Every once in a while I have the urge to revisit a painting that just didn't turn out right the first time. Case in point with these paintings of Venice below. The one below was done in 2008 when I was in my mode of literally translating every color and detail in the photograph, which coincidentally wasn't a great strategy since my camera took bad pictures (I've since upgraded and it was totally worth it!) The one above was just completed this week and I'm really happy with the results. I love all of the colors in Venice and since I just did the other gondola one, I figured I'd do this one as well since I felt like I knew what was wrong before. The first one was plagued by one color syndrome and appeared very flat. The colors were too gray and made it dreary. And lastly the value patterns and light source were all off. So with those 3 things in mind- I got to work on the new and improved Venice. I feel an enormous sense of accomplishment that I can look at older paintings now and tell what needs work on them. I hope you like it!
On a separate note, I've been planning on restocking some supplies soon, including paints, and was thinking about my color palette. I'm making a BIG LEAP and switching to only transparent colors instead of a mix of transparent and opaque. Overall I think that will help with the luminous glowy quality I love in some paintings. I'm a little torn apart though. My beloved Cadmium Red, Cerulean Blue, and Yellow Ochre will have to be kicked to the curb. But I think I have suitable replacements and it should make a major impact on my paintings. I just feel like it's the next frontier to creating professional quality paintings.
Ciao for now!
I love it! Especially how the foreground is the low-key brilliant part and background is lighter. Going to Venice in April - thanks for the excitement booster! I can't imagine painting without cad red, c blue and yellow ochre. Might as well take away burnt sienna while they're at it. Keep up the good work, Melissa!
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