Favorite Subject For Painting

I love painting scenes of cyclists. I guess it makes me feel the joy of being out on two wheels while working in the studio! Here I'm using a photo by my friend and great photographer Kevin McPeake for my inspiration. You can check out his work on Facbook

I loved this photo when I saw it: love the diffused light and the mystery in the fog.  I painted this image about a year ago ( middle image ), but decided to give it another try and work on the grays a little differently. Here's the second attempt ( the image on the right). I was a little bolder with the reds. Although it similar to the first painting, this one feel more like night time to me.

Pittsburgh - This Weekend

Shady Side Art Festival on Walnut Street - Booth #57 at Walnut and S. Aiken

When:

  • Saturday, August 27th, 2016 

    10:00am to 7:00pm

  • Sunday, August 28th, 2016 

    10:00am to 5:00pm

Where:  -  Find me in Booth #57 at Walnut and S. Aiken

739 Bellefonte St in Pittsburgh, PA

Cost: Free Admission

RSVP:

RSVP Here

The 20th Annual Shadyside… The Art Festival on Walnut Street is a proven summer weekend art show located in the Shadyside area of Pittsburgh, PA. On August 27th and 28th this popular neighborhood of tree-lined streets, historic homes and trendy businesses will again be transformed into an outdoor gallery of fine art. The Shadyside locals look forward to this fine art show each year. Walnut Street offers something for everyone – national retail stores, unique locally owned shops, numerous restaurants, bars and eateries featuring a vast variety of cuisines. Hope to see you our there!!

Venue: Walnut Street in Shadyside (Pittsburgh, PA)

Making Successful Grays by Michael Chesley Johnson

I follow Michael Chesley Johnson's blog and saw this the other day. I thought he had some good ideas about mixing grays and wanted to share them.  I hope you find this as interesting as I did. 

You can check out his work at http://www.michaelchesleyjohnson.com

"Morning at Raccoon Beach" 5x7, oil 

"Morning at Raccoon Beach" 5x7, oil 

Greys are both easy and difficult to conjure up.  Easy, because there's nothing like a dirty brush to work its black magic in creating rather ugly greys.  Difficult, because a pretty grey takes a certain amount of apprenticeship in mixing color.

First, let's make sure we've got reasonably clean brushes.  That will keep you from summoning grey without meaning to.  Now, let's think about how greys are made.

They say you can make a grey by mixing a color with its complement.  This is true, but it can be a very muddy grey.  A prettier grey can be made by mixing a color with its near-complement instead.  This is because the grey is closer in character to the color being greyed.  Try it.  Use a color wheel to help you identify the near-complement.    If you want to grey down a green, don't use red - instead, use red-violet or red-orange.

Let's take this a step farther.  Look at the color you want to grey and decide if it is a cool or warm version of its base color.  To grey it, add the same temperature of its complement.  If it's a cool red, use a cool green.  If you use a warm green with a cool red, this will make mud.  Using a cool with a cool will make a more beautiful grey.  As an example, I paint a lot of fog, and many times I'll start off with a light pink - that's cadmium red light with lots of white, and very cool - and then scumble on a light cool green, such as viridian with lots of white.  This combination gives me a mudless fog.

In the little 5x7 sketch above, I use this approach, but for a sunny scene.  The scene had a lot of grey in it.  I painted all the major shapes with the complement of the correct value and correct color temperature, and then overlaid them with the local color.

(First posted June 15, 2011)

--- Michael Chesley Johnson, AIS PSA MPAC PSNM www.MichaelChesleyJohnson.com


Paint on my friends,
Dawn