Thursday, March 29, 2012

Bottle Collection + Earth Tone Color Chart



Bottle Collection - Oil on panel 8 x 10 inches © Jim Serrett

The painting on my easel is a study of bottles done with an earth palette.
I have really enjoyed working with these limited palettes; they have an innate natural harmony and subtlety.


The chart is the studio palette I have been using for several recent works. The color chart is comprised of just four hues, yellow ocher, burnt sienna, burnt umber, ultramarine blue, and white. These low key earth palettes will make you look closely at building color relationships and thinking about color saturation.

Much of the subtly in these color families can not truly be seen or appreciated unless you actually mix one of these charts. For example ultramarine blue mixed with burnt sienna or burnt umber produce two beautiful mixed blacks and an entire range of warm and cool grays. This is what I used in the study Bottle Collection and in the chart for my mixed black or shade.








Explore - Question - Learn - Enjoy, Jim