Unexpected colors
My teacher, Eric Wiegardt, says that he chooses his colors “intuitively” when he’s painting. What he means is he picks his colors out of the palette by what feels right emotionally. He doesn’t get all hung up on what’s the right color to match the scene he’s painting, but he just grabs the paint that feels right. The result is paintings that sing with color.
Last Wednesday I drove to the mouth of the Hamma Hamma River on Hood Canal and made this painting. I tried to be a little more intuitive about my color choices, and the vivid blue of the water is the result. The color is thalo blue, which I rarely use because it’s so strong. It seemed garish at first, but after I moved it around a little bit, I decided that it was a good choice because it adds energy to the painting.
I made this painting on the way to a church meeting in Hoodsport. It took me awhile to find a good location, but finally I found a place to park on the side of the highway and clambered down a short path to the tide flat where I could paint in peace. I finished just in time to get back to the car and make it to my meeting.