Hello Malcolm in this video you have pointed out the most important things for achieving a brilliant color. Even though it needs a lot of practice to conquer the color and have the good results you want. Patience and perseverance.Thank you.
Another fantastic demonstration Malcolm. A lot of important information in it. The idea of using separate brushes for lights and darks, that is a great tip. Colour is such a big subject, so much in it. But your videos help cut through the difficulties, they are the best I have seen on the I/net (I have seen quite a few artists demos too).
Thanks a lot for this lesson . This is what I needed. I try te paint with Cobra artist, up til now I did with acrylics. This video helps me a lot because I always end with the mess and wrong colours. Regards from NL
I had a teacher say once that white creates mud… she recommended a little light yellow instead to lighten further. Also always have a rag, and a second fountained of cleaning liquid (that is water for watercolors or acrylic so after cleaning, you can clean in second clean water and get residual paint out. You can even have three, one for the blues, greens and other cool colors and one for the reds and other warm colors, and the clean one. Same with oil, second solvent container to clean up brushes more thoroughly and use the rag to wipe it up.) I love your video though, going to repost for others to see it as it’s great for new artists and even some not so new that may have forgotten things they shouldn’t. 😘
WOW! Another fabulous teaching video. I have learned more in the past week then I have in expensive local art classes over the yers. Thanks again for teaching us. Your generosity is so appreciated..
Thanks Malcolm, there’s a lot of excellent tips here for me to practice . Now in reference to the last tip, ie. adding highlights with thick paint after the paint has settled, would I have to add more white or more yellow or….to create the highlight? That is my biggest problem. I find adding white dulls the colour. Thanks
Yes some white is necessary - I always add a little color back in - white, yellow, more white? if so then another touch of yellow. Always compare. How much lighter do you need to make it to create a highlight?
@@MalcolmDewey thank you so very much ! Your videos have motivated me not to give up, extremely grateful for your excellent way of teaching, passionate , concise and easy to understand.
Iv found that when i mixed like this, the cheap acrylic paints i used dried very dark. I think white is a necessary pain for those cheap brands, becuass my other paintings look fine
It happens due to bright light outside. Values become very important. Also keep direct light off your canvas and palette. Well done for doing plein air ✅
Wouldn't zinc white be a better one to add to bright colours to tone them down without losing too much vibrancy? I've heard it's less opaque [than titanium white]. Haven't tried it; I'd be interested to hear anyone's take on it.
Portrait artists often use zinc for its warmth and less opacity. For landscapes titanium has the strength and is less frustrating. Once familiar with its quirks and also use of warm/cool colour it is just right.
I enjoyed watching this. I've learned a few of these points by trial and error already (making mud). As to washing brushes, I've wondered if I do too much because I wash my brushes with soap (acrylic paints) several times as I work, maybe even half dozen times if I'm working with a specific brush and must completely change colour. Can you wash brushes too often?
I like to keep two jars. Get the lions share off with the first one. Dry it with an old rag ( been using the same one for like 6 months). Repeat step one of lots of paint comes off on your rag. then rinse in a second jar. The first one will dirty quick but the second jar will be take forever to get dirty enough to matter. That my method anyway.
@@michael13419 I save slightly used paper towel or used copy paper to wipe off most the paint from the brush, then dip brush in a bit of water and wipe again before actually putting the brush in the jar of water. I can get almost all the paint off the brush this method and save paint from going down into the drain. Just sharing :)
I have issues w dull color only with acrylic. Acrylic dries so dull and flat, even with medium, and it's usually darker. I'm so frustrated because i love oil but even the water mixable oils give me a headache. What to do...
Perhaps a third of the canvas can have some warm light. The foreground can be in shadow with the bluebells a cool blue/violet. More mystery and subtle color in the foreground and some dappled light up ahead is always pleasing. Sometimes you need to design more to cconvey the truth.
what is your opinion on monochromatic underpaintings then? I like to block in things with burnt umber or sienna but this must have an effect on things is it better then to just sketch in with pencil?
A mono underpainting is not wrong. It can be helpful especially to getting the values and mass shapes worked out (composition). Over time you may abandon this approach for an impressionist style landscape. You will start working quicker perhaps and go straight to color mass shapes. I often leave out sketching completely and go direct with big brushes and color. A process evolves and you develop options.
Sometimes it is necessary to get the big brush and re-establish some of the big shapes you have lost. This back and forth is how you will find the ideal balance between abstractness and representation.
I don't see you mixing paint with a palette knife. This is one way to pull clean color and put it into another pile of color and not get contamination. In fact, I try (sometimes I forget) to always mix my color with a palette knife. You may want to try it!
Sometimes I do if I want a large pile. However mixing with a brush is preferable during painting as you need the right color at that moment. Plus there are many striations of color that look great this way. No over-mixing. Impressionists mixed with brushes.
