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We live in an age where there are so many pigments available.

If I were to say "blue", there is a vast array of hues...almost mind boggling.

AZ Sun Flare, pastel, 16x20

 

It has an interesting history, as well.

 

In the past, when paints were made from organic and mineral pigments, it was very precious , as Ultramarine Blue  was sourced from ground lapis lazuli, the mineral. It is why it was reserved for important figures in religious paintings...such as the blue for Mary's clothing.

 

It was back in the 19th century  that the French government came up with prize money for a synthetic substitute. Hence French ultramarine blue, which we use today.

Today we have shades that range from the palest ice blue, to the deepest shades of indigo blue-black...with shifts towards green blues, and blue violets . 

Artists have a whole rainbow of just blues at their disposal! There is Delft blue, Cobalt , Manganese, Prussian, Ultramarine, Cerulean, Pthalocyanine, and so many more. Each has its own qualities, and working characteristics. Many pigments have safer, non toxic substitutes, as well. 

And once we consider the design industry, the blue hues seem almost endless. 

 

It can evoke feelings...as we think of " being blue", when troubled, or depressed. 

A prime example are Picasso's blue period paintings.  

 

Blue can often evoke feelings of calm and serenity . 

Monsoon Pool, 30x24

 

It can also help make something pop, as the distant gold trees do, surrounded by blue hues.

 

It can help give the illusion of distance.

"Cliff Rose Sundown"

It is used in the background to push the hills back. Note how there is a more intense shade in the foreground to render the shadows.

 

True blue is a pure color , as far as temperature. What I mean by that is when it shifts towards green , or violet, is that it starts to go warmer. Blue green is going towards green ( towards yellow) , and blue violet starts to move towards reds, on the color wheel.

 

Think of Prussian blue, which is a deep teal, or ultramarine, which has a slight violet shift.

"Canyon Dew Shine", 12x24

 

In this pastel, I have used blue violets, and turquoise shades.  I like the play of one against the other.

 

In the painting examples, blue is the dominant hue.

I can't say it is a favorite color, as I love so many of them!

 

However, using blue well can evoke depth and feeling to the viewer.

 

 

Most of the time, all through my career, I have more than one painting that I'm working on.

Fortunately, with my current studio ,I can have a couple of easels set up at a time. ( Or even more!)

 

This shows my main easel...which stays in my main work area, and I have room to the right of it where I can have another one set up . I usually use a French easel , for my second, and it  gets light from my North facing  windows.

 

At the present time, I am working on an oil on my big easel, and I have pastels on my smaller one. I am going through my pastels, and

reworking a few of them.

Why work on more than one?

 

Well, I guess I have a lot to say about this beautiful , inspiring world around us! 

And, since I  work in both pastel and oil these days, it is nice to have a set-up for each media.

 

 

The other, more important reason, is that when I'm working on a complex painting, is that I need time to think about what I'm doing. Sometimes I just need to set it aside, and let it develop in my head. That's when it is good to work on something else for a while.

 

 

Of course, I plein air paint, too, so that throws another set-up in to the mix! I always feel refreshed and invigorated after a plein air session.

 

Other times, I do like to experiment with new or different  materials, or techniques...and this also inspires my current work. This past summer, I took watercolors out, which is something I have not done for quite a while. I plan on doing more of them this year. They are just so easy to take outdoors.

 

I'll admit, too, that sometimes I just get tired of working on a particular piece. Then I know it is time to set it aside, and switch gears for a while. Fortunately this does not happen too often. When I return to the original painting, I usually have fresh eyes, and an objective take on how it is going.

 

All in all, this is what keeps me inspired, and excited about what I am lucky enough to do.

 

 

Over the past few days, I have been back at the easel.

I had a bit of a break...as I was not feeling well enough to spend the time and energy needed to paint well.

It sure feels great to be back.

 

I have been doing some new pieces, and looking at some works done over the past year, as well.

One of the2019 projects that I worked on involved a more realistic approach, with a lot of small detail, and  hard edges.

 

 

The little blooms are actual size, on a 6x6" support. This is an ongoing series, and I have not presented this publicly yet.

 

Often, beginner painters will paint individual  objects with a hard edge all around, not yet realizing that there are lost and found edges in everything that we perceive. .

And, conversely many beginning pastel painters will blend almost every stroke. Egads!

 

Other pieces, including what I'm working on now, have a much softer focus.

"Magenta shadows", pastel, 12x16

 

Most of the work that I do lies somewhere in between the two approaches.

 

What is the main differentiation?

The edge quality. Usually, work with a more detailed, realistic approach will have a lot of hard edges.

Architectural subjects naturally lend themselves to this way of handling edges.

 

"L'Hora Azul", pastel, 24x20.

 

Conversely, paintings that have softer, more diffused, or indistinct edges will have a more abstracted, or impressionistic look.

 

"Milky Way Mesquite"

Nocturnes are a great subject for soft, indistinct edge treatment.

 

Paintings may be done with a combination of or dominance of one or the other, which can be very effective in design , and leading the eye around a painting.

They may also be completely done with one type of edge or another, which usually  makes for a more contemporary look or feel. 

An area of a painting that has hard edges, balanced by less distinct areas, becomes a  focal point.

 

Edge treatment is a design element that we don't always think about.  

 

What kind of treatment do you prefer?  

Over the past few days I have been under the weather.
It seems like a bug...the kind that leaves you feeling weak; where a brush or pastel just seems too heavy to lift.
So, I have been hunkered down under blankets , and sitting up in a chair and reading.
When that gets tiresome, I have been watching sunlight and shadow patterns.
This is something that I ordinarily do, but over the past few days, I have been doing so in earnest.

If one really watches, especially during the early morning, or late afternoon, it is interesting to see just how quickly things change. Plein air painters , of course know this, but this is different from rendering a whole vista and other elements within a painting...there are many other things to pay attention to.

I recall several years ago being in the Keene Valley in the Adirondacks, where my husband and his brothers were trout fishing. I had been out painting, and Tony and I met up in a spot to pick up Wayne and his other brother, Glen. Tony was looking across the road, and said he was just watching
the evening shadow creep up the mountainside. So I watched with him. We could see it slowly move, and areas that had been in light were overtaken by the evening dark.
An interesting aspect was that as time went on, the color of the areas in light changed ...getting much more orange . At one point, just before the sun slipped behind the mountain, the edge of the shadow took on color. Tony was an engineer, and so was timing the event, while we watched, but I’ll never forget the pleasure of just watching the changes.
Thank you, To.
Which is what I have been doing over the past few afternoons.
I’m really paying attention to the edges...of course some are hard; some soft. After my session with my brother- in - law, I learned to really look . If an object , say a tree branch, casts a shadow, it very often has different coloring from side to side, depending on the angle of the light. Sometimes shadows will have one cooler edge, and one warmer edge.

Another way that we can use color in shadow is to confine bright , saturated color to the transition area. That is the area between the light and dark on a form. A good example is when painting greens. We can all think of a landscape that seems overwhelmingly green, particularly in mid- summer. If we keep our lights warm, and or shadow areas grayed, and cool, we can use a brighter green where the two meet. This is particularly effective when painting grass , for example.

It is always fascinating to me how moving light picks out parts of the landscape . If you are watching, you just may notice features that you haven’t really seen before. One afternoon, I was sitting outside taking a break, and noticed that Tuzigoot, a local Native American site was illuminated , and just sitting in a notch between mesas, I never realized that it could be seen from our house!

This aspect can certainly be used to emphasize an area of interest.
And, when one is an artist, just watching something, with focus, is never wasted time.