Tj Playing at the Blues Jam Painting Chris Carter
Figurative Paintings
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September 14, 2011
Spectrum Painting in the Dark
Posted by Chris Carter under art, color schemes, color value, Figurative Paintings, Figures, musicians, paintings, Pen and Ink, portraits, Techniques, watercolor | Tags: art, Arthur Nielson, blues jam, Color Interactions, color schemes, color value, figures, full spectrum, painting techniques, paintings, pen and ink, watercolor |
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There is no time to plan ahead when painting musicians jamming in a bar. I dip into the paint based on the local color value rather than the hue since I can't really see it in the dark anyway. Fresher and more inventive color schemes are the result of such blind choices.
Arthur Nielson, The Grisly Bear, NYC
The next morning, in the light of day, the color scheme of a painting can sometimes be labeled. I end up analyzing the effects of color combinations that please or intrigue me so that I might use them with intention in plein air or studio work.
Paintings that transition along the color spectrum from yellow to purple delight me. On occasion I have forced this color scheme into a painting and failed miserably. Yesterday morning when I spread out the paintings I had done the night before at Big Ed Sullivans Blues Jam at The Grisly Pear I smiled seeing this painting of Arthur. The transitions work effortlessly.
Sometimes it can be an extremely small area of a painting that makes the difference. In this case, I believe it is the tiny spot on Arthur's shirt where the red of the guitar bleeds into the green of the shirt. It ties the softer, analagous colors of the top half of the painting to the bolder, sharp-edged shapes of the bottom of the painting where the colors at the other end of the spectrum reside.
The only color missing is blue, though it is represented in the green and in the purple. Full spectrum paintings are more pleasing to me when one of the six primary and secondary colors is omitted in its pure form.
Painting: drawn first in black ink with dip pen followed by washes of watercolor
September 9, 2011
Wet in Wet Watercolor Bleeds
Posted by Chris Carter under art, Color Studies, Figurative Paintings, Figures, musicians, paintings, portraits, watercolor | Tags: Arne Englund, art, blues jam, Color Interactions, color temperatures, figures, musicians, watercolor |
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Sometimes I need to be a bit more subtle.
Arne Englund, Blues Jam Aug. 30, 2011
I like the bleed of the colors without the sharp bleed of black ink. The purple guitar strap ties the warm-colored figure of Arne into the cool blue-lavender of the background preventing him from looking like a cut-out, separate from his environment. Watercolor is an expressive media that is screamingly beautiful when left to do what it wants to do.
Sketched lightly first with pencil, followed by watercolor wet in wet.
September 7, 2011
Getting back into the swing of things
Posted by Chris Carter under abstract, art, Color Studies, Figurative Paintings, Figures, musicians, paintings, Pen and Ink, portraits, Techniques, watercolor | Tags: abstract, art, blues jam, Color Interactions, figures, musicians, paintings, pen and ink, portraits, watercolor |
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Power is restored, paintings scanned and ready for posting! It is, however, still raining ….
Arne Englund, Steve Decker and Rob Fraser
Sometimes it helps to have a low level of energy. When I painted these last week, I was halfway through our power outage from Hurricane Irene. All fourteen paintings done that night during the Blues Jam express a put-it-down-and-leave-it attitude. Shapes are either united by the proximity of their colors or accentuated by their difference in temperature (warm or cool) and value. I found that I left many of the figures unpainted, allowing the background color to define the figure as a simple shape.
Steve Decker on Drums
I'm happy when I go home with a painting of a drummer. So often they are blocked from view. I especially like the transition from warm to cool colors in this painting of Steve. When painting like this with watercolor I feel that the paint and I are partners. I allow the paint to spread and mix on the paper and the watercolor allows me to respond to the music and the energy in the room without getting fussy.
