Green is a color which we feel extremely attracted to in spring. I do feel that way, and maybe you do, as well, if you’ve had many months of grey and white view out of your window. I celebrate the return of green color since it uplifts my mood and promises nicer days ahead.
There are numerous concepts and assumptions about using green in art. Many artists avoid it almost completely not be accused mixing their colors properly. Just like with everything else, it’s better to have our own take on that and experiment.
For acrylic painting, there’ s practically no need to buy green paint. Why? Depending on your personal preference, it’s possible to mix up any green shade from other colors, including three primary colors. I don’t like aqua and phthalo too much, and although, they are strong and good for cooler areas, I prefer using the quieter tones.
I love black plus yellow plus touch of blue, or blue plus burnt sienna and touch of yellow. Here and there simple blue plus yellow work well. The thing is we can have cold and warm yellow and very cold and warmer blue and that changes the green we are having. Every one of colors we get has some good potential for applying it. Where? It always depends on the project, intention and technique.
It is advisable to break up the green spaces with calming tones of purple, red or cool/warm brown. My most favorite set of basic colors for spring is blue, green, grey and some warm brown, burnt sienna or white. It is a calming combination and surely conveys the concept of an artwork well.
I had a 24 x 20 in or 61 x 51 cm canvas from 2015. Everything is expensive right now, and that is an extremely high-quality canvas. I cannot recall what exactly my idea back then in 2015 was, but I decided to reuse it. This canvas had quite visible textures underneath of a few layers of grey/green/blue colors. I couldn’t change the tree shapes or location dramatically, the same goes for the water patch. Therefore, I adjusted the textured image and after a few layers it started to come to life.
It’s interesting how many starting-out artists believe they’ve got to finish their painting in one sitting. That is the damaging impact of paint nights which are not art classes, but entertainment, and tutorials which use rather tiny canvas or paper. If the size of painting is quite large, it is physically impossible. Every single spot need attention and work. Acrylic paint requires timing the paint application. That means, we cover some areas very quickly and for some – we wait until the previous layers are dry. That way we get our colors to shine and shapes to work well. That translates as painting in small segments and retuning to them layer after layer.
I called this painting “The moment before”. That includes everything that happens before the nature explodes in brilliance of blooms and abundance of green in leaves and grasses. The photos are taken with iPhone and the camera of 13 Pro Max is quite disappointing. The actual painting has no real yellow in it, and the green is well-coordinated in cool and warm areas. You might not see it that way, but anyway, that’s how it is.
The moment before, 24 x 20 in or 61 x 51 cm. Enjoy!
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Gorgeous!
Thanks Victoria!
I love the texture you achieve in the water. Very nice, Inese!
Thanks very much!
The textures were on canvas from 7 years ago. It was tricky actually to fit them in. I think, too, this painting works well.
Nice painting, I really like your lushus spring greens!! I can hardly wait a few more weeks until the treetops burst out into bright green.
Thanks Shawn!
I feel the same way, it’s been too long of grey and white surroundings.
In Ajax, where I am, buds start slowly getting bigger. I suppose, May comes and in a few weeks the first leaves will open.
Finishing this painting was quite tricky because I could not change some shapes and I was restricted to keeping the same areas which already had textures that defined them.
Anyway, it’s good looking. I have more works to post, but my main computer crashed again, so I have only what was backed up.
All the best to you and I hope you have published new art already!
Wow, Inese, I didn’t realise how much time and effort goes into making a painting, and all the layers and colour combinations. The results are stunning! I absolutely love Spring with its various shades of greenery, so fresh and new. Thank you so much.
Thank you very much!
If we want the painting to look multidimensional, we just keep adding layers.The textures help also.
Due to tiny tutorial pieces and paint nights, I have many students wondering how’s that – we don’t finish painting in one sitting? Yes, when the painting is decent size, it takes planning and work, and quite a lot of it.
Acrylic is a flat medium by nature, it dries darker unless one implements lots of color transitions and layers. If we use canvas which hasn’t been primed or painted with base layer, it’s even worse. So, that’s why many layers are great.
We had real winter weather most of April, but it seems we will be finally into warmer climate. It’s about time. The waiting for spring can be very long in Ontario.
All the best to you!
Thank you, Inese, for the best wishes and the explanation. It makes much more sense to me now.
Well, every artist is different, but some principles are always true.
Have a good weekend!