Tuesday, March 19, 2013

50 Shades of Grey

"Grey Garlic" 6x6 
oil on panel
SOLD
Well, not really, but values are incremental and we can only create about 3 to 5 discernible values to depict light in our paintings. I mixed up a large amount of dark 'grey' with Cad Red, Ultramarine Blue and Cad Yellow. It leaned a bit toward brown but when I added white it was a blue gray. I blocked in the garlic using burnt umber and then using three values of my grey I painted in the values. After I got my pattern down I went over it with some color. By the way, I must be the only one in the world who hasn't read that book. I did order it from the library but this is one you have to buy, the wait list is that long!!
my palette

12 comments:

Jody Regan said...

Lovely garlic, and great to see your limited palette below it. BTW, I haven't read the book either, and am not going to..

Bruce Sherman said...

Hi there Mary!... What a beautifully painted... intelligent study in grey!

I love the abstract quality that you have maintained... yet you still managed to come out with... even the acrid smell ... of those garlic buds! HA HA!!

A great piece of painterly work!

Good Painting!... and Happy Spring!
Warmest regards,
Bruce

Nancy Colella said...

This is a great post and thanks for that lesson! FYI. I was planning on being the only person I know who hasn't read that book.

Studio at the Farm said...

I love the grays and your pattern with the garlic and its shadows.
PS - I haven't read it either. :)

martinealison said...

Merci pour vos explications...
Une très jolie peinture avec ce travail généreux des ombres et des lumières...
Un ballet d'aulx qui me plaît...
Gros bisous à vous.

steinaei.blog.is said...

Love your grays, they came out great in your garlic painting.

Autumn Leaves said...

Well, add me to the list of those who haven't read that book. I like this piece, Mary. Somehow these colors work beautifully with this subject.

Anonymous said...

Love this -- your painting and take on the title. :-)

Stephanie Berry said...

Delightful! Funny title. I too haven't read the book and it's not on my list. But this painting is inspirational to study shades of gray!

Diana Moses Botkin said...

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and process on this, Mary. There is a lot of color in the greys!

suzanneberry said...

i haven't read it yet either!

i absolutely love these garlic bulbs. beautifully done and the title is perfect. thanks too for sharing your process and palette. it helps so much to see how an artist one admires works.

and yes, thank you, i am feeling much better. it's like a fog has lifted. and it does go back and forth but i don't stay in the back part as long as i did in the recent past. Tim is indeed with me.

and thanks too for the kind words on the painting. much appreciated.

take care and happy creating my friend!

Mary Sheehan Winn said...

I never read it either. After realizing what the subject was, I had no interest.

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