Paintings: drawn first with black ink using a dip pen, followed by strokes of watercolor
July 6, 2011
Full Spectrum with Complementary Accent
Posted by Chris Carter under art, Color Studies, Figurative Paintings, Figures, musicians, paintings, Pen and Ink, watercolor | Tags: art, blues jam, color, color palettes, figures, full spectrum color, musicians, paintings, pen and ink, rainbow, Rob Fraser, Todd Wolfe, watercolor |
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There is something about this rainbow effect, including the complementary color accent in the upper left corner (Todd's shirt against the yellow background) that intrigues me.
Todd Wolfe and Four-legged Rob Fraser
When I purposely use gradations moving from one end of the spectrum to the other, I have failed. This sketch done last night at the Blues Jam surprised me. The color choices were totally right-brained. I wasn't aware that I had painted a rainbow until I looked at it later. It was the first painting of the evening after a week of mental and emotional challenges. The fact that I had given Rob four legs (the fourth was Maria's suggestion) left me free to be ridiculous. Ahhhh…. I should be ridiculous more often.
Watercolor Sketch: Drawn first with black ink using a dip pen, followed by watercolor. Painted during the Tuesday Night, Todd Wolfe Blues Jam at the Larry Holmes Ringside Restaurant in Easton, PA.
May 19, 2011
Leaving out the Green
Posted by Chris Carter under art, Color Charts, color schemes, Figurative Paintings, Figures, musicians, paintings, Pen and Ink, watercolor | Tags: abstract, analogous, art, blues jam, color schemes, color wheels, musicians, paintings, pen and ink, watercolor |
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Analogous colors in the background.
Musicians playing at the Blues Jam
I am intrigued by the effect of the color in this ink and watercolor sketch of the musicians. The background colors flow from orange to red to red/purple to purple. The colors used on Ken Barry, the saxophone player who was being featured at that moment, are yellow and blue, the two colors on either side of the analogous colors of the background. The yellow and blue colors bring the figure of Ken forward. I get the impression of a color wheel lying on its side in the position of the viewer being "green", the one color on the outer ring of the basic color wheel that is not represented in the painting.
Drawn first with a dip pen and Speedball permanent ink, followed by strokes of watercolor
April 14, 2011
Primary Color Play another example
Posted by Chris Carter under art, Color Exercises, Color Studies, color value, Figurative Paintings, Figures, musicians, paintings, palette, Pen and Ink, portraits, Techniques, watercolor | Tags: art, blues jam, Color Interactions, color palettes, color value, figures, Justine Gardner, limited palettes, musicians, paintings, pen and ink, watercolor |
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This portrait of Justine Gardner is another example of the strong impact that a limited palette of primary colors can achieve.
Justine Gardner playing bass at the Blues Jam
The key is using pure color and taking advantage of the inherent value of the local color. Yellow will never be a dark value. Reds and blues, used as pure undiluted pigments will never be as light a value as yellows and can be stretched from dark to mid-range with a bit of dilution.
Portrait of Justine drawn first with a black ink using a dip pen, followed by strokes of pure color allowed to mix wet-in-wet on the paper.
April 13, 2011
Primary Colors and Simple Line
Posted by Chris Carter under art, Color Exercises, color schemes, color value, Figurative Paintings, Limited Palette, musicians, paintings, Pen and Ink, portraits, Techniques, watercolor | Tags: abstract, art, blues jam, Color Interactions, color palettes, color value, Dutchman, figures, limited palettes, musicians, painting techniques, portraits, watercolor |
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Color doesn't need to be complex to be strong.
Dutchman playing Harmonica
Portrait of Dutchman playing harmonica at the Blues Jam in Easton.
Black ink (dip pen) line drawing followed by washes of red, blue and yellow watercolor.
Every now and then I succeed with capturing the spirit of a musician with simple line and color. It is for those moments that I show up every Tuesday night at the Blues Jam. When I saw Dutchman in the room last night I stayed longer just for the opportunity to paint him. He usually arrives late and my paints are already packed up.
