Thursday, January 28, 2016

How to Get Started Mixing Colors for Fine Art Painters

Color, beautiful color!
Recently I have been hearing artists talk about how challenging mixing colors can be. Do you think so too?

A long time ago, I dated a guy who was incredibly talented with drawing in black and white. He was afraid of color. The idea of mixing color and how to do it befuddled him. Being a painter who adored color, I thought him silly. Mixing color is easy to me. But for some, not so much.

This Christmas, I gifted my neighbor and friend a painting session. She was so excited. She began mixing colors on her palette with her brush. The painting started out fine with her first attempt of color brushed onto paper. Then, she kept adding colors and mixing them on the same palette with the same brush. Yikes, before I knew it, she was mixing mud. I was taking the approach of letting her go and have fun painting. So, I just stood back and let her play. She was having a blast and seemed to like the muddy colors. She went home all excited and hung the painting in her bedroom. A week or so later I asked her how the painting was doing. She told me that she had taken it down and did not continue to paint on it. She felt totally overwhelmed with it. She is sticking with black and white for now, she says. So, there you go, another one bites the dust of color mixing.

Mixing colors for a plain air landscape painting.
Using a limited color palette helps.
Plain Air Painting, see my color palette below.

The plain air painting above required only a few colors.
Each painting dictates your color mixes.
And, just as I'm writing this, a beginner artist friend messaged me a photo of her current painting. Guess what she told me? She is having a hard time with mixing color! For her, it's brown and gray that are difficult. She's copying another painting, so I imagine the browns and grays are specific to that painting and she's trying to match them.

Colors sometimes mix themselves on the palette.
So, how do you get started mixing colors? My advice is to start small and keep it simple. There are so many different colors available to us. How many blues, greens, reds, and yellows does an artist need anyway? You might be able to shirk the color mixing entirely, just by buying the exact color you want. This method could get costly and could take up a lot of space.

Here are a few tips to get you started:

Titanium White is opaque, Zinc White is translucent.



White: Zinc white will stay true white, but it is quite transparent. Titanium White is opaque, but can turn some colors gray and dull. Experiment with these two whites to lighten your colors. Take a red, add Zinc white and mix. Take the same red and add Titanium white. What happened? How different are the results? When will you prefer Zinc white over Titanium white? You could try this for any other color as well. Ultramarine blue is one of my favorite blues. Adding Titanium white makes it turn into a purply / lavender / periwinkle color, which I love.

Blue: My favorite blues right now are: Ultramarine blue, Cerulean blue, and Manganese blue. Try mixing all three of these and you will see that it comes out to the most glorious blue I have ever experienced. I'm sure there must be a blue on the market that I could buy, but it's really so much fun mixing colors to please myself and the painting before me. So, go back to the whites, and add each white to each of these blues and see what you get. Try mixing combinations of two of the blues together and see what blue you end up with. Mix those colors with each of the whites and see what happens.
Can you guess which blues are located where in this painting?
I learned a lot about my favorite blues while painting this one.

Purple: For years, I could not figure out how to mix purple. Recently, I discovered how to do it! The secret is Primary Magenta. Mix that with one of the blues, Cerulean or Manganese, for a delicious purple. Add the whites for lavender. The painting to the right is an example of mixing purple and lavendar with this combination.

As you can imagine, that is just the tip of the colorful iceberg on color mixing.

So, tell me, do you have trouble mixing colors? What happens when you try it? Are you good at it? What are you favorite color mixes? What is your greatest challenge with color mixing?

Until Next Week

• Create art
• Appreciate art
• Buy art

Mary Gravelle (Mary Rae Rush)

Sir Kitty

About the author: Mary Rae Rush (Mary Gravelle) is an artist and writer who resides in Sedona, Arizona with her beloved assistant, Sir Kitty. Her art can be seen on her website.

Monday, January 25, 2016

Two Abstract Paintings in the Works

Work in Process, Phase 4: Yellow Abstract
36 x 48 x 1.5 inches, Acrylic on Canvas
Copyright 2016 Mary Gravelle
Two abstract paintings are in the works. Besides painting landscapes of the awesome land around me, I love to paint abstracts.

I take an experimental approach to painting abstracts rather than painting abstractions from real life.

The first painting, called Purple Abstract, at this point (I know, original name, right? haha), started out on the floor with big gestural movements with a brush. I loved how the colors began mixing themselves wet on wet.

When I went to do the dark purple, it got kind of messy so it ended up being spilled, then splashed and splattered onto the canvas. It's hanging on my wall while I figure out what to do next with it next.





Work in Process: Purple Abstract, Acrylic on Canvas
36 x 48 x 1.5 inches, copyright 2016 Mary Gravelle

Work in Process, Phase 1 on the floor: 
Purple Abstract, Acrylic on Canvas
36 x 48 x 1.5 inches, copyright 2016 Mary Gravelle


Work in Process, Phase 3: The white part is matt medium
which dries almost clear.
 Yellow Abstract, Acrylic on Canvas, 36 x 48 x 1.5 inches
Copyright 2016 Mary Gravelle
The next one, Yellow Abstract (haha again), began with shapes that acted as masking. After that layer dried, I applied matt medium.

I have added two layers of paint over the matt medium. This one seems to have more to say to me right now than Purple Abstract.











Work in Process Phase 1:  Yellow Abstract, Acrylic on Canvas
36 x 48 x 1.5 inches, 
Copyright 2016 Mary Gravelle
Work in Process Phase 2:  Yellow Abstract, Acrylic on Canvas
36 x 48 x 1.5 inches, 
Copyright 2016 Mary Gravelle
The yummiest blue that I'm using on the Yellow Abstract painting.

I'll keep you posted on the progress.

