Oil color musings
Painting is definitely becoming ingrained in my life…I was at my office job and set a cup of coffee down next to a cuppa tea, and unbidden the thought “I would use burnt sienna if I was painting the tea, and burnt umber if I was painting the coffee” jumped into my mind. Heh…that’s fun though, I think that’s a good sign. Sometimes when I go on walks around my neighborhood, I try to think for each plant or flower I see what colors I would use to paint them. I remember when I first started painting I was daunted by all the different pigment names, I’m still unfamiliar with a lot of them but I’m starting to develop a feel for how they work with each other and what colors I like to use. I always keep notes on which ones I’ve used in a painting, especially because in many paintings I have gone through multiple changes to the palette as I learn what works for me. Although now I can usually tell from looking my paintings what exact colors I used where, sometimes I’m not sure and it’s very helpful to know which blue I used or in the eyes or if the flesh tone was vermillion or alizarin and yellow ochre, etc.
