Artists & Illustrators - April 2016_

66 Artists & Illustrators

COLOUR STUDIES

1. THE DEVELOPED
   COLOUR STUDY
   These studies, done in the studio as
   preparation for a larger painting, each
   took about an hour-and-a-half – a
   similar amount of time as I would
   spend on a plein air painting. I took
   time to consider the drawing and
   placement of shapes, but I also strove
   to keep them loose and painterly.
   Working small helped with this.
   My reference photo provided an
   interesting subject, but it was drab and
   lacked any suggestion of sunset-like
   colours, so it was up to me be
   inventive with the colour. Each study
   makes a unique statement about a
   colour and light for that time of day.
   Having done all three, I could then
   decide which one best fit my vision.

ABOVE Mitchell Albala, developed colour studies for The Way Home, 2015, oil on paper, 20x20cm each

These developed colour studies show a yellow-violet complementary, a yellow/yellow-green/green analogous

harmony with contrasting blue accents and a yellow-blue split-complementary. The original photo meanwhile

reveals how much the image has already been transformed in these studies – cropping the composition,

experimenting with the colour scheme, and removing unwanted details to simplify the scene.

BELOW Mitchell Albala, simple colour studies for Peak, oil on paper, 10x9cm each

Rendered quicker than the developed paintings above, these studies took about 15 minutes each. The large,

gestural strokes made it easier to quickly visualise the subject under a range of colour-light combinations.

2. THE SIMPLE
   COLOUR STUDY
   This set of studies is what I call
   “simple” colour studies — small, loose,
   and very direct. Unlike the more
   developed studies, these only took
   about 15 minutes each. Despite being
   just 9cm wide, the brushstrokes were
   relatively large and gestural.
   How much does precision and
   accuracy play in this type of study?
   Not much. The simple study can be
   effective even when capturing only the
   most basic shapes and little detail.
   What is important to define are the
   basic colour groups and how they
   relate to one another.

64 Colour Studies.indd 66 17/02/2016 16:40