Grateful Notices: Yellow with Reds Insisting, oil on canvas, 30 x 40 inches

Yellow with Reds Insisting
Oil on canvas, 30 x 40 inches   Private collection, Ohio
Exhibited: Dominique Boisjoli Fine Art

This oil was started during an art workshop I held in Alaska. I have a lot of fond memories of the people and my time there.

With this work I was demonstrating a loose approach to paint application, creating an interesting composition and using color dramatically. Obviously, I have worked this motif many times but for this one I first wanted the grasses to have a soft texture and happily, that happened right away.

In the first session the reds and yellows were very bright. It seemed fine at the time but in the early morning when I saw the painting again, my realization was that the colors were off. The intention was for the brightest yellows to be in the trees but that wasn't working. So what to do?

Later when the class assembled, I went over what was discussed the day before and one of the topics was the use of grays. Since I liked the yellows as they were, another color was ruled out. With everyone waiting around for me to do something, I added a bit of grey to a bright orange and went right into the wet, yellow paint on the left and to my delight, the toned down yellows revealed a few of the original, brighter yellows in the back. The leaves still appeared to be yellow, just toned down.

That went well so I got another brush, loaded it up with a medium grey and added it to the bright yellow leaves on the right. The paint was still very wet and the application of grey turned the leaves to an interesting green, again revealing some of the untouched, brighter yellow from the day before.

With the further addition of a medium dark and lighter lime greens at the top, the oil now had a nice balance and was far more interesting. It was almost magical how quickly it all came together by using a color that wasn't intuitive, a simple, medium grey. It was a good day in the classroom.

The gallery told me today that a very nice couple had purchased this oil to commemorate their 50 wedding anniversary. I am much honored and my congratulations and thanks go out to you both!