last month, i posted about toning canvases, how & why i do it. i've started doing something a bit different, so i thought i'd show you.
i hate to waste paint - it's expensive, it's too pretty to throw out, & it just goes against my new england upbringing to waste anything! so when i clean off my palette, it feels really wrong to just wash all that paint away.
when i was cleaning up after one of the last paintings i did, i noticed the color of the smudged together paints was pretty nice - in fact, with a little more cad yellow & raw sienna, it'd be a decent, if dark, gold. and there was a lot of it. i decided to use it to tone some canvases - & this is how it turned out:
i'm pretty pleased with it, though i am concerned it's a bit dark. so the next time i painted, i used just the lighter colors & came up with this:
with the most recent painting - the sailboat - i left out the greens and blues, using only the reds, yellows, & oranges i'd mixed up or put out on the palette. it made this lovely color my son said should be called "sun-dried tomato"!
i'm really liking doing this! first, it lets me use up a good portion the leftover paint so i'm throwing much less out. this lets me feel a bit freer about how much paint i put out on the palette when i'm starting a painting, knowing it won't go to waste. it's also a really easy way to keep at least one canvas ahead of myself so i never run out of toned canvases when i'm ready to start a new painting! and any way i can outthink my tendency to procrastinate is ok with me!thanks for stopping by - take care till next time!
dusty!
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Great idea, Dusty! One of my professors in school used to save all of his discarded paint and then paint the most beautiful abstract paintings!
ReplyDeleteI like your idea of not throwing any paint leftovers. Personnaly,I keep my palette in the freezer all wrapped up in a plastic bag. When i'm ready to work, my paint is still wet and shiny. Have a good day!
ReplyDeletethank you, helen! what a good idea of yours! i got a large plastic container w/ a lid to keep the palette in overnight for the several days or more it takes me to finish a painting. this works fairly well. i've also tried immersing the palette (i use glass) in water - which also works but is just a tad (!) messy!!
ReplyDeletethank you, linda! that's a cool idea - i'll have to try it! on an open studios tour, i saw one artist who had created a 'mountain' (at least 12" high!) with his palette scrapings over the years - cool - & impressive!
ReplyDeleteHi Dusty! Thanks so much for sharing these ideas. I'm always trying not to waste but always do. I've tried the fridge in an air tight and that seems to work well.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for stopping by my blog and leaving such incredibly generous and kind comments! I, we, really appreciate them so very much! Enjoy the day.
thank you, suzanne! i so appreciate your openness as you go along your journey!
ReplyDeletei'll have to try finding a smaller container that'll hold my palette so i can try the fridge/freezer method, too. i often see artists who leave their paints on the palette - they end up with these little volcanoes of dried paint, with an 'active' center of fresh paint - i'm much too obsessive to do that!
Great tip Dusty. The smidgens would make a great ground cover. It is on my list of Must Do!
ReplyDeletethank you, ruth! i find i'm really looking forward to exploring what colors will come about as i combine random paints - and how they'll work as the background tones!
ReplyDeleteGood use of your paint. I agree, I cann't waste it. I save all the leftover for grays the next day.
ReplyDeletethat's a really good idea, becky! thank you - i'll have to try it!
ReplyDeleteGreat idea. Just be aware that the fat over lean rule applied here too. So for instance when you've used a medium in your latest painting and use those scrapings as a ground for a new painting it would not be wise to do a thin wash over that.
ReplyDeletethank you, erik! yes, i've been wondering about that. i don't use any mediums, even very rarely any additional walnut oil. but the fat-over-lean does concern me, so i make the toning layer as thin as i can, scraping it down with a palette knife if i feel it's too thick. so far i haven't done any washes (or glazes, i guess i think of them as), but that's on my list for experimenting with!
ReplyDeleteHi Dusty, good to hear, then you should not have any problems then.
ReplyDeletethanks erik - it's so great to hear from experienced painters - it really helps a lot!
ReplyDeleteI like this! I used to start with a colored gesso that was a burnt sienna color but found I stayed too dark when I painted with it. I switched to a yellow ochre gesso and I've found it's great for helping me keep my color notes a little warmer and it's light enough itself to not be distracting. Either way it's nice to not have that big, blank canvas staring me down when I start!
ReplyDeletehi kerri! it really does seem easier to start when the canvas is colored, not white, doesn't it! i haven't tried yellow ochre by itself yet - gonna have to! i'm having fun toning using different colors, & seeing what effect that has on the painting - oh - and i found that no-see-ums prefer green canvases over pink, orange, or brown!!
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