Color Quest: Your Mysterious Cupboard Of Magical Treasure

12/3/2021

Many will say that it is not possible to become an artist,
without the mastery of color - this is not true.

The early painters experienced this,
sometimes they'd start with a black and white painting.

And then glaze,
with a see trough transparent color over the parts that needed it.

So in that way, the Art Masters,
would finish the painting before adding color.

There are two things to consider,
mixing color, and creating a color theme.

Just be mindful that the secondary color you create,
is always a mix of the two primaries.

Free your mind by arranging a color wheel on your palette,
yes you know how to make a green, but keep it organized.

To de-saturate a color,
mix it with the opposite on the color wheel.

You are attacking the color with the colors across,
and it will fade, color sin nature are never fully saturated.

When the color is attacked then the primaries are at it,
you will have a dark mix, so always have your white ready to increase the brightness.

But sometimes what you think you want,
only seems like a good idea.

Sometimes, in the complexity of your painting,
you will lose the harmony, the song, the opera, the clarity of expression.

An you will end up with multiple color themes in one painting,
all wondering what is going on, and feeling lost.

Look behind Mona Lisa, that is a color theme,
it belongs in the background, and it stays there.

Mona Lisa has two layers,
the background and the portrait.

Each layer has a separate color theme,
and the two themes are not angry with each other.

If you look at the Mona Lisa from Museo del Prado in Madrid, Spain,
oh boy, the outrageous red of her selves and the wrong blue of the sky are flirting, scandalous!

They ruined a Mona Lisa, probably a Leonardo,
possibly recovering an underlying experiment with longevity of glazes... and called it restoration.

This is not a harmonious color theme,
it is all wrong.

(If anybody who ruined that painting is listening to this poem,
please stop now, you do not want to hear what I am about to say.)

You see, the color a painting, is the second work of art,
the color palette, scheme, theme or swatch, whatever you wish to call it.

Neon Pastel Theme,
he wouldn't date to even think about picking a color from another palette.

And we should learn from him,
there are plenty of celebrated color palettes out there.

If you create your art in a specific palette,
or re-color your source image with he colors from the palette you like, you are all set.

And if eyes need a glow, magical richness,
it is OK to add a custom color, though it will stick out.

This of course bring us back mixing colors,
because whatever palette you picked...

And looooong before you even look at you canvas,
you have to spend a day or two mixing.

Let me underline the gravity of this step for you,
because I did not have anyone underline colors for me.

Once you pick your palette,
and recolor your source image, perhaps on a computer.

You then need to make a trip to your dollar store,
and look for cute little glass jars.

Because, mirroring a palette by mixing your own colors,
create a little treasure.

Ten or so little jars,
full of the colors you picked.

A color palette that you like,
is your friend.

It is completely understandable if not downright lovely,
if you pick subjects because they match your favorite palette.

But of course you can have many such color collections,
a palette for portraits, a palette for snow.

Once you are done mixing you then place your little jars,
into a 1980's vintage cupboard you found while thrifting.

If anybody asks,
you cross your arms in deep thought and say "Those are my colors."

Do you see,
colors live a life that is separate from your paintings.

Colors,
are an art in it self.

It is a little know fact that color palettes call to their artists,
to make them create even more art.