On the Easel - Day Three of Painting

Day Three

Yesterday I decided to work in the reds. Often I find it easier to start with the background color because everything else in the painting will hold a color and value relationship to the colors and values of the background.

Because the colors are clean and bright people often asked if it's "paint from the tube". The obvious answer is that all oil paint is from the tube but what people are really asking is whether the colors here are mixed or not. The answer is that 90% of the colors are mixed with other colors or other hues or brands. I do whatever it takes to get the color I want. Most of the time expended in these paintings is time spent getting the color right. Mixing reds is the most difficult of all the colors. Today's the fourth..so since I worked with the red and white yesterday, today I will work with the blue. Happy Independence Day!