Remembering to neutralize my colors often trips me up and leaves my paintings with a Disneyesque/cartoonish quality.  Why do I forget--lack of patience.  My best work happens when I take a deep breath and slow down.

Patty

Love this article, thanks. I am currently in the process of painting this way...that is being more patient with my work. That gentle part sort of happened as the painting progressed. Finished my latest work and really pleased that I'm on my way towards the goal that's been buging me for 8 years!. Always loved the way Albert Bierstadt painted, love the more subtle colors and softer edges. Not good at explaining my process, but I I have a deep passion for painting and drawing....Love all the A.D articles....again, thank you so much, I've learned so much from reading these.

One kind of "roux" for artists is underpainting. I first learned it in watercolors, which are naturally transparent, but now I sometimes use it in oils. First paint blue or purple to define the darks and get relative values established, then paint over with transparent color. You can get beautiful effects this way, especially if you're patient.

Doing a small 4x6 or less color poster study helps make decisions such as background color, what mix for flesh and shadows, ec..The few minutes it take to do them saves a lot of time when you go to the canvas or paper..

Seeing my rags as a tool rather than something to erase a "mistake" has really changed my work this year.  Often a wipe out reveals the exact color or effect that I was going for.

I have been taking more time building up my oil paintings with glazes. This requires much patience since each glaze has to dry before applying the next one. It's a great way to learn to think ahead because the final color is determined by the application of several different color glazes, i.e. laying yellows over blues to get greens.

Thanks Carolyn, I can always relate to your posts. My mother made Roux and I totally forgot about it. I'd really like to experiment with high key paintings.