Turquoise Tango - Oil Study



Turquoise Tango
(5 x 7, oil on panel)
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This was painted just the other day, another exploration in using exaggerated color. I'm interested in just seeing how far I can push the color in shadows and in the backgrounds. Besides exploring color I'm also making things up which is simply not what I normally do.

Setting up the still life is a hugely creative part of the painting. Instead of making decisions as I work my way through the painting I plan them ahead of time when I'm setting up a still life. The lighting is carefully planned to create mood, objects are placed so that a rhythm is established, shadows are planned similarly, and folds in fabric are used to point to the focal point. I choose a fabric color for the background and foreground or use lighting to influence the color of the wall. After the planning is done and the decisions made I observe carefully and try to paint what I see.

Turquoise Tango and the other studies are completely different. In nearly all of them the background or foreground is a made up color. I have to use my imagination and go with my gut feeling. It's more immediate and very rewarding. Being studies there is no concern about 'will a gallery like it' or 'will the collector who commissioned it like it'. Will it change how I paint? Not completely, the act of quiet observation and the challenge of capturing what I see has it's own rewards but as time goes by there will be a bit more freedom in my work as I continue with the studies, time will tell.