COMMANDO WATERCOLOR
"Get in and get out"

Still working on the "Still Life of Wine Bottles" that was started in the last blog.  This week I would like to talk about the use of warm and cool colors and how they can excite your paintings.  You will notice as you look around the painting that many small details of the wine bottles have been completed.  This was done in order to begin to balance the colors that I am using.  I prefer to work all over the painting, rather than painting the subject first or the background first.  The white of the paper will give you a false sense of how the colors are going to look when complete if you do not work this way.  For instance, the perfection of the flower that you have developed and are in love with will take on different qualitied when you start putting in a colored background rather than the white of the paper.  It will suddenly "dim".  So, my advice is to do both at the same time.

Warm colors:
       Work well in shadows
        Make the painting glow
Cool colors:
         Work well in bright sunlight
         Make the contrast of dark and light glow

Please note the following areas in the painting:

         The area of the window on the left side of the painting.  This area is more in shadow that the right side.  The left side is full of glazes of warm colors and glows warmth.  These colors make this portion of the painting fade into the background - but not lose interest.

           The right area of the window is full of cool colors.  This area is the most brightly lit from the sunlight.  The coolness, caused by the reflection of the sky, causes the area to appear more highly lit.

            The background area behind the bottles, outside of the window, is vague, cool, and grayed.  All of these things - graying of the color, less detail, and cool colors, cause this area of the painting to recede - and not vie for your attention as the viewer.

            You will also want to look at the right side of the cork on the blue bottle.  The shadows make this cork look tilted....caused by the fact that there is an area of reflected bright light on this side of the cork.  The background is very light here - but the addition of a darked glaze here will illuminate the reflected and make the cork look straight.

All of these are small items to take into consideration - but will make your painting glow and add areas of interest for the viewer.  After all, part of painting is to capture the viewer's eye and contain it within the painting!  Then they will fall in love with it too!

Enjoy playing with warm and cool.  It will open up a whole new area for you to discover.  Hopefully the painting will be completed by the next blog.  I have been really busy with a show, the league monthly meeting and teaching a class.  If you would like to host a workshop in your area, please contact me at jean_corbett@yahoo.com.

Jean