Oil Painting

The Art of Gradation

Lori Putnam · Jan 19, 2015 · 5 Comments

One of the more overlooked technical devices in creating a painting with sophisticated interest, is gradation. Although it is easy to think of gradation in terms of color or value, by extending your gradation vocabulary in all aspects of the work you can add interest, excitement, passive and active passages, elicit specific responses from viewers of the art, and produce paintings that invoke mood, time, and feeling in a more calculated way.
COLOR AND VALUE
Before we look at more advanced ideas, let’s look at a few common examples of using gradated color and/or value in the landscape. If you paint landscapes, you may have been taught to apply gradation of lighter to darker or warmer to cooler in a large expansive sky. Not being one to fall back on formulas, I suggest my students begin to recognize when this truly happens in nature, at what times of day and with which specific colors and values rather than automatically reverting to this concept in every single case. Sometimes the sky may also gradate from warm to cool (or vice versa) as it spans from left to right rather than from horizon to Zenith. Learning which of these devices to use to convey a specific idea can strengthen your landscapes and keep them from all looking the same.

Gradation of color and value can also be useful when painting other subjects. In a still life, for example, you might use a gradation in the background from left to right and from top to bottom. Notice in this quick head sketch how color gradates and alternates from warm to cool to warm to cool to warm to cool as it wraps around the form of the form.

Christine in Thoughtc — Christina in Thought sketch demonstrating three gradations of warm to cool

Still another way to think of using gradation with color, is by varying the amount of color intensity from very neutral to extremely chromatic. Notice here, from left to right, we experience neutral, chroma, less chroma, neutral. See how the most intense chroma is where I want you to linger the longest when you look at the painting. I use this same type of gradation many times in the landscape to move the viewer’s eye around the painting, lend atmospheric perspective, and add interest.

Satsuma Oranges uses the most intense chroma in the reflected light at the bottom of the second orange, and gradates slowly more neutral both left and right from there.

SHAPE, LINE, EDGE, and TEXTURE
Now, let’s take a look at gradation and how it can be useful in reference to other technical aspects of painting.

CastelSant'Angelo — Castel Sant’Angelo is an example of large and small shapes, strokes, line, and edge variation

When it comes to shapes, gradation suggests a hierarchy of importance in the different areas of the piece. Some areas of this piece are still very simple, large masses; similar in color and/or value, allowing the viewer’s eye to have “rest.” Other areas have been broken down into smaller and smaller shapes which draw you in and make you want to explore each shape’s meaning. Rather than describing, or detailing, every aspect of the painting in the same manner, leaving some areas quiet, others more exciting, and still others greatly defined can add interest to your work.
In this same painting, notice how the edges are gradated. See how they are much sharper and harder in the most important parts of the painting, and gradually become lost and soft as they radiate away from them.

Down to the Sea, implores gradation of color, neutral, value, edges, line, shape, texture, and thickness of paint.

A pleasing aesthetic and one which I use often, is the use of paint-thickness gradation. This painting shows us how some areas of paint are applied as thin washes. Still others seem to have one or two additional “coats” of paint. As the painting is completed, paint gradually gets thicker and thicker until final areas are closer to impasto. By using this type of gradation, we can gain texture and depth in a piece. The same is true here using gradation of line. Notice there are wide legato-like strokes as well as staccato-like, tiny accents. These two devices alone can increase impact in your work.

Practice seeing and using gradation as many ways as you can. Then edit and use the types that work best for your subject. This sort of experimentation brings a load of learning at the easel and buzz and excitement to your next exhibition.

On Workshops – Can't get there? Bring 'em here!

