Page 71 - Australian_How_To_Paint

INSIGHT

Last Light On Middlesex Terrace, Launceston 76 x 40.5cm Oil on Canvas

COLOUR AND TONE

Some painters are tonally orientated and
don’t worry a great deal about colour,
but I find that the two go hand in hand,
especially for the strongly lit subjects
I enjoy painting. In the morning and
afternoon light, colour is accentuated and
mixing these colours correctly becomes
important. Sunlit scenes an hour either
side of noon are bled of strong colour
and often result in a more tonal painting.
When not doing colourful, warm light Afternoon Light on Swan Street - Richmond 41 x 20cm Oil on Board
scenes I do enjoy looking directly into
the light with a morning mist type
atmosphere. In these types of paintings
my aim is to employ a harmony of
greys mixed from complementary
colour combinations. Where greens
predominate they are grey greens mixed
from Viridian and Crimson or Turquoise
and Cadmium Red or Light Red. In
a landscape, colour should always be
tempered with its opposite on the colour
wheel. Even the brightest sunlit greens
need to contain a touch of red.

USING PHOTOGRAPHS
Coming from a strong photographic
training perspective I rely heavily
on getting the best exposure and
composition as I can in a photo. On the
computer I can stitch photos together or
crop off tops and bottoms from single Railway Hotel - Ravenswood 41 x 30.5cm Oil on Canvas
wide angle shots to create the panorama
Australian How to Paint 71