Interpreting Warm and Cool Colors - Incorrectly 2014-02-28 08:49

As the outdoor temperature read 7 degrees yesterday, I settled down to a long day of painting. I was enjoying listening to an art podcast while I painted. The artist was talking about warm and cool colors used for darks and lights. It got me to think about the dark colors I was using in the crab tree painting – blue, a cool color when it should be warm for a painting of crabapple blossoms on a warm, sunny spring day. I added an overcoat of a warm brown to the tree branches and I think it improved the picture.


I’m dyslexic and this affects my use and interpretation of warm and cool colors. I feel blue and greens as warm colors. They make me think of sunny summer days and fields of green grass, not of ice. I think of reds as autumn leaves and a time the weather gets cooler, not fire. Usually this isn’t a problem, except when the weather changes and I adjust the car temperature. I’m constantly turning on the heater during the summer and the air conditioning in the winter. (The heat and the cool air are indicated by the colors red and blue.)


Today I am back in the studio, with some hot coco, painting the crabapple blossoms. I’m trying to remember that the crabapple tree in my backyard will look very different in just two months from now.

Chives and Russian Sage 2014-02-26 08:23

I'm finally done... I think. I have to live with this one awhile. I'm not sure the background shouldn't have more darks.

What I Learned From Doing 30 Paintings in 30 Days. 2014-02-26 07:41

It’s been about a week since I’ve finished my 30 in 30. The lessons I learned from that experience were significant to my growth as an artist. I’m glad I don’t have the pressure of producing some piece of work that will be posted on the internet each day. But in some ways, I think it was so good for me. I feel to really make a go doing art full time and making somewhat of a living off of it, I need to be very serious about the amount of time I spend painting each day. I had not done that up to this point. Sure, I knew I needed to paint for at least four hours a day but up to this point I hadn’t been able to do that.

And then there’s the question about experimentation. I know I’m not painting the way I will be in three years from now. There’s a more free, expressive form of painting dying to get out of me. I’m just not fully aware of where I’m going with it yet. It’s important that I continue explore my different painting styles. It will come, maybe when I’m done with the style I use to paint my garden series. Maybe that will evolve into something different.  Sometimes I love being very loose and free with oil painting and then find it comforting to go back to my slow, controlled style of watercolors.

“Never Apologize!” That’s what Julia Child always said about her cooking and I think it truly applies here. While doing the 30 in 30 I had to post work each day. It didn’t matter if I liked it or not. What a long way from over a year and a half ago when showing any of my work made me feel over exposed. So, I say experiment, meaning sometimes producing “bad art” and don’t apologize. You don’t know where it may lead. I also should point out that the 30 in 30 certainly showed me that people all have very different tastes. You don’t know how someone will react to you work.

I also learned that sometimes I spend way too much time on paintings deciding how they should be. Sometimes do it and move on is a better practice. That’s not to say “living“  with a piece for awhile is not bad either.
I guess I found the answer that I always knew to be true … More Art.

• Am I doing enough art?… more art.
• Is it good enough?… more art.
• What’s my style?… more art.
• Can I make a living with art? …more art.

What are your truths?