Kim Abbati · Jan 12, 2015 · Leave a Comment

So many great artists, so many great places to see them, just not possible? Bring them to you!
If you’re like me, and most artists I know, you dream of going away to a workshop to immerse yourself for a week (or more) coming back full of knowledge and new approaches and having taken giant steps forward in your work learning from the masters. But let’s face it, we can’t all do that. Your resources may not allow for the expense of workshop plus travel and lodging, you may not be able to take the time away from family and/or work, or you may be holding back because you aren’t at the ‘right level’ yet.
There is a solution, a way to ease in, invite the artist to your home art league or organization. If you are not already in one, join one!
There are many advantages to bringing the masters to you. Here’s the who, what, wheres, hows and why from convenience to affordability to the truest value of it all.

The Woodlands Art League hosted it’s first guest artist in 2010. Our league had already been running a weekly portrait group at various locations for three years by then. It grew form 5-7 of us asking friends and neighbors to sit for us to over 20 dedicated artists. It branched out into an evening group with occasional themed 6-week sessions and an email list of over 50 artists. We could definitely host and fill a portrait workshop! That’s the what.
Where to have it is the next thing to consider. Our league had a retail space for a gallery with a back room big enough for classes and workshops. The convenience of your own space is that you can set up ahead of time and leave supplies and work out over night all week long. You can run successful workshops at community centers, libraries, church trailers, and even hotel meeting rooms (we’ve done three of the four.) If you do have to pack up and take everything out with you every day have a few extra facilitators to help with set up every morning. It will be very hard for artists in the workshop to do the set up and take down every day and still get everything out of the workshop that they desire. Our league is made up of volunteer members so we can divide the work up under the guidance of a workshop director. Cost of space is part of your workshop fee of course. If you have the means, use them. If you don’t, be creative! In our town there are grocery stores with community areas built for local organizations to use. To keep cost down check these things out. Figure out rental fees or percentages of workshop costs to make it profitable as well.
Another where is the place your guest artist will stay. Being in a league/organization helps. WAL has members willing to host visiting artists, both teachers and students, during workshops. This really keeps your workshop fee as low as possible, and helps those attending from just a few hours away from having to spend on lodging. Do make this one of the first questions you ask a potential visiting artist. If they are willing to stay with a member that is wonderful, let the member also serve as their chauffeur for the workshop. If they are not willing to stay with a member, wonderful too–they are still coming! But you will have to find a hotel and that along with their transportation to and from hotel will add significantly to your workshop fee. Nonprofit organizations like WAL do get discounted rates at hotels for workshop artists.

You’ve got the what, wheres, and how, now about the who. There are many master artists that travel and teach and love to find new places to share their passion. We all have our list of favorites. It’s just a matter of connecting. Being from Chicago, I’ve taken classes at the Palette and Chisel Academy of Fine Art. Clayton J. Beck III has been inspiring portrait artists for many years there with his annual 50 Heads/5 Weeks summer course. With a traveling husband and kids on summer break, I’d only gotten there for a couple of weeks in a number of years. I had just taken my third workshop with Clayton when I asked if he would consider coming down to Texas. It was that simple.
His first workshop for The Woodlands Art League was two weeks long. It was a great success. He has since returned in 2011 and 2014. We are planning his fourth workshop here for June 2015.
So that’s the priceless value of bringing a master artist to your group–building a relationship. As artists painting together, growing together, with guidance from a master artist, our abilities develop along with our friendships and our commitment. As Clayton says, “I see the progress as I return to a student and know the marks they are making on the canvas are done with greater understanding and ability. Very rewarding as a teacher to see such thing. I tell the students they are painting in the workshop to let me directly into their thoughts. It helps to know what a painter needs to hear so I have direction as a teacher.”

