Warms, Cools and Neutrals

Here's a quick exercise of a bowl and orange.  I used a limited palette of just Ultramarine Blue, Burnt Umber and Titanium White.  I mixed my own black by using Ultramarine Blue and Burnt Umber.  So, in-effect, I can say this is painted with just black and white.  By using a two-part black I can choose to mix a warmer black or a cooler black, or a neutral black.  I can make the shadows appear warmer by using more Burnt Umber, or cooler by using more Ultramarine Blue.  You'll do the same with the lights.  You'll learn to mix shadows cool and your lights warm.  Or, vice-versa: lights cool and shadows warm. 
Also note how the upper right corner is a neutral gray.  Don't forget that neutrals can be an integral part of the overall design (neutral: meaning, lacking color or an assigned temperature).  By having neutral shapes, you are taking the viewer's eye away from the neutrals and leading the viewer's eye toward the more predominant color shapes.   Learn to design your neutral shapes along with your warm and cool shapes.

Another useful exercise is to paint a still life made up of all white objects.  For example, a white mug, with a white napkin, on a white tablecloth, on a white table, with a white background... and so-on. This will push you to see the subtlety of hues within whites.  Yes, everything is apparently white... but what color white is it?  It will be some varying degree of temperature (cool-neutral-warm). 

This is a great way to develop your eye to see warm vs. cool, the extremes of their relationship and the use of neutrals. 

Class Demo--Painting Without Color

Color Can Sometimes Be Overwhelming

Alright, so color is not working out. It seems the more you mix color, the more you continue to further aggravate yourself with every muddy decision. What's the solution? Don't use color... for now.

Students commonly make the mistake of attempting to tackle all of their painting issues at the same time. This is a sure way to quickly become overwhelmed. Instead, I recommend identifying each issue one at a time. Solve it, then move on to the next. Be honest about identifying your issues and create new tactics to solve them. Change the way you are looking at things, i.e., if being trapped inside your box is giving you nothing but grief... step outside of it.  

Try painting with just black and white. This frees you up so that now you may afford the luxury of focusing on other issues, such as: value, edge intensity and paint thickness.  You'll become more sensitive to color after having denied yourself of it.  When you begin to slowly introduce color again, you'll begin do so with a greater appreciation and sensitivity for cools and warms, value and intensity, and how little color is needed for something to be perceived as colorful. A whole new world begins to open up and you soon forget your previous frustrations.

The moral of the story... simplify.  I really can't say it enough.  Painting is about simplifying. Simplify your approach, your actions, your thoughts, your problems, your way of seeing... simplify everything, K.I.S.S (Keep It Simple Stupid).

"Never increase beyond what is necessary, the number of entities required to explain anything."
                                                                     -William of Ockman (1285-1349)