A reader asked me why I don't usually work on colored paper. It was a good question. I didn't really have a good answer so I told her I'd think about it and answer in the blog. I put these questions into the lineup and mull them around. Today I had the answer and it came by chance.
I was looking through my paper trying to find inspiration for today's daily painting when I found a stack of RED paper. Big red paper. Full sheets of red Canson Mi-Teintes paper. Whatever possessed me to buy it? I don't know but today was as good a time as any to use it. I just had to find the right subject.
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| A big piece of RED paper! |
As I searched through a stack potential reference photos I kept looking for something with a lot of green. Since red is the complement of green working on the red paper might add some excitement to a typical green landscape. Red actually is a great color to use under green. Whether you tone your own paper or buy red paper it is a great choice for a very green landscape.
And it is an even better choice for a green and red landscape! I had the perfect scene....a field of poppies from my trip to Texas last spring. See the reference photo below and follow along as the painting develops.
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| my reference photo |
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| Blocking in the darks |
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| Adding the sky and the flowers |
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| Building the layers of foliage |
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| and more building |
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| ...and more |
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| Adding the lights to the foliage and building the flower shapes |
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| Finished |
That was fun! It was great to work large (18x24) as well. The red paper gave my poppies a bit of a head start and made the greens more interesting where the paper peeks through.
So why don't I paint on color paper more often? Simple. I don't always have it handy and I forget how simple it is to tone a piece of sanded paper to any color I want. Thanks Monike for the question you've given me some new ideas!
3 comments:
Wow! What a painting! The poppies almost glow right off the page!! BTW...I LOVE your Sunday painting videos! The closest thing to a class with you that I'l ever have. ;) Thanks!!
I love following you and have learnt so much already from watching your videos, so thank you very much for sharing your knowledge and expertise. This is possibly a silly question, but how do you tone you paper to any colour you want, is this by using pastel and then using the alcohol wash?
I love the inspiration of colored paper. Gorgeous painting! Perfect subject for a red paper, the greens are sparkling and the reds so vivid!
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