Garden Wall, Kilkea Castle

This is a quick post about this painting. I’m still playing around with skies and cloud shapes but I will talk a little about two nasty colours I dared to use in this painting. They are Indian Red and Chrome Green Deep. In previous posts I have very often mentioned colours which mix well together. This is important in a limited palette technique. Good mixers produce a range of ‘pretty’ colours, bad mixers are OK to a point, then collapse into a dull grey or brown. For example with these colours, the green is still an acceptable green with a little red added. Continue to add red and at about the 50/50 point the resultant colour is a grey brown without depth or chroma. An ugly colour.

Ugly colours make ugly landscape paintings. For various reasons an ugly painting will be acceptable for a period of time. It might be fashionable, interesting, moody and loved, but ugly. From time to time, we all produce ugly paintings. Some of the lesser known works of ‘famous’ artists are down right ugly.

Painters like myself, are concerned about permanence of pigments and technical stuff about techniques to ensure the longevity of a painting. But the greatest threat to the longevity of a painting is ugliness. If the artist doesn’t bin it, in due course someone else will. If its beautiful, regardless of content, it will be treasured and survive. It is a challenge using ‘dodgy’ colours, but good therapy, and a learning experience.

The other colours, along with the Indian Red and Chrome Green Deep are, French Ultramarine Blue and Raw Sienna. I will, as usual, post the video of the painting process in a few days. See you then.