Newsletter May, 2003

Color of the Month

Black - black paint has gotten a bad rap. Now, you shouldn’t use straight black on any painting. It creates a empty space that pulls life out of the painting. However, it does have its good uses. It is still the easiest way to make gray when mixed with white. It can be added to many colors to make them darker. However, when added to yellows, you usually wind up with green, which is not a bad thing - you can be some wonderful greens this way. But if you are looking to darken yellow, add a brown - not black.

Tool of the Month

Fingers - preferably your own. Nothing does a better job of smudging then your fingers. A gentle pat or two can push colors together just right. You have more control than using the side of a brush. You shouldn’t keep oil paint on your skin over a long period of time, after using your finger, wipe it off and wash as soon as you can. Learning to finger paint in kindergarten wasn’t wasted - just use your imagination!

Beating The Odds!

I am not talking the bookies’ odds, but the mathematicians’ 1, 3, 5, 7... For some reason, that psychologist are still trying to figure out, the human eye and brain find an odd number of objects in a painting ‘feel’ better. Keep this in mind when you are composing your painting. Two distant figures in the background will appear static. Add a third (closer to one than the other) and it will immediately add life and movement to the painting. Four pieces of fruit on a plate may be symmetrical, but add a fifth and your composition will sizzle. Two groups of flying birds (even if there are 3 in each group) will look better if you add a fourth to one of the groups. It doesn’t even need to be same type of object. If you can recognize ‘clumps’ of things in your painting, make sure you have an odd number of clumps. Squinting while evaluating can help during this step. Small things like this will vastly improve your composition. Practice this enough and you will soon develop a feel for the balance of odd numbers and won’t even have to count much anymore.

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