Thinking of France....

I just went on to the website of the guest house that we visited every other year for a painting retreat in the South of France to find out that due to the bad economy they had to close the business and sell the house:(  I was very sad to hear this as I was thinking of France this week and dreaming of returning to that wonderful guest house.  Richard and Mary were such great hosts and the house was magical.  My favorite part of the whole experience was getting up early and working in Richard's studio, which was a converted barn.  I also enjoyed early morning walks into the town where you would discover all 500 people of the town starting out their day.  I will always hold fond memories of my times there and I am posting my latest painting, a Flower Filled French Alley, in tribute to that special place.

Thinking about Palettes

So I have a subscription to Artist magazine which I absolutely love!  Usually when it comes in the mail I grab it and read it right away.  I always find something interesting and usually I find several somethings....So in April's issue of the magazine the cover talked about "How to match skin tones".  Since I usually like to paint and draw people and I have found myself struggling to match skin tones, I thought this would be a great article to read.  Well, it was! The article was about the artist Marvin Mattelson and how he developed his palette which he says, after years of searching and trying different methods, he found to be the most productive palette for skin tones every.  I read the whole article which was really a history of color theory as well as an introspective of two other artists Frank J. Reilly and Albert H. Munsell.  Reading the article sent me to the internet searching for Mattelson's palette, Frank J. Reilly's palette and Albert H. Munsell's palette.

I found myself knee deep in color theory and found that the color theory I was taught in graduate school is not the one that Mattelson used to define skin tones so well.  I also found myself jumping from blog to blog from different artists who also, like Mattelson, were seeking information on how color really works and how to achieve the delicate nuances of skin tones.  One blog that I found most helpful was called Underpaintings and is a forum posted by Matthew W. Innis which celebrates excellence in Representational Ar - past, present, and future.  The link to his blog can be found here http://underpaintings.blogspot.com/.   I highly recommend reading it and he has a whole section on Mattelson's palette.

It really ignited a fire in me to understand palette choices better.  It was fun to read how each artist from Munsell to Reilly to Mattelson to Innis each has a slightly different take on the information and how it found it's way into their own palettes in each artists unique way.  At this point what I know is that I have a lot of research to do to understand munsell's color theory better and also Mattelson's palette.  It made me think about my own color choices and how I came to them.  Here is my palette as it currently stands, before I begin experimenting with Munsell/Reilly/Mattelson's revelations.  Not all of these are used for achieving skin tones, but they are my go to colors that always wind up on my palette.  Let's see how it changes over time as I learn more...

Flake White
Burnt Umber
Burnt Sienna
Terra Rose
Yellow Ochre
Naples Yellow
Cadmium Orange
Cadmium Scarlet
Alizarin Crimson
Dioxizine Purple
Ultramarine Blue
Colbalt Turquoise
Sap Green
Brillant Yellow Green

It also got me thinking about famous artist's palettes whose work I like, and wondering what theirs looked like.   I found a few thanks the website thatslikewhoa.com.   (See below) They seem remarkably muted and neutral....

PALETTES OF FAMOUS PAINTERS

Eugène Delacroix

Auguste Renoir

Degas

Georges Seurat

Gustave Moreau

Paul Gauguin

Vincent van Gogh

…..

Thank you to La Boite Verte and Lucy Davies.

Color Roughs

The next step is to take my final dummies and photo copy them.  Then take colors and prepare color roughs trying to get a sense of what the final colors of the illustrations will be.  I didn't make them too neat because they were just roughs, but I did have fun playing with the colors and they really came to life.  Here are a few of my favorites....

Final Dummy

After two weeks of hard work I have these 5 images that represent a summary of the picture book that I am working on in my Children's Illustration class.  It's a story about an little girl and her invisible friend.  These 5 frames came about after several weeks of sketching characters, situations and environments.  I envision the book to be a regular 32 page book and have a full thumbnail dummy that shows all 32 pages, but I am working on just the 5 for this course.  It's a tedious process, but I have learned lots!  So here is my work so far...

Good summary of my feelings today...

Being tender and open is beautiful. As a woman, I feel continually shhh’ed. Too sensitive. Too mushy. Too wishy washy. Blah blah. Don’t let someone steal your tenderness. Don’t allow the coldness and fear of others to tarnish your perfectly vulnerable beating heart. Nothing is more powerful than allowing yourself to truly be affected by things. Whether it’s a song, a stranger, a mountain, a rain drop, a tea kettle, an article, a sentence, a footstep, feel it all – look around you. All of this is for you. Take it and have gratitude. Give it and feel love.

Source:  Zoey Deschanel

Background Studies

So this week I'm working on background studies for my picture book.  Trying to think about the environment being as "alive" as the characters in the story.  I am also trying to create drama with value and extreme angles or perspectives.  So here are two that I liked.

Character Development

So for my Children's Picture Book class we are illustrating 8 pages from a manuscript of our choice.  I am working on a story about a girl and her invisible friend.  This week we are working on character development.  Well I still have some work to do on these characters to round the out more, I am happy with my start.  Here is a quick view of the three main characters, Isabella, Me and Mom.