Skip to main content

Primary colours



A new challenge

Mixing (almost) every colour from three primary colours is quite possible, say my books and the YouTube painters I follow. As I am still using the 16 colour tubes of paint that I got long ago in a gift box, I have never been thoroughly thinking of using a limited palette. During a recent painting session, my fellow amateur artists and I started a kind of challenge to try out a limited palette. I made a still-life setting, and I chose the three-plus-two formula (Cadmium Red, Cadmium Yellow, Ultramarine as primary colours and Burnt Umber and Titanium White as support) to bring it over on canvas. Well, though I did not really match every colour with the photograph, I am quite satisfied with the result. A fellow painter did the same and she produced really good artwork. So we proved that the use of a limited palette is actually almost unlimited. I think I will go on with this experiment.

Here you can see the photograph of the setting and the painting in progress. Let's call it Blue Jar, 25 x 25 cm. The finished painting is to be seen in My gallery.




Sold in November 2021 by Saatchi Art to private collector A.J. in Dusseldorf, Germany.

Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you for your message. I will replay as soon as I can

Popular posts from this blog

Artist's Home

  Ameland Views on the Walls of the Artist's Home  A couple of weeks ago, I received a very special commission from the Eiland van Verhalen . The client requested that I design a background decoration for their stage show - a kind of illustration that would combine the iconic views of all four villages on the island. The final piece needed to be in a certain proportion, as it will be printed on a screen measuring 4 by 2.3 meters. I proposed the idea of creating a "paintings painting", featuring the interior of an island house adorned with paintings on the walls, each one depicting recognisable landmarks from the villages. This idea appealed to me as it presented a nice challenge and an opportunity to create a genuine painting. The client agreed that it was an interesting concept.  I had five weeks to complete the commission. Paul and I went across the island, taking hundreds of photographs for reference. I decided to use the interior of our own home as the compositional t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Master Studies

  Studying  I believe that practice is the best form of learning, and master copying is the most effective to practice while studying. Since we always (aspire to) learn, I find that copying a masterpiece that inspires you is an excellent method to achieve this.  In essence, master copying is not about creating perfect replicas; instead, it's about gaining a deeper understanding of artistic principles and techniques. It's a valuable tool for any artist seeking to improve their skills and expand their knowledge.  From time to time, I will update this post with my new master studies. Here are some: May 2025 After J.C. Leyendecker painting "Couple on Deck Chairs. 1904" I have been fascinated by the works and biography of this great Golden Age artist for a long time. Recently, I finally read a beautiful book titled simply, "J.C. Leyendecker", written by Laurence S. Cutler and Judy Goffman Cutler. His name and influence were most prolific; his private life was kep...
Post a Comment
Read more

Matthew's POV

Challenging a masterpiece Since I've always wanted to learn more about chiaroscuro and tenebrism, I thought it would be useful to try and master-copy a (detail of a) tenebrist masterpiece. And what is my favourite painting by the great Master of Tenebrism? The Calling of Saint Matthew by Caravaggio, of course.  I can stare at this painting (or the photographs and videos of it) for hours, exploring and still discovering numerous aspects and details, often ending with more questions than answers. The one certainty is that the composition, colours and values, poses and gestures, and most of all, the light , that plays the leading role, are the work of mind of a true genius. I spent hours trying to find out about the nature and the position of those light sources (and there were surely more than one!), yet I still don't know exactly how Caravaggio designed that setting. For a long time, I hesitated, but one day I decided to try master-copying a detail of the painting. In any case,...
Post a Comment
Read more