have, in the larger scheme of world events, but still it sucks when I can't paint. 
So, I will be starting an excersice/physio regime in an actual gym in a couple of weeks.  Never thought I'd do that!  But there you go: it's a case of "make art or die" and I'll do whatever it takes to fix things and prevent further injury... and I find myself looking forward to a general strengthening my body as well.

Verna Vogel colour study in dim light work in progress limited palette

Different lighting and different orientation.

The two colour studies are very close, probably only the still-white areas will be chromatically toned a bit, with as little darkening as possible.  A few days of other work, and hopefully early next week I can finish them.  Wish me luck!

Thanks as always for reading, and I hope you're having a lovely day ...or night :)

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