COLOUR STUDIES
EXERCISE
We are so used to trying to paint the colours we
see, it’s easy to become less inventive with
colour. In my landscape workshops, I do an
exercise called “100 Studies” that was inspired
by the work of American pastel painter and
instructor Marla Baggetta (Going for 100, right).
The exercise is designed to expand your
colour range and involves doing as many studies
as possible of the same subject. This is a
challenge, even for the seasoned painter,
because you have to really stretch to come up
with so many different colour schemes. You
don’t have to actually do 100 studies in order to
benefit from the exercise, but the more you do,
the more you’ll expand your colour vocabulary.
Here are a few tips:- Choose a small size. Pick something that
won’t allow you to fuss with detail. Marla’s
studies were 25cm, well suited to her style. - Choose a simple subject. Opt for a scene
that can be repeated with little compositional
variation so you can focus on the colours. - Be exploratory. Don’t tell yourself that you
can’t – or shouldn’t – try certain colour
combinations. Try all the various colour
strategies: every combination of complementary
or split-complementary, and various analogous
harmonies. Explore tonalist or neutral palettes. - Alter the mood. Ask yourself: what colours
could I use to turn day into night? Or what
colours could turn the subject into a sunrise or
sunset? Test out colour families you have
avoided in the past. If you run out of ideas, find
a painting by another artist with a successful
colour strategy and apply those to your study.
- THE COLOUR
SWATCH STUDY
The colour swatch study is different
from a developed or simple study in
that it doesn’t capture a
representational image at all.
It is simply a set of colour mixes that
are intended to correspond to the
main colour groups of the painting.
The swatch study should be very
simple with just three or four colours.
RIGHT Mitchell
Albala, colour
swatch study for
The Way Home
Allow the swatches
to touch and blend
a little, since that
is a better test
of how they will
relate in the actual
painting. You can
also make a note
of pigment choices
and colour mixes.Mitchell is the author of Landscape Painting, published by Watson-Guptill, RRP £22.99. http://www.mitchalbala.com, http://www.marlabaggetta.com
Artists & Illustrators 6764 Colour Studies.indd 67 18/02/2016 10:11