Undercoat

To begin with I had committed to a monochrome layout for all the four sections of the mural behind the logos. It bothered me that it appeared so dull. The colour just was not lively enough; the darkest darks were not dark enough. What to do? I decided to use a complementary colour for the undercoat. Burnt orange is my latest favorite. When mixed with cobalt blue it makes the most luscious grays, but did I want gray? Not exactly. I wanted the burnt orange to show through after I applied the cobalt on top. In order to get gray the applications would both need to be about the same amount, the more opaque the application the darker it would be right down to black. So the next question is where are my darkest darks? I took the jar of pure burnt orange and proceeded to fill in the areas where I know I would later add the purest blue. For a less intense dark, I took out my bowls of prepared pigment mixed with gel medium. There are two different consistencies: one paler than the other, one sparkling with iridescence and one not. I like my paintings to glow. Brushstrokes became important again. I chose a random, vigorous stroke for the trees and bushes, a vertical one for the grass, another one for the flesh tones and I liked the peach colour I produced. I decided to leave more of the burnt orange showing than I had previously anticipated. I wonder what my customer will think of it. We’ll see.