Tuesday, May 18, 2010


Lilac Home, Sydenham Road   10" x 12"   o/p 

It is that time of spring when  lilacs seem to flood my part of the world.
The countryside is alive with their colour, and the air is full of their fragrance.

I used my limited palette for this particular painting, with the addition of a medium
gray and some raw sienna. Medium was used in the early stages and at the end
when adding highlights.

Now that I see the painting reproduced as above, I have reservations about their close values .
In order to better compare the values of the colours, I have reproduced the painting in a
black and white photo or, in other words,  as a continuous tone photograph.


After comparing the two photographs, my feeling
is that the right side could have been painted with less contrast.

Well, paint and learn..

'till next...

4 comments:

René PleinAir said...

Wow what a soup, I would run screaming away with such flat value, ...

Great one, Frank one of a special level!

What,s the limited palette?

Frank A. said...

Rene--Thank you for your post and comment. I have been experimenting with some crazy things. Some I feel are successful and some not so. :~)(Black)
The limited palette is.. not unlike yours. ultramarine blue, Alizarin, Cad yellow med., lemon yellow, tit white. in this case I added gray and raw sienna.
The gray was middle, so it was neither dark nor light. Probably the reason for the close values.

Take care, Rene., thanks again..

Shirley Marshall said...

The painting is lovely !! It sits well with me - I don't feel as if it is unbalanced. What the black and white picture doesn't show is the bright red of the roof which holds up the balance of the darks on the right.

Frank A. said...

...Thanks Alice for your compliment and explanation ! I see it ..

I will use that quote to justify the values and balance in the painting when queried. I like it !

"What the black and white picture doesn't show is the bright red of the roof which holds up the balance of the darks on the right."

Take care..