A Little Color To Brighten The Day

Sometimes I get an idea an idea for a painting that seems full of promise, but my ability to execute it falls short.  When I first started trying my hand at painting, I had trouble mixing exactly the color I thought I wanted, but even as repeated efforts allow me to get better at arriving at a specific color, the trickier problem is that I need to know exactly what color I really need!  Achieving color harmonies and painterly effects doesn't seem to be a gift with which I was born.  It looks like I will have to find it the hard way, through a trail of tears and self doubt.  But sometimes it feels good to ignore everything I feel like I should be doing and just paint something bright and colorful.  I think blue and yellow together can be very cheery.

This blog is certainly not meant to be instructional; I think of it more as an exposé on the trials and tribulations of learning a difficult subject.  In fact, Tears and Self Doubt might be a better title for it.  But as the French are fond of saying, Nevertheless... (Actually, they say néanmoins, but you get my drift.)

This was a study for a part of a larger piece I want to get to, of the deer who hang out in my backyard.  There is a constant stream of them now, about seven or eight individuals, who show up daily for the food blocks we leave for them.  Now that the bucks have dropped their antlers, I am interested to watch first hand how they go about growing them back.

There are a number of very useful websites where painters share their knowledge and experience, and I try to keep up with a number of them daily.  I thought I would share a few of them with you in hopes that you might discover something new.  I am always finding new painters and adding to my bookmarks; it becomes so unwieldy that I have to go back through and weed out or I lose track of what I want to visit on a regular basis.  One of my favorites is Randall Tipton's blog, Painter's Process.  He is faithful to his readers, posting frequently and consistently, and is enormously generous in sharing his work and methods.  I am even fortunate enough to be able to visit his studio once a month for a demonstration he offers to his readers.  Randall's work is simply stunning, full of mystery and beauty, so natural and yet magical.  If you haven't seen his work, I highly recommend you visit his page for a breath of soulful and emotional beauty.