Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Mother Paint

It was a densely foggy morning today. I opened the store and had a very busy half shift before ducking out to the art store  for some more acrylics. It is getting near the very end of my color theory class and I was in sudden need of more paint. We are doing our final assignment on process colors which is another word for CMYK, the  equivalent of print colors. I needed to pick up some alternative hues for my pallet. I gained a lot of insight watching my instructor mix these brilliant yellows and hot pinks with tiny dabs of black to get just about any color we could ask for. Until now I had approached color from a primary red, blue, yellow and white angle. Now I've seen how process colors work and I can't help but notice how much cleaner the violets and greens are turning out with these new elements. We are even incorporating something called "Mother Paint" into this assignment. Mother paint is a sludge of different colors mixed together to create a hazy gray non-color which can then be used to dull or mute the colors of an entire piece in a uniform manner, almost like a photo filter. This is a technique that enables the painter to control the chromatic value of an entire work of art in a very consistent manner. All the Mother Paint is stored in a small jar where it stays wet until ready for use. Beyond that I have almost finished my Power Point presentation which is looking fantastic. How can you go wrong when everything is green? I really like the way no one in my group wanted to get together outside of class to work on this project. That's the spirit. Still, it makes things easier for me. I can do a PP and filibuster to the class for five minutes to finish my AA. No problem.

1 comment:

  1. My friend, thank you so very much for coming to see me when my little one, The Admiral, passed away last month. Your words were truly a comfort. I hope to see you again.
    xox

    Mom Carole

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