Hi from the Seattle Area

Lobolita wrote

on 25 Jun 2010 2:26 PM

My name is Lorraine, and I've just picked up painting after years of other media. I'm using acrylics, which I love, and also working on my drawing skills with graphite pencils in my journal.

Things I'm working on right now:

1. Finding a palette I like. All these painting books want me to use ultramarine, cad red, and cad yellow. Ultramarine does nothing for me. Winsor blue holds my heart. I want a lightfast cool red and a warm transparent yellow. In addition to, you know, other stuff. I'm seriously considering trying out some earth tones.

2. Living where I do in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, I've been working on lots and lots of landscapes, but I've run into a problem. Fir trees, which coat the hills around here, are boring. How do I make them not-boring? Most of the evergreen advice seems to be pine-related.

3. How do you plein-air paint with a dog and a baby? Any ideas? Anybody else saddled with a hyperactive mutt and a 9-month-old?

KatPaints wrote

on 26 Jun 2010 8:16 PM

Hi,

I'm Kathryn. I'm new also. I love to paint also and I've decided to get back into it after being away and working in design for many years.

1. I also need to zone in on a palette. Since I painted so sporadically, I never really needed to keep one continual palette. I found my palette changed depending on what I painted. I considered what I was painting and selected a palette based on which colors were needed to mix a particular color.

I'm more familiar with oil names. Try cerulean, cobalt and pthalo and see what you think. If your considering earth tones maybe burnt sienna, vandyke brown, burnt  umber, try sap green also. Viridian would be a good color for the pacific northwest.

2. Forget you are painting fir trees. Think of them as color, shapes, forms. Think in terms of space and how the color looks in relation to what is surrounding it. Squint your eyes and what overall color do you see? Compare that with the forms and colors surrounding it. Admittedly, it is difficult to give advice when I can't see what you are looking at.

3. Simple. You don't do it. You need a baby sitter. I suggest doing still life or paint from photos instead. Still life that is done in a room which locks so little ones will not come in contact with any paint. Google Carol Marine and see how she does it. I would assume nap time is a good time???

Hope this helps a little

Kathryn

KatPaints wrote

on 27 Jun 2010 11:49 AM

I also realized something while checking out the supply lists for the AA Master's workshop in Dana Point. You can check them out and maybe select an artist you like and get their recommended colors. http://guest.cvent.com/EVENTS/Info/Custom.aspx?cid=38&e=898c1e6e-6b23-421c-922a-13a8be833a1e