Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Island in Lobster Claw Colors

Island in Lobster Claw Colors
on a private island off mid-coast Maine
on June 10, 2015, sketched on June 17, 2015
7" x 5", Winsor & Newton and Holbein watercolors, and
Uniball waterproof fade proof ink on 140 lb. Strathmore
500 Series Premium cold press 100% cotton watercolor paper
framed, sold framed, $100 plus $5.50 sales tax plus $9.50 shipping = $115.00

Watercolor's Color Inspiration


I found a very small lobster claw on the rocks. It caught my eye because it was so blue.


When I picked it up and turned it over it was the traditional cooked orange. I was reminded of an exercise I'd done in my Bahamas Susan Abbot painting workshop last February. We painted using only two colors, a primary and a complimentary. I'd used blue and orange.
 


So I painted the island, the spot where I'd found the lobster claw, using only the colors of the found claw, orange and blue, selecting Prussian Blue and Cadmium Orange,the familiar colors I'd used in the Bahamas. I was surprised at the greens that I got from mixing the two. Yes, these were the only colors used. Cool, eh?

They work because they're at opposite sides of the color wheel; it was a fun exercise...again.

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