The ink lines are even more abbreviated than usual. The watercolor washes began somewhat neutralized on the palette after the night of painting. They mixed even more, wet in wet on the hot press paper, blending to a rich display of variations. Though the palette is simple, yellow, red and blue, the diluted wash of the shirt and the yellow of the arms (both high key in value) play against the dark values of the red and blue providing a full spectrum of both color and value.
As much as I love my fountain pens, the flexible tip of the dip pen is essential for these live sketches of musicians.
March 16, 2011
Can't have my cake and eat it too
Posted by Chris Carter under art, Color Studies, color value, Figurative Paintings, musicians, paintings, Pen and Ink, portraits, Techniques, watercolor | Tags: art, blues jam, Color Interactions, color value, figures, line drawings, musicians, painting techniques, paintings, pen and ink, portraits, Rob Fraser, watercolor |
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Adding watercolor washes to wet ink is always a bit risky.
Rob Fraser, Blues Jam, March 15, 2011
The lines in Rob's hat were strong. I wanted to leave it alone as an ink drawing, but it was the first few strokes of the night and I couldn't resist adding color. As I washed in the shadow under the bill of his hat, I got too close to the lines I loved and everything went into a big blur. Having lost the strength of the lines I simply moved into paint mode and continued to blur color and ink.
There is something to be learned from every painting. The high key yellow works with the broken white shapes in the microphone, the body, the guitar and the face, connecting Rob to the background. The warm hues of the background create a sense of artificial stage lighting while the cool greens and purples on Rob's clothing place him in his own shadows and set him apart from the background. The white shape of his guitar head helps to balance the heaviness of his dark face and hat. I like that there is still a bit of light on his hat thanks to the translucency of watercolor and the clarity of the green color in spite of the ink bleeding into it.
I can't help but wish I had moved on to another piece of paper before adding color to the ink drawing, not because I don't like the end result of this little sketch but because I really liked the original line drawing of the hat.
Black Ink applied with dip pen, followed by watercolor washes using only pure color or a mix of only two pigments.
March 9, 2011
A Little bit of Color Goes A Long Way
Posted by Chris Carter under art, Color Studies, Figurative Paintings, Limited Palette, musicians, paintings, Pen and Ink, portraits, Techniques, watercolor | Tags: art, blues jam, color, figures, limited palettes, musicians, portraits, Todd Wolfe, watercolor |
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I knew the ink would bleed as soon as I came close enough to it with my brush.
Todd Wolfe, Blues Musician, Watercolor Portrait
The night was young and I hadn't yet shifted into painting mode. My brush hesitated, fearful of the black ink bleed. My mood throughout the day had been a bit dark and I didn't want to carry that darkness into the night's experience of the music, nor into the expression on Todd's face. The ink lines already expressed a tension in his brow that I felt in my own. After the first few tentative strokes of color I stopped. For me, the painting works in its simplicity of color.
Painting: dip pen in black ink followed by a few strokes of watercolor washes.
Todd Wolfe playing at the Todd Wolfe Blues Jam, March 8, 2011, Larry Holmes Ringside Restaurant, Easton, PA.
March 4, 2011
Analogous Color Scheme with One Complementary Color
Posted by Chris Carter under abstract, art, color schemes, color value, Figurative Paintings, Limited Palette, paintings, Techniques, watercolor | Tags: abstract, analogous color schemes, color, color schemes, color value, complementary colors, figures, limited palettes, painting techniques, paintings, watercolor |
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Playing with analogous colors with one complement to suggest images:
Self Expression, watercolor and gouache
I equate this method of painting to lying on the warm ground and watching the clouds suggest objects or people floating in the sky above me.
Deciding on a limited palette color scheme to explore, I mix puddles of watercolor paint and toss, splatter and spill the different colors onto a sheet of watercolor paper allowing them to mix and/or dry before applying another layer. I keep building the layers until something is suggested by the shapes and patterns of the color layers. At that point I begin to define the image I am seeing in my head. Often, I need to mix gouache with my watercolors to bring back light valued areas, creating edges to describe the object or figure.
The color scheme I played with in this painting is an analogous (purple, blue, green) with one complement (yellow).
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