Speaking directly to the level of artist or those who think producing “masterpieces” is the goal of the workshop, Clayton explains, “Their goal in the workshop should not be to “finish.” The goal should be to maintain a thought and direction for the work above all. The reward is that in their own studios they can without pressure, paint their own works with greater understanding. Most of the visible progress is seen in the months following rather than the actual work done in the workshop.”
Proof–a few words from artists that attended his latest September workshop:
“I experienced a delayed absorption of information, because it wasn’t until weeks after the workshop that the words Clayton shared impacted my thinking and my approach to my artwork.”
Julie Graham
“What a lesson! After the demo already I felt I’d ‘leveled up’ as an artist! Clayton’s voice is still present as I work my own pieces and repeated in my elementary classroom as I share and remind my students of the importance of making every visible application intentional.”
Abby Salazar President, Woodlands Art League
“I hear Clayton’s words, “Is it in the light or in the dark?” I am reminded to put brushstrokes down only if I am sure that temperature and value are right. I think about area of emphasis and this new “awareness” makes me go back to reading and researching and putting it into practice every time I paint.”
Carolina Dalmas

“Judy Confronts her Canvas”, Painting by Suzie Baker done during a plein air demonstration by Judy Carducci.

“Beck was very accommodating by allowing me to join the group as a beginner…taught us to go through the creative process by thinking visually and taking language out of it. I found it difficult to process all the nuances of light and shadow and temperature and mix my paint colors while studying the model at the same time! I had to remind myself to keep calm and paint on…By the end of the week I felt like I experienced a visual awakening so to speak. Now I was looking at art a completely different way.”
Jill Behrens
“When I have an opportunity to study with one of these artists that WAL brings in, I jump at the chance. Not having to pay for my own room, board and transportation makes workshops exceptionally affordable. I’ve taken local workshops with Judy Carducci, Clayton J Beck III, and Rob Liberace. Each time I have studied with these great teachers, I’ve been able to adjust my own sensibilities and I’ve seen a maturing in my own work.”
Suzie Baker
The impact of the master artist can be felt throughout your home league and your community, not just those in the workshop. Ask your guest artist to participate in an evening reception open to all members and the public at large. By hosting an Artist Reception and Demo those not in the workshop still have the chance to meet the master and learn, still get a chance to build a relationship and grow. AND you spark interest for your upcoming workshops!

Image of Clayton J Beck III Artist Reception and Demo

Since Clayton’s first visit to WAL, we have also hosted Robert Liberace twice (his third workshop with us is February 3-7, 2015) and Judy Carducci. Our newest master artist workshop is scheduled for May 18-22, 2015, with Ohio artist Stanka Kordic. Stanka’s visit represents the latest and quickest way to make art connections and shows the great power of the online artist community ((complete with an inquiry sent to us from someone interested from Iceland!!)). Stanka posted on Facebook “thinking about giving workshops” and I immediately messaged “interested in coming down to Texas?”

There ya go–it’s that easy to bring the master artist to you!

My Favorite Photo-Editing Tool: Instagram. Right on your Phone.

Aimee Erickson · Jan 6, 2015 · 1 Comment

There are moments when I feel like I’ve been waiting my whole life for the iPhone and Instagram to be invented. I so often see things that catch my eye—everyday scenes, sweet little compositions, visually appealing scenes I notice. My sketchbook is one way I observe and record this stuff— I have a whole shelf of sketchbooks. Painting right on the spot is another. But sometimes I am just not fast enough—the scene might be fleeting, or I might be fleeting. This is when a camera comes in handy, especially when it is already in my pocket. Usually my photos don’t quite show what I saw, though, because my photography skills are only fair to middling, plus the camera is indiscriminate and my eye is usually picking out some particular thing.
Instagram has a dozen or so built-in filters that change the look of a photograph. By changing the color and contrast, by darkening the edges (“vignetting”), by using selective focus and blurring the rest of the photo—and you can control all these effects individually—it allows you to see different ways of visually interpreting the same scene. Just play around with it until you get the effect you like. Pretty neat.
Now of course iPhone photos are not terribly high-res, particularly after you crop to an area that is maybe one-fiftieth the size of the original (like I did in the example above). But so what. I’m using them as reference for paintings, or just to make a photo for my own entertainment. If I paint from it I don’t need that much detail anyway.
If you want to save the edited photo to your phone’s camera roll without publishing it on your Insty feed, just do a screen capture when you’re done editing, and then crop it in your photo viewer

Edited photos can be used as scrap for paintings just the way we used to use regular old print photos. I mostly try to get the composition I want and then make the color how I want it.

