Stirring up gray
Last Tuesday, in our watercolor class, we were asked to follow the directions from Jean Dobie's book, MAKING COLOR SING, to mix shades of gray. By mixing the complement of a color into the gray, the focused color would begin to vibrate.
So....if I make a neutral gray, then add red into the gray, the green square should pop out because red is the complement of green.
I was unhappy with how my project turned out in class so I tried it again this morning, with somewhat better results. The idea is, if I feature some element in my watercolor painting, it will become more vibrant if I surround it with a neutral gray with the element's complementary color mixed in.
Don't get it? Well, I'm still learning, so get yourself the book and try it for yourself!
This is absolutely one of the best books out there on watercolor! You will refer to it again and again and again. And good for you for doing the exercises!
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thanks for sharing. i hope they'll jumpstart me into doing some of my own : )
ReplyDeleteSome day I'll take a class, too, to learn this stuff. Glad it's working for you. Does a body good to be challenged with new ideas and concepts, even if a bit frustrating.
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