Keith Jarret’s Koln Concert was playing in the background the other day as I completed the dreaded task of clearing out my studio. I would so much rather be painting, but since I was moving soon, I had to start the process. As I listened to the jazz pianist maestro, I heard his famed grunts and groans during the recording of his most well-known concert. When I was younger, I thought these expressions came from a place of passion and rapture. After hearing a report on this performance, I now know these are sounds of pure frustration over limitations. It turns out, the only piano available had high and low notes that were not functioning. He was forced to play within a limited range, and the music he made put him on the map.
We all have limitations in our lives. Necessary tasks take away from the endless hours I wish I had to paint. My own lovely children (two boys, ages 12 & 13), have presented limitations in my life that I continue to grapple with. As my mother ages, I have a feeling she will replace my children as a force that draws me away from the easel. However, as I study oil painting more, I realize that there is freedom in limitations. The wisdom and revelations of the Zorn palette is a classic example. I will share here a very real application of limitations, and how it freed my painting to become more nuanced and focused.
During the waning days of lockdown, I decided to further my studies with a year of color theory with Skip Whitcomb (through the Tucson Academy). His research into the lost art of color schemes is invaluable. Concurrently, I was gifted a lifetime collection of oil paints by a former student who could no longer paint. Gazing at the rainbow array of paint tubes that I would normally never purchase, I realized Skip’s class came at the perfect time. How can I make sense of this variety? How can I be intentional with my palette so that my paintings don’t end up looking garish? Skip’s course and this gift gave me some answers.
As I progressed in the class, Skip tasked us with finding the colors that emerge from set color schemes: triads, complementary, double-complementary, split complementary, and so on. I discovered one of my favorite color schemes, a complementary plan of red and green: Cadmium Scarlet, Alizarin Crimson, and Transparent Red Oxide, across from Viridian and Cadmium Green. I completed the prerequisite color map using these hues. In Skip’s class, we used a variety of values to explore what a particular color scheme can produce. If it gives us what we need, we can proceed with a finished piece. The studio piece I finished with this plan is called Wildland Revival.
Fast-forward to this past spring: I got a call to join some friends for a painting trip in Southeast Utah. Wanting to field-test this limited palette idea, I brought the red-green collection of paints. I threw in a full range of hues, just in case I lost my nerve, or if they truly did not provide the needed range. My intention was to explore this red-green scheme to its outer limits, and it did not disappoint.
Just as that rainbow collection of paint tubes presented an overwhelming number of options, so too did the grand beauty of SE Utah give me too many paths to take. By limiting my palette and relying on the grace of color relativity, I was able to control the other wild cards in the landscape. My viridian began to sing of blue skies and cool shadows. The cadmium green offered warm yellow tones to complement the violet canyon walls. What could have been considered stifling became a way to explore the area in bite-size, digestible ways.
Here are a few paintings completed on that trip, including Tapestry, which was accepted in the OPA Western Regional Exhibit this autumn in Dallas, TX.
Time limitations in my life have spurred a disciplined approach to managing my routine and blocking out my day. Geographic limitations, such as living far from a city center, force me to appreciate what the local landscape has to offer. And, by choosing a limited palette, I can focus on other aspects of a painting, knowing that there will be an inherent harmony in the end. As long as those factors meet my basic needs, I am usually better off keeping things simple. It’s amazing how much I discover within the confines of limitations. I become free from dependence on variety and surplus.
Ann Watcher says
Your paintings are gorgeous, Chula! Thank you for sharing your process and studies with Skip. And tell your sweet mom I say hello!
Chula says
Thanks Ann! Yes, I will definitely say hi :). If you haven’t taken it, I would highly recommend Skip’s class to reign in all those hues. Hope you’re doing well!
Susan Hediger Matteson says
Great article!
Kathryn Riedinger says
Well said, Chula!! Love your desert painting and the harmony you created with that set. Thanks for writing this blog!
Steve says
Having just returned from a trip to that region, I can so empathize with the good fortune of being able to apply those skill sets you have adopted.
Bravo, on some wonderful paintings
Lesley Elle Pritchard says
Excellent, Chula. Met you in Steamboat and was impressed with your work and your approach. Lived out West for 26 years myself so love the Utah pieces! Beautiful!!
Ellen Buselli says
You had me at Kieth Jarret Koln Concert. I did not know his vocals were expressing frustration! Great article, Wonderful paintings. Thank you for sharing your work and thoughts about your painting journey.
April Silverman says
I agree! I have found, when i limit my range of colors, my painting is more cohesive and striking—even at tmes more dramatic! And less to clean up besides!!!
Rosemary says
Chula’s paintings are fantastic. Her limited palette did no limit her imagination or the beauty of the landscapes she painted.
I like the limited color schemes as they challenge me to create not only the color but the value that I need.
Marshall L Griffith says
I wonder if Glenn Gould’s grunts and groans were frustrations like Jarett’s? Gould was well known to grunt and groan during his performances of Bac. Leonard Bernstein once warned an audience before a performance by Gould performing Bach that he, Leonard Bernstein, did not know what would happen during the concert, because Gould would play spontaneously without regard to the ‘script’. It was a great concert! So, my take on what you have written Chula, my dear Linnea,
Swedish flower, is to be as spontaneous as you can be when you have the time.
Marshall
Rick Rotante says
the issue I find with many artists pallets is there are too many colors. many of which are just cool or warms of the same hue . It is good to experiment with color but too many colors confuse the issue. simplicity in every aspect of painting is best. long ago I settled on a limited pallet and can create landscape, flesh tones and still lifes with no trouble at all. As an exercise, one year I used the Zorn pallet and it’s convinced me a limited pallet was best generally. I am more concerned with the graying of hues than vibrancy. I like the work shown in the article. thanks
Debby Macswain says
As much as I love all of your paintings and appreciate your use of oils, it is your feelings and understanding of life’s limitations that make this article very special.
A Cremins says
Lovely work, and inspiring perception about your process! Thanks so much for this, Chula Beauregard!
A. Cremins says
Lovely work and inspiring perception on your process! Thank you, Chula Beauregard!
Bobbie Flintrop says
Beautiful work! Thank you Chula for confirming that painting time is precious in our busy “real” lives, and that we are not alone in our process of carving out easel time. I too took Master Skip’s color course at TAAO during COVID lockdown … what a life changer for my painting too … who knew that less could be more! Allowing yourself the permission to take precious time to experiment and create these color charts is worth the effort and is definitely reflected in the resonating harmonies in your paintings.
Jennifer Black says
The colors are stunning.
Jill DeTemple says
Love this post Chula. I enjoyed seeing your very intentional and carefully considered palette choices in Steamboat. Thanks for sharing!