I've been thinking about color lately. It started with green. I kept looking at trees and noticing the surprising variations of color; some were true green, some a shocking lime green, some almost blue. Even the same type of tree could contain wild variations depending upon the lighting. Then I revisited a picture I'd started several months ago which featured my dad's vegetable garden and focused on the different shades of green present in the various plants. I really liked the idea of the picture, but since it was very small I decided to do a bigger one. I pulled out the reference photos I'd used months ago... and realized the colors looked nothing like what I was seeing when I stepped outside and looked at this year's crop of plants.

Let me interrupt the narrative to note the significance of that discovery. I've read and been told for years that colors in photos aren't as vivid as what you see in plein air. I didn't believe it when I was a teenager- just couldn't see the difference. I tried my best to match the colors of the photo and was convinced that was good enough. Later I noticed that when I looked at other artist's paintings, they used more pure colors than I did. So I compensated and started exaggerating the colors in the photos. Over the years I've moved further and further away from the colors in the photos.

Back to the garden. I decided to do something radical; I went outside and painted the colors of the garden in plein air. (I know, about half of the artists reading this are flipping out right about now.) Actually, I have painted outdoors before, but never with a sole focus on color. What I saw that day has changed the way I'm looking at color. The last several paintings I've done have been the first where I sketched the picture, did a value study, and then totally ignored the photo reference during the painting process. Even though I still paint in the studio, just getting outside once in a while to paint color is enought to remind me of the tones I want to work into my paintings. This sunflower picture is the latest example of my new method and I'm really excited about it. So deepens the painting addiction :)

Original Watercolor ~ "Sunflowers" ~ 20/28