The Painting of "Springfest"
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The Painting of “Springfest”
Oh, how I love Spring! I’m sure many of you feel the same way. We had a very mild winter in North Carolina, but it was VERY rainy. It is so wonderful to have sunshine, low humidity and a beautiful Carolina blue sky. I’ve been doing a good bit of yard work and some vegetable planting in the garden. I’m trying to spend time outside enjoying the beautiful Spring weather.
The azaleas and redbuds are blooming and it has such a visual impact on the landscape. This painting, entitled “Springfest” is my response to the inspiration and beauty of Spring. I’m not trying to copy any one thing that I see, but rather transform my “seeing” into an abstract painting, using shapes and colors.
I am using a triadic color combination of blue-green, red-violet and yellow-orange, with a blue-green chromatic dominance. The colors used for this piece are (Golden Heavy Body Acrylic) :
Benzimidazalone Yellow Light
Mars Yellow
Pyrrole Orange
Burnt Sienna
Titan Buff
Light Magenta
Cobalt Violet Hue
Teal
Minty G (custom color I make)
Cobalt Turquoise
Viridian Hue
Titanium White
Once the colors are on the palette I mix several variations of a yellow-orange. I then add a little Pyrrole Orange to all of the blue-greens to lower the intensity a bit. I mix my darkest value by adding lots of Pyrrole Orange to the Viridian Hue until the value seems right. I add some white to most of the other colors and I’m ready to paint.
On this 24x24” gallery wrapped canvas, I begin with red-violet, my accent (center of interest) color. It is meant to be the most intense color in the painting so that it pops - and is very close to many of the blooms around our house. I next lay in the yellow-orange near the red-violet. Once the two warm colors are in, I turn my attention to a dark value mix of blue-green that I place near some of the red-violet accents.
The rest of the painting is simply adding middle value blue-green and refining the shapes and values. Once the middle value blue-greens are in, I seek to adjust the values of all parts of the painting to work together toward my intentions. Before you know it, I’m finished. Later, off-camera, I refined a few colors and values.
If you'd like to learn about abstract painting and making your own authentic work, then please join me for a painting workshop: (You can view a list of workshops HERE)
April 27, 2021 Interactive (Zoom) Mini-Workshop: Bigger, faster, Fresher, Looser Abstract Painting, 6 hours. Click Here for Registration and Information
April 29, 2021 Interactive (Zoom) Mini-Workshop: Abstracting the Landscape, 6 hrs. Click Here for Registration and Information.
May 14-15, 2021 Art Alliance of Greensboro, Greensboro, NC. Contact Liz Busch for more information: email: artalliancegso@gmail.com.
May 25, 2021 Interactive (Zoom) Mini-Workshop: Bigger, faster, Fresher, Looser Abstract Painting, 6 hours. Click Here for Registration and Information
May 27, 2021 Interactive (Zoom) Mini-Workshop: Abstracting the Landscape, 6 hrs. Click Here for Registration and Information.
June 9-11, 2021 David M. Kessler Fine Art Studio, Winston-Salem, NC. This is a Studio Workshop in Abstract Painting. Click Here for Information and Registration.
As always, thanks for your support!
David
NEW! Interactive (Zoom) Mini Workshops
I have just added 6 new Interactive Mini Workshops (on the Zoom platform) to my website. Most are 3 to 6 hours long and are a great opportunity for learning a lot in a short amount of time. You’ll be online and onscreen with me as I instruct, demonstrate, paint, and critique your work.
Simple Color System Colorwheel
If you have seen my videos on YouTube or taken one of my workshops, you have seen me use my Simple Color System Colorwheel. My Simple Color System is easy to use and assures that the color in your paintings will be harmonious. Proudly made in North Carolina.
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ALL ABOUT COLOR is a great online course that will show you a straightforward, no nonsense, clear and easily understandable approach to using harmonious color in your paintings.
Abstract Painting Academy is an online workshop experience specifically designed to teach you how to paint Abstract Paintings (like only you can!), Loosen Up your painting style, and use Design Fundamentals to give your paintings Dynamic Visual Impact. You get David’s personal attention and feedback on all of your work during the course.
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