Earth Colors-

Earth colors are the earliest known colors to man and consist of ores and oxides.  They are permanent colors that are toned down variations of the more intense primaries. Recently,  I'm reading Henche's book on color but more on that as I get into it.  I am also doing daily excercises in color analysis. Do some with me if you like.

Today I am working with Earth Colors. You can reduce the brilliance of a color without diminishing its hue by mixing in or placing an earth color next to a bright color. Hue is another term for the word color. To reduce the brilliance of yellow, use yellow ochre right next to it; to reduce orange use raw umber or Van Dyke brown; to reduce blue use magic brown(transparent red oxide) or raw seinna; to reduce  a cad red use Indian red; to reduce a green use earth green.Try doing an entire painting in the earth colors with supplementary colors uesd as accents. Earth colors also harmonize your painting and make it hang together. When almost finished, add a splash of bright color to the highlights to give it some pop.

   Like taking out the garbage,  cleaning out your closet, shredding old documents, or sweeping away the dirt off your front porch....I can relate.  It's the same way I feel about painting. It has to be done. It's not merely something I think about when I'm bored. I think about it constantly. When I am stuck doing chores, I am feeling guilty for not painting.  When I go out with friends,  I am still thinking, "Oh my god! I should paint that, or that, and that too!"  I always have some form of art literature on my lap.  The person sitting next to me is automatically placed into a picture frame.  Driving down the road, every bit of landscape becomes a scene, every intersection is put into a composition for painting.  I am obsessed with it,  every waking minute( in the middle of the night too). It is all I think about. Painting. It had to be done, has to be done, and always will be a part of me.