Study oil paintings

1. Crushed impasto, use brush or don't?

2. I just purchased  9 blues/bluegreens/violets. I am trying something. I whittled down to a few colors, but I decided to try this

3. I have a 5 year path. I intend on selling my art in 5 years, and having art that will be so memorable that people's children may want to keep each piece. I need to step up my work.

4.  There is a strong belief (and for good reason) that as you become a better artist and learn color theory better, you learn to use less and less colors to the point where you only need one blue, green, yellow, red, and  white and that is it. This is because if you learn to control and balance your colors you can get all the depth/lack of depth,  saturation, value, and hues you need and want.

However, there is something to be said for using several of one type of color. Chagall, for example used multiple kinds of blues to create emotion and heavy depth. Different paint types have special properties. Some blues, like Cobalt for example, have less sheen and are more raw looking due to cobalt drying quickly (as a side note, artists used to use cobalt as a drier... the only issue was it created heavy yellowing, so there was a trade off). So I have decided to start experimenting with blues, and greens blues and violets. pb15;2, Smalt (which is altered pv15, Prussian blue (which mixes poorly with white), ultramarine blue, green shade, and violet shade,  cobalt blue, cobalt turquoise light/teal,different brands of the same things, various pthalos. 

The biggest confusions about paints is that the same types of different brands and hues even of the same brand are all different, and all have different properties. For example, cobalt teal, and cerulean have many similarities but have very different specializations. The hues (colors) of a paint/paints are only a tiny part of what makes them. They may have the same hue, but one may be transparent, and the other opaque. Smalt may have the same code number as another paint, and you might think it must be the same, but it is very specialized for any paint. It creates a special property that you cant get anywhere else.

Cobalt colors cost a fortune compared to pthalos, and novices often say, I'll never buy those. But they don't understand the superior value of cobalts. They are special and can not be duplicated with a dye like pthalo (one of the cheapest, newest, and strongest blues). 

So I am now creating art with several of the same or similar colors to learn about their special values.

As a side note, the only yellow that does not fade in the sun quickly (like even less than a year with direct sunlight-Van Goghs painting of his room in blue was actually violet at one time, but the red he mixed with blue to get violet was fugitive, and faded) that I know of is cadmium yellows (and cadmium reds somewhat... but there are other reds). They are expensive, opaque,  and extremely dangerous-cancerous- in powdered form. But as far as yellow is concerned, there is nothing like Cadmium yellow. 

There is a new Winsor Newton yellow out now that may be good, but it is new, untested, and they refuse to say/tell how they created it or even what the code number is. Plus, the properties are not nearly as good as cadmium. I am trying it now.... sparingly. There is no proof that it is any good or bad (fugitive).  It is too new. At one time py75 was considered a good new yellow and was even used in roadway signs, but now it has been replaced and it has only been a few years out.

5. I need to find a new form all together.

1. Some novice artists (and even expert ones sometimes) will tell you that you must paint the haze around light in art... this is dead flat wrong. What you percieve as haze is actually part of an illusion created for painting. Van Gogh often did this illusion. Less saturated colors have a special property as they recede into the back when next to more saturated color. So an artist will mix more colors, or add white, or use another technique to make it less saturated. 

Also warmer colors like red or yellow push forward when put next to cool colors like blue or green. 

By doing these things around a star for example, it makes the star look like it is hanging in space. The look of the haze is just a byproduct of the illusion.

2. Creating oil paintings is kind of like you are putting on a magic act. 

3. When you see an oil painting on TV-- it looks  totally different than in real life, and this is why many of the 'tricks' do not transfer over to the emitted light of TV. What you see in painting art is reflected light.

4. the newest style involves not using brushes at first, and then using them. The style should be light and fluffy. The paint should barely be used. The art of Chagall I like for thius reason. Not his whole art, just the slight use of paint... like I did with the angel on angels. The paint should not be delineated and should go over/under the lines. I will need to start over with a blank canvas to make this work again.

5. I considered painting horizontally and using an arm rest. This way my MS won't affect me as much and I won't get as tired and I can paint longer. My hope is to paint for 5 hours a day. Now, maybe I am working up to 2 hours and it exhausts me.