From one of Monet's paintings of Rouen Cathedral I studied the colours he'd used, using watercolour pencils. I quickly found that his palette was quite limited. He did a number of these at different times of day, and the palettes range from purple and greys, gold and reds, to pink and greens. I was working from a reproduction, so can only imagine what the actual pieces are like. One day I'll visit the Musee d'Orsay
and get up close and personal with Monet (well as close as 21st-century security allows).
These studies made me want to look at colour in the things I'm drawing at the moment. So, using oil pastels I painted the wall, sea and sky next to the Bungalow Cafe in Roker. It's a view I've often looked at, had never grabbed me previously because I could see nothing to 'draw'. But, with my new 'colour' eyes plugged in, it came alive.
The relationship between the wall, sea and sky are constantly changing. We used to have a dog which we walked religiously twice a day, and I'd pass this section of wall most days, observing the changing seasons, weather, and light.Like Monet's Rouen Cathedral painting, I intend to use this simple view to observe and record the changing light.
3 comments:
Which artists use colour in a way you especially admire? Can you study their techniques more closely and learn from them?
It's striking that Giacometti and Lowry (who you have mentioned with admiration) both seem to be pretty "monochrome", though I'll admit I'm very ignorant of art and you may reply "Oh no, Lowry is celebrated for a series of brilliantly multicolour canvases you've obviously never heard of, you philistine!"
Knowing your work, and the view mentioned, I get the impression you've looked but not with your inner eye; it's all surface and no heart. I hope I'm making sense.
hiya,
erm i just realised you know your picture you had drawn of your cair, did you get the idea from van goghs chair painting he had done, if not u should take a look its pretty much identical.
also with your using colour i think you need to stop using the same colours as the work your copying uses, but yet try new tones and shades of unusual colours,
then progress onto a drawing of your own work, using colours.
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