Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Class Notes April 13, 2018

Continuation of Rock Landscape Mark 2 -- Adding color using a traditional color scheme.

A traditional color scheme uses brown (burnt-sienna) for the bright part, and blue (indigo) for the shade or shadow.  Note that the main effects of the painting are already in place from the ink work.  Color functions to augment the ink lines and to build space.   Hence quite a light touch is often sufficient -- quite dilute color.  Near elements are brownish; distant elements are bluish.

The rice paper is absorbent, (color tends to spread beyond the form) and it also tends to show each brush stroke distinctly.  Thus, in applying the color, it is best to attend to the brush strokes.  First, the flow of the stroke should conform with the lay of the land -- is it round, sheer or angular?   Second, color each form with just a few decisive strokes; the more strokes, the more the brush contacts the paper, and the more water gets into the paper, leading to more color bleeding.  Hence, be quick and decisive.

Mix the color: brown goes with a little blue.  Keep mixing the colors afresh so that there will be variations each time.  Do each form separately.   Allow to dry a little, then use a dry brush with blue color to add blue to the shade and shadow.  Maintain a dry brush for the blue, again to minimize water and color spreading.

The coloring at the lower part of the mountain is for the creation of cloud and mist.  The blue color will define the contour of the cloud, gathering at the base of the mountain, in the valley.  Be mindful of the shape of the "white".

The next stage (after drying) will involve a wet-wash, i.e., adding color with the paper completely wet/damp.  This will yielding a soft effect, especially effective for the clouds!  This final wash will serve to unify the overall picture.

Coloring the landscape -- Part 1 (Preliminaries)
Coloring the landscape -- Part 2




 

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