Here are some of the effects you can get, applied to a photo of a still-life setup.

As painters we have an ability–some say an obligation–to make choices about how we see, what we choose to put into a painting from all the visual information available to us. Expanding and strengthening this ability is important. In a way, Instagram can show us different ways to interpret an image–seeing more or less contrast, joining shadows together or showing definition in shadow, showing more or less color.

Debra Joy Groesser Interview

Mr. John Pototschnik · Dec 8, 2014 · 1 Comment

Debra Groesser is a signature member of the American Impressionist Society, American Plains Artists, and Plein Air Artists Colorado. She’s an associate member of the Oil Painters of America, and American Women Artists…and she’s on the Board of PAAC.
This folks is your current president of the American Impressionist Society…one busy lady to say the least.
It took several months to finally complete this interview, but I believe you’ll find it worth the wait. I first met Debra a couple of years ago in the Flint Hills of Kansas during a plein air event organized by Kim Casebeer. I found Debra to be a delightful person.
There is more to this interview than shown here, so I will include some of her other comments in future blog topics I have planned. I hope you enjoy the interview.

What’s the correct pronunciation of your name?
Grow-sir.
How did you first become interested in art and what led you to becoming a professional?
I just remember always being interested in drawing. My favorite thing to do as a child was to copy the illustrations out of my story books. I also copied the words and by doing that, taught myself to read at age four. My favorite book was “Barbie Goes to a Party”. I would love to find a copy of it! Back in the days of Romper Room (giving away my age here), they would put pictures up on the TV screen for kids to draw and mail in to the TV station. My mother sent one of mine in when I was three and they put it on TV…I don’t remember it but I guess you could say that was the start.

Heading Into the Storm - 12"x 30" - Oil — Heading Into the Storm – 12″x 30″ – Oil

In my coloring books I always put light and shadow on everything. It was never just flat coloring. I had a friend in 5th grade when we moved to Nebraska who was also very artistic. Instead of playing the usual games that kids played, we would draw for hours. We set up tennis shoes, still life’s, drew the trees in the yard…anything we could find. I just loved it. From there, I took every art class I could in high school and then earned my BFA degree in college (studio art/painting).
After graduating, I married my first husband, and began working as a graphic artist for a local bank. I tried to do a little painting when I could find time. My husand decided to start a home building company in 1980. We had two children, and when they were almost two and four, I left my graphics job to stay home. For the next couple of years, I did the bookkeeping for my husband’s business, painted and did freelance graphics work when the kids napped and at night after they went to bed. That lasted a couple of years until it became necessary to get my real estate license so I could help my husband’s business by selling his homes. Ironically, the week that I was waiting for the results of my real estate test, Denise Burns, founder of Plein Air Painters of America, was in our town to teach an oil painting workshop, which I attended. She really inspired me and encouraged me to pursue my art (the painting I did in that workshop still hangs in my studio next to my easel).

I passed the real estate test and, reluctantly, ended up having to put my art career on hold. With two small children, the demands and time commitment of a real estate career and still doing the bookkeeping for the home building business, there was no time for art (other than drawing architectural renderings to advertise the homes we built). Three years later, we divorced.
Throughout my time in real estate, I never lost sight of the goal of returning to my art career someday. I always considered myself an artist first, and real estate was just temporary.

