Tuesday, March 1, 2011

King Street Shops, Toronto

12x12 oil on stretched canvas
There is the accepted theory that when you have warm light, you have cool shadows. And if it is cool light, then warm shadows. This made it very difficult to paint the nice yellow canopy in the top corner that was in the shade. How does one cool down yellow? I tried it in varying ways...adding purple or red..and then tried a yellow/green mix and it seemed to work. Often when things don't work, it is because the temperature is wrong. Art can be so complicated.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

A beautiful painting! I chose it as one of my favorite daily paintings on my blog, rosaspicks.wordpress.com. I hope you'll come by and check it out! Thanks, Rosa

Unknown said...

Yes it is challenging! I am learning so much when generous artists whose work I love posts info like this. Thank you Catherine! Love this painting!

Ramesh Jhawar said...

It is definitely complicated...more so in the case of watercolors, I feel, as the colors behave in their own way and it becomes very difficult to make corrections!
However you have done a wonderful job! This is a beautiful painting! Love the warm light and especially the wet pavement which is so well painted :)

Unknown said...

Yellow is a tough one to cool down... I try starting with a cooler yellow, like Naples yellow or cadmium yellow lemon. Then if I need it to be cool, I'll add a bit of burnt umber and a touch of blue. Or, instead, terra rosa and a bit of burnt umber make a really nice cooler yellow without making it too cold. Good luck!

Catherine Jeffrey said...

Thanks Rosa, I will definitely come by.
Thanks for the comment Sheila.
Ramesh, I can see why watercolor would be difficult, as changing is not as easy as oil where I can wipe an area.
Shelby, thanks so much for the "yellow" ideas. I will try them out. I struggle with yellow a lot.

Kerri Settle said...

You nailed it! I really like how your canopy turned out and it does a great job leading my eye into the painting.

I also struggle with yellows in general and this is a helpful lesson. I've worked with mostly greens and blues the last few years and warm colors are a whole new challenge!

shirley fachilla said...

Really like the abstracted quality of this. And I think your cooled down yellow canopy works well.

Marian Fortunati said...

Boy THAT sure is the truth!!

Seems like you managed to make it work, though.

Love the notan of this painting!

Diana Marshall said...

Love this one, the light and the dark and the reflections, simply stunning.