I use Tone to mean resonance/value. Also implied in the word tone is color harmony. I will often tilt the colors in a painting towards a unified tone. Yellows of all stripes are a favorite but I will use just about any hue as a unifying tone with the general exception of green as greens are such a present color already in most landscapes.
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| Tranquil Field (11x15) by M Francis McCarthy |
The unifying hue here in "Tranquil Field" is a warm yellow tone. There is also a strong resonance of sienna from the paintings foundation. If you read yesterdays post about Tonalist limitation of values, you can see that the whitest parts of the clouds are far short of an actual white.
The lightest parts of a painting reveal it's unifying tone the most because it's harder to perceive color in shadow areas. The dark's can definitely be tilted towards warm or cool in any painting though.
There are times that I will glaze a very light wash of color over an entire painting but more often I set up my colors in advance to harmonize. Glazing an entire painting tends to darken it and you've got to be really restrained if you try it or there's a good chance of ruining your painting.
Here's the oil sketch for "Tranquil Field". I've been posting my oil sketches with there larger brothers regularly because I feel it's illuminating. Also, I like to give my little paintings some attention. There have been times that I liked my small 5x7 better than it's larger brother but usually I think they're both good for different reasons.
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| Tranquil Field (5x7) by M Francis McCarthy |
Here's the oil sketch for "Tranquil Field". I've been posting my oil sketches with there larger brothers regularly because I feel it's illuminating. Also, I like to give my little paintings some attention. There have been times that I liked my small 5x7 better than it's larger brother but usually I think they're both good for different reasons.
My approach to the small paintings is very direct and immediate. At the same time I'm looking towards the harmonies that will resonate through the larger version of the scene.
Today's picture "Tranquil Field" can currently be viewed in my studio at the Quarry arts center, Whangarei.
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