Silver Symphony - 14"x 18" - Oil — Silver Symphony – 14″x 18″ – Oil

In late 1991 I married my husband Don, with whose love and support I was able to return to my art career. By this time I was doing architectural illustrations for several home builders and little pen and ink drawings (sometimes with watercolor added) of people’s homes to give as closing gifts. I also did note cards printed from my pen and ink drawings of homes. Soon, other realtors started ordering my drawings and cards for their own clients. Eventually I got to the point that I was earning almost as much from the “house portraits” as I was from selling real estate.
I started painting again a couple of years later. When Don saw my paintings and how happy it made me to be painting, he encouraged me to let go of the real estate career and get back to creating my art full time. We remodeled our basement into a small classroom where I taught art classes for children. I painted, and continued doing the house portraits, renderings and graphic work. Eventually, my art took over the spare bedroom, the basement, the office and then the dining room. At that point, in 1996, we bought a small building in our little downtown area and remodeled it to house my studio, a large classroom, a frame shop and a gallery…and I let my real estate license go. That freed up my days for art and my evenings and weekends for family time. Each year we analyzed which areas of my art business were profitable for the amount of time and money being spent, and reviewed and set new goals. I closed the gallery after four years to spend more time producing my own work, and eventually stopped doing commercial framing for the same reason. Next, I let go of the renderings and graphics work, and started scaling back on the house portraits (which were all deadline oriented and not as enjoyable as painting) so I could concentrate just on painting.

The Promise - 10"x 20" - Oil — The Promise – 10″x 20″ – Oil

Also in 1996, the same year we opened the downtown studio, I began taking one painting workshop a year to help improve my painting skills. The first one was with Tom Browning in 1996. In 1999, my first plein air workshop was with Kevin Macpherson in Bermuda…AND I FOUND MY PASSION. I went on to study with Kevin several more times as well as Kenn Backhaus, John Cosby, Kim English and Scott Christensen. Other than traveling to workshops, I stayed pretty close to home until my children graduated from high school. I began entering juried shows and competitions, first locally, then regionally, and finally nationally. Being accepted into several, and winning a few awards, brought attention from some gallery owners and resulted in representation by three of the four galleries who currently represent me. Although I’d been a full time artist (which included painting too) for about ten years, my goal was to be a full time painter. I made that transition about seven years ago.These days, I try to paint during the day and do my marketing in the afternoons and evenings. Some weeks I’ll set aside a couple of days just for marketing. I spend probably about as much time on the business side of art as I do actually producing art.

Faith Strength, and Perseverance - 24"x 24" - Oil — Faith Strength, and Perseverance – 24″x 24″ – Oil

What is your role as president of the American Impressionist Society?
I’m still very much in the learning process since I’ve only been in this position since the end of January of this year. Communication and coordination best describe the biggest roles I have at this point, and working with the board, the founders and the officers. The first priority was to get to work on our 14th Annual National Juried Exhibition with our Show Chair, Suzanne Morris, who had already been working hard on the show for a few weeks. The show will be held at M Gallery in Charleston SC in October. I’ve worked on things like writing the show prospectus, arranging for the workshop in conjunction with the show, communicating with our web designer, recruiting volunteers to help with various aspects of the show, updating the AIS Facebook page as needed, and writing communication for the membership. Now that the online entry system for the national show is active, I’m fielding questions from members and helping however I can. I’m actively seeking ideas and suggestions for new opportunities and ways to serve our membership so we can continue to build on what is already a great organization. We already have one exciting thing in the works…but as nothing is finalized yet, you’ll have to stay tuned for more information as it progresses.

