Exercise Still life with complementary colours
Make a colour study of your still life using only a narrow range of colours. This will require great concentration and discipline in observation and interpretation. Make the most of using colour in an inventive way.
For this exercise I chose Ultramarine blue and orange as my contrasting colours. I used high chroma of the contrasting colours as it was a exercise that I have never tried before.
My initial composition:
Line drawing & blocking in acrylics
Further progression in oils:
Oil on canvas A3
Learning assessment:
I enjoyed working with a limited palette, though again, painting in acrylics I felt the painting looks a little flat. If I painted this again I would change the light source.
Exercise Still life with colour to evoke mood
‘For this exercise paint up your still life using colour in any way you choose. make decisions in advance about the range of colours that you will use. You’re aiming to create a mood or atmosphere in your use of colour and handling paint.’
The second part of this exercise was to paint the same scene again but using colours to evoke mood. I had come across the Van Gogh still life vase with Rose Mallows. I hoped that my naive painting echoed this and the bland colours gave a glimpse in to the newly starkness of my de-cluttered house.
Van Gogh still-life-vase-with-rose-mallows-1890
Completed painting
Acrylic oil on canvas A3
I recently have had a clear out of my home so that it is as minimalist as possible; consequently I have hardly any ornaments, and had to search in the loft for things to paint.
I wanted to get the sense of starkness across in the painting, and I didn’t want it to be too painterly.
This is a stark contrast from my normal style and I’m still in two minds whether I think it has merit or is totally awful.
References
http://www.wikiart.org/en/vincent-van-gogh/still-life-vase-with-rose-mallows-1890
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