Golden Hour: the collection that challenged me
For this collection, I had one goal: to use only 5 colors.
This might be called a limited palette, and painting like this is actually super common. So why have I never done it? This is the question I asked myself as I sat on my couch, sketching out ideas for new pieces. The only answer I had was that I had never tried.
Almost a living thing, my art supplies have been collecting at the bottom of drawers, in cabinets, and on garage shelves for 15 years. I have so many different colors of paints, pencils, and pastels. It can be fun to explore every color and every medium and just run with it. But, I've never really tried to limit my palette before, and I was curious what that would look like in my art.
So, I grabbed my 5 staple colors:
- White (Titanium white)
- Blue (Ultramarine Blue)
- Brown (Burnt Umber)
- Yellow (Yellow Ochre)
- Red (Red Cad Hue)
And I tried to make as many colors as I could on a piece of scrap canvas from just these.
To my surprise, it was fantastic! So I began my collection, happy and excited.
Now here's where it got challenging.
When I sat down at my easel and started the painting of Lemon Branch, I realized I couldn't make the right color. I was looking at my reference photo and thinking how do I make that yellow from just these colors?
I tried a few times and failed. I started to get frustrated, I just wanted to make a simple yellow! This is when I thought I'd just abandon the challenge and reach into my cabinet for my lemon yellow paint tube that was calling to me.
I thought okay, just do one painting with this palette. Even if you hate it you will have at least exercised a new muscle. So, I put away the yellow and tried again. I realized I had to paint the color I could and not the color I saw. Interpreting rather than copying.
Once I stopped fighting against the colors I had, everything got easier. I realized the colors could be a little different than my reference photo and still work! Because they were all from the same 5 colors they harmonized beautifully.
I wasn't overwhelmed with the choice of any and every color; I had only one way to make everything, and it actually felt kind of freeing. I started to focus more on what I was painting and not trying to copy my reference photo. In the end, I think my artwork turned out better and more cohesive. And of course, it’s always good to challenge yourself to try something different.
So, the most important question....
Will this be my new way of painting?
The answer? YES
I think I'll add one or two more colors to this palette for more variety, but overall, I was so pleased with how my art turned out. Not being overwhelmed by matching the perfect color left so much more room in my brain to consider other things like placement, composition, and style.
And the biggest test? I left my easel wanting to come back the next day. This is by far my favorite way to tell if something's working.
- Haley