Red Onion with Garlic - 5"x 7" - Oil — Red Onion with Garlic – 5″x 7″ – Oil

There are so many art groups today that differentiate themselves according to medium, subject matter, style, region of the country, or even gender…what are your feelings about that?
There really are a lot of them. I think that many of these groups do give artists a place where they feel their art fits in (style, medium, subject matter), as well as opportunities to meet other artists, network, paint together, take part in workshops and, often, group exhibitions. The main thing I’ve done is research what they offer and decide which of the groups fit my needs, my goals and my work. My style of painting is more impressionistic and I do a lot of plein air painting, so I’ve done well with AIS and plein air groups, such as Laguna Plein Air Painters and Plein Air Artists Colorado, as opposed to other groups who, for example, favor tighter realism. There are not a lot of artists in the area where I live, but through one fairly new group, the Missouri Valley Impressionist Society, I’ve been able to connect with many artists who live in about a three hour radius of me. Through MVIS I can participate in paint outs and exhibits closer to home that I otherwise would not have known about. I paint landscapes, but I also do portraits and figurative pieces, so I’ve been encouraged to join the Portrait Society of America, which I’m now seriously considering. In my experience, there are a lot of benefits to be gained from being a member of a group or groups.
Several contemporary art movements seem to have a pretty fuzzy definition as to what fits into their “movement”…What is your definition of Impressionism? Is it merely surface appearance, intention, a philosophy…or is there more to it?
Impressionism is more about spontaneously capturing a moment in time, an “impression” of the subject, by carefully observing and quickly rendering the effects of light on the subject, the colors, the atmosphere, movement. Impressionist paintings are representational with visible brushstrokes but without a great amount of detail (think plein air paintings as the most obvious example). Tightly rendered pieces with a lot of detail and smooth surfaces wouldn’t fit into that definition. The American Impressionist Society, Inc. defines American Impressionism as “the concern for light on form, color, and brushstrokes. It allows equal latitude between these attributes, and recognizes not a single definitive element, but several factors – including high key light and hue, visual breakdown of detail, concern for contemporary life, and cultivation of direct and spontaneous approaches to a subject”.

Just Chillin’ in the Shade - 14"x 18" - Oil — Just Chillin’ in the Shade – 14″x 18″ – Oil

What proportion of your work is done en plein air?
Probably about 70 to 75%.
What qualifies as a plein air painting?
There are so many different opinions on this subject. To me, if the majority of the piece is painted outdoors, on locatoin, from direct observation, from life, it qualifies as plein air. Now “majority” can mean different things to different people. I think some touch ups in the studio are permissible for it to still be considered plein air. I have a couple of pieces I did in Zion National Park that need tweeking, but probably 85-90% of these pieces were completed on location. Just because I will finish them in the studio, the overwhelming majority of each was plein air. In my opinion, they will still qualify as plein air. I’ve had to paint from inside my car during rain and thunderstorms, and because I’m painting it from life, on location, from the actual observation of the scene in front of me, I consider that plein air as well.

What are the major problems encountered when translating a field study to a large studio painting?
The major problem is to translate that freshness and immediacy that you achieve in the field on to the canvas in the studio…it’s very, very difficult. So much of that freshness is achieved because the time is limited in the field…the conditions are changing so rapidly that to capture the scene, you have to paint quickly and more intuitively. In the studio, there are no time constraints. The light isn’t going away. The shadows aren’t moving. There is much more time to think about what you’re doing and that in itself takes away from that original feel of the field study. I no longer try to make the studio pieces be an enlarged ‘copy’ of the field studies. Instead I use the studies as color reference and inspiration. It frees me up to play with composition, color, mood, etc, in the larger paintings and is much more fun.
What advice do you have for a first-time plein air painter?
Keep it simple! Pack as lightly and as compact as you can when it comes to your gear. There are a lot of options out there for equipment. Be sure to have a hat with a good brim, sunscreen, bug spray and plenty of water to drink. Avoid wearing bright colors when you paint outdoors as they will reflect onto your canvas and skew the color in your painting. Keep your canvas and palette out of the direct sunlight…even if it means having your subject behind you. Keep your compositions simple. Block in your shadows first and commit to them. Avoid ‘chasing the light’ (changing your painting as the light changes). Work quickly.