Until Next Week

• Create art
• Appreciate art
• Buy art


Mary Gravelle (Mary Rae Rush)
About the author: Mary Rae Rush (Mary Gravelle) is an artist and writer who resides in Sedona, Arizona with her beloved assistant, Sir Kitty.
Sir Kitty






Monday, January 18, 2016

The Logistics of Painting Outside


Cathedral Rock High, Acrylic on Wood, 9.25 x 11.75 inches.
Copyright 2016 Mary Gravelle.
Yesterday, with the break in weather here in Sedona, I couldn't resist the urge to get outside and paint among the red rocks. I knew exactly where I would go. I had been there with a hiking group a month or so ago.

Do you paint outside? Do you think it's fun? What do you enjoy most about it?

It takes a certain amount of planning to paint outside. Gearing up for my new venture–coming soon–Sedona Art Hikes, has had me considering the logistics of painting outside.

Generally, I paint inside. I love easel and studio painting where a painting evolves over time. Since I will be building a business around painting outside, I thought it was time to actually get out there more often and experience it for myself. I absolutely adore nature and want to bring painters out onto the red rocks to paint in the beauty of Sedona.

Traveling backpack with wheels holds
my paintbox, dropcloth, and brush
holder inside.
I had set aside my traveling backpack with wheels for toting my art supplies on hikes. My mind has been swirling for months on how to organize for painting outside. Yesterday, it all easily came together.

I will share with you, through photographs and a checklist, on how I set up for painting outside.

Each time that you paint outdoors, there will be adjustments to be made from the last time you painted outdoors, logistically and according to place and weather. Being an acrylic painter, I will provide a checklist for acrylic painting outside.
Paintbox inside my backpack shows what
it holds: my palette, brushes, and drawing media.

Tip: Use an empty travel-sized Huggies container for your
paint palette. You can close it up after your painting session
to avoid having to wash out your palette. Drain the extra
water out onto paper towel to save the environment
from the acrylic paint.

Can you allow the insects to inspect
your painting without causing them harm?
Consider it a high honor that joined you!

Checklist for Acrylic Painting Outside:

  1. Backpack or some other tote for your art supplies
  2. Acrylic Paints
  3. Water
  4. Some sort of water catch system like a palette or plate
  5. Paint palette
  6. Paper towels
  7. Paint palette knife
  8. Brushes
  9. Plastic or some other form of drop cloth to protect the environment
  10. Acrylic mediums
  11. Spray bottle with water to keep the paint moist
  12. Easel or easel box
  13. Chair or seat, unless you want to sit on the ground or on a rock
  14. Camera
  15. Drawing media like graphite or colored pencils
  16. Brush holder
  17. Paper, canvas, gesso board, wood, or canvas panel
  18. A container that will hold your finished painting for the trip back
  19. Snacks (optional)
Painting outside with acrylic paints can be challenging because they dry fast. This is what the spray bottle is for, to mist your paints on your palette while in process.

As the day progressed, my mood was lifted and I felt happier with each passing moment, in flow with my painting process.

Painting on location in Sedona. Using the inside lid as my easel
keeps the box available for my supplies.
The logistics of sitting on a rock, feet up on another rock.
Can you say between a rock and a hard place? lol
This is how I did it yesterday. I can improve on this.
I didn't bring an easel or a seat with me.
This was pleasing, though, and comfortable.
My small tubes of paint are drying up, so I brought small
containers of paint placed inside a large lidded plastic
container. It worked fine.


I want to hear from You

Did I forget anything? How do your logistics differ from mine? What kinds of experiences have you had when painting outside?

Until Next Week

• Create art
• Appreciate art
• Buy art


Mary Gravelle (Mary Rae Rush)
About the author: Mary Rae Rush (Mary Gravelle) is an artist and writer who resides in Sedona, Arizona with her beloved assistant, Sir Kitty.
Sir Kitty


Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Acrylic Art Materials

Using acrylic paints is similiar to using oil paints. Each has it own set of tools that are more appropriate for the material.

Since I have long switched over to using acrylic paints, I will share my own set up and the tools that are indispensable in my painting process. Maybe you use the same materials. Maybe you will be inspired to try something new.

I will show you with pictures and a video.





Golden Acrylic Mediums, love them! My favorites right now:
Fluid matte medium, acrylic glazing liquid, soft gel gloss.

Brush caddy on turntable holds all sizes of
brushes, and other stuff too, like scissors,
pencils, pieces of dried cholla cactus.
Brushes with soft synthetic bristles are best
for laying on the paint the way I like,
smooth. Flats are my fav.

A takeout lid sprayed with water and turned
upside down over my acrylic mixing palettes
keeps them from drying out until my next
painting session. They will keep like this
several days, spraying the lid everyday.

Styrofoam plates are my favorite paint palette,
mainly because I have a big stack of them.
Selected brushes, yogurt containers for water.

Paper towels, cotton rag, palette knife
Golden acrylic paints, and peeking out
from under the rag on the right is a
spray bottle full of water.

Painted glass bottle holds my brushes handy
at the easel. Small bottles of pre-mixed mediums
are easy to grab during the painting process.
Tip: paint the glass bottle on the outside
with acrylic paints.

Close up of acrylic paints, palette knife,
and folded paper towel.

What acrylic painter can do without a hair dryer?
Hurry, paint, dry!

Aluminum folding easel has a case for
mobility. It's super lightweight.


Until Next Week

• Create art
• Appreciate art
• Buy art


Mary Gravelle (Mary Rae Rush)
About the author: Mary Rae Rush (Mary Gravelle) is an artist and writer who resides in Sedona, Arizona with her beloved assistant, Sir Kitty.
Sir Kitty