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.
Your intuition paid off. The blue is vibrant.
Thanks, Warren! Glad the blue didn’t offend your eye.
I looked at the painting a few days ago and wondered what blue you used. I think it makes the river pop nicely. I also love the rhythm of the trees and the diagonals that make the river flow.
Thanks, Irene! I enjoyed painting the mountain and the trees. The middle ground was more difficult. Water is so hard to paint.
Beautiful! The different hues work well together. And you’d think any shade of blue would work for water. Shows you how much I know…lol
I love colors. Remember the crayons we used when we were kids? All those colors to choose from. I love finding new colors and mixing colors to make new shades of color. Water is the hardest, I think, because it has reflected colors in it, like the trees and the shoreline in this painting.