Hidden Treasures - 18"x 24" - Oil — Hidden Treasures – 18″x 24″ – Oil

What are your artistic goals for 2013?
To stay organized, to successfully serve and lead AIS and find new opportunities for our members, to produce another 20 paintings for the solo exhibition this fall with historical works by artist Abby Williams Hill, to have a successful National Juried Exhibition for Plein Air Artists Colorado (I serve on the PAAC board and am the show chair this year), be more consistent with my blog, to get out and paint on location locally as much as possible, and to create a new body of seascape paintings from the plein air studies and reference photos from a recent trip to California. I will be traveling and painting for a month this fall as well.
Thanks Debra for your time, for your active participation in so many art organizations…and for your boundless energy. From your resume, it’s pretty obvious…you’re not done yet.

The Value of Color Charts

Kim Carlton · Dec 1, 2014 · 11 Comments

My advice—my plea to you—is to do the charts for your sake. (Do not use mine.) The charts are not a sure-fire gimmick guaranteed to make you a color wizard, but they are the best way I know of to understand your pigments and enter the study of color on sound footing. Take your time; don’t be in a rush just to get them done. Stay alert and see what is happening, not only on your palette, but within yourself. Impatience will well up, so will exasperation as you make mistakes or struggle with decisions about the right color and value, but I urge you to stick with it. In a way, the charts are intended to be somewhat agonizing so that you will develop the patience and self-control so necessary in painting. It should be like an initiation ritual before what is to come, so you may endure it without giving up.
Richard Schmid, Alla Prima
I begin with this quote because, seriously, anything that Richard Schmid pleads with his readers to do is worth consideration. The discipline of charting color might be compared to learning to read music or understanding grammar. I know some great musicians who play “by ear,” and writers who know nothing about the rules of grammar, but they will admit that they wish they had that academic knowledge in their hip pocket. Color charts are like that. You may not learn everything possible about color by doing them, but you will have, as Richard said, “sound footing” to begin your journey. You will also have confidence, knowing you’ve done your work.
The purpose of the charts is to show how each color on your palette relates to all the other colors there. You will want a chart for every color, to see how that particular color interacts with one other color, and then how their offspring look when mixed with white. Each chart will show the influence of the dominant color on the other colors. You will be able to tell by looking which color is represented in the chart; your red chart’s red/yellow will not look like your yellow chart’s yellow/red. You will add white as you go down, tinting each color until it’s all but white; across the bottom, all the lightest lights should be the same value. Most of the other colors start out at different places on the value scale, so the other rows will have a variety of values. Even though you can tell by looking, it’s still a good idea to label all the columns.
Here’s what you will need: ¼ inch masking tape (easiest to buy online; costs about $2.00), a pencil and ruler, one or two small palette knives (the second one can scrape the first, you won’t have to wash brushes between each color, and your squares will be pretty), and of course your paints, palette, paper towels and canvas. When I am teaching color, I start with four colors (plus white) in order to reveal the unlimited potential of a limited palette. This number of colors fortuitously fits perfectly on a piece of 14×11 canvas, which can be bought in tablets.

Materials

Here’s how you prepare your canvas: It’s easier to work on a tabletop for this than using an easel. Tape the canvas to a board to allow yourself freedom to spin the chart around as you fill the squares. Measure out a quarter of an inch for the width of the tape, then an inch for each square, and repeat for every color. Make tic marks with your pencil, rather than lines, to indicate placement. Put the quarter-inch tape between the marks and leave a tag hanging off the end for you to pull when you’re done. Place all vertical tapes first, followed by all horizontal tapes. You will carefully remove the tape as soon as you are done with each chart (don’t wait till later!); it is easy to pull the horizontals off first, then the verticals. Now write the initials of the colors you will be charting. For example, the colors I use for the limited palette are Transparent Oxide Brown, Ultramarine Blue, Cadmium Red, and Cadmium Yellow Pale: TOB, U, CR, and CY. The Transparent Oxide Brown chart will have these headings on the columns: TOB, TOB/U, TOB/CR, and TOB/CY. Note that the size of your chart/canvas will be determined by the numbers of colors and values you want to explore. For the limited palette, I chose four colors and five value steps, so I will have four across and five down, plus some space between each chart. Measure it out accordingly.

Prepared Canvas

Here’s how you create your chart: Understand that this is an exercise for your eyes, mind, body, and soul. It will demand your full involvement in a most personal way as you begin a real dialog with your colors. Give yourself lots of latitude, grace, and hours.
The order that the colors are laid out on your charts is a personal choice. Some people want the order of colors to be the same on every chart; others prefer that the dominant color leads on every chart and the rest fall in behind it. How you lay your colors out is a choice you make based on how you want to see your colors. To me, it makes sense to start with the dominant color, so I can see at a glance which chart it is. Then the other colors follow according to their value, so that whether reading across or down, they start with dark and move toward light. Lay yours out in the order that makes sense to you.
Allot a nice big pile of the color you’re charting on the palette and another pile of white. Your first color is always the easiest, as you only have the one color, plus white. The square you fill first is the top left one— pure, untinted, unmixed color. The second one you’ll mix is the last box on the column; it is nearly white. To mix that, start with a pile of white and add just the tiniest spot of color to it. All the bottom boxes on your chart will be the same value: nearly white. The value of the other squares will be determined by the value of your master color.
You will be working one column at a time, taking five value steps with each color. The first column of each chart is the master color’s value scale. All the other columns will show this master color’s effect on the rest of the palette’s colors. Here is the first column for the limited palette chart:

First Color Column

When you have your first and last colors laid in, you will mix the value that is right in the middle of those two. Mix it and hold it on your knife over the two color values on your chart and ask yourself which it favors more, the pure color or the lightest tint. This is when your colors really start talking to you. When you finally mix a color value that favors neither, you have your middle square. The last two colors are halfway between each of these: one is halfway between pure color and middle color value, the other is between middle color value and lightest possible value.
The next column will be a little bit more complicated, as you are adding another whole dimension: you’re making not only value decisions but also color decisions, as you mix color columns that show two colors in which one dominates the other. It should be clear on each chart that you’re showing a certain color as it’s influenced by other colors. You then create the tint steps in the value scale for each.

First Chart Before and After

As you are working, remember that this is your chart and no one is timing or grading you. Let it be a joyous experience, with not one nerve wracked and nary a tear shed. Scrape your mistakes and don’t worry about the squares; your tape is in place to keep you tidy. You will be so surprised when you pull the tape off and see how beautiful your work looks. When I first finished mine, I put them on my studio wall because it was just so satisfying to look at them; like a lovely rainbow of harmonies. But they had to come down. They are a tool, and just like the tools on the pegboard, they have another use besides looking pretty on the wall. I use them for teaching and for note-taking in the field. A good field sketch combined with informed color notes is invaluable back in the studio.

Limited Palette Color Chart

When you’re finished with all your color charts, you may want to varnish them after a few months to ensure their long life. You can keep them with you as loose canvas pieces or cut them out, hole-punch one side of them and put them in a binder, or you can just keep them in transparent sleeves. When you want to add a new color to your palette, it is good practice to create a new chart for it, to see if it can play nicely with your other colors. Some very nice colors are too weak or too aggressive to fit in with the family. Subjecting them to the scrutiny of the chart is a quick qualifier for contenders.
It’s easy to see how your mind and eyes are challenged by the creation of color charts, as all the measuring is intellectual and visual. If you try to literally measure part-for-part, you will not have an accurate chart because every pigment has a different saturating power. So, your mind and eyes are about to get smarter. You will not find how it challenges your body until you start the process. You will then be amazed at how physically demanding this assignment is. This isn’t for sissies. And as for the soul… ultimately your choices, as objective as this process seems, will be determined by how you feel. It can’t be taught. You will only get it when you do it. This is why charts must be done and not just seen. It’s also why the color charts vary between different artists, and why Richard Schmid can say that he learns something new every time he makes a new set. He is still making new charts for himself! And since he’s been painting longer than a lot of us have been breathing, perhaps it really is a worthwhile thing to try.