Today I’m starting on another piece for our gallery in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. My basic plan is sketched up on the canvas and we’re ready to begin painting. As you read through my blog please remember, you can click on any of the pictures to see them larger.
Cool light illuminates the background, it will lend an air of mystery to the piece. Making the viewer wonder what is on the other side of the gate. Then the walls are blocked in with mixes of Ultramarine Blue + Cadmium Orange + MUD (Ultramarine Blue + Alizarin Crimson) + White. More MUD is added in the shadow mixtures. A few strokes of Ultramarine Blue + White are made at the far end of the wall in the corner to make it recede. If you’d like to learn more about our Double Primary Color Mixing System that Jack developed CLICK HERE.
FIERY RED GATE
Watch the VIDEO to see how I paint the Fiery Red Gate. Each time the brush is pulled out of view I wipe it on toilet tissue. A clean brush is the secret to crisp, bright colors on your canvas! My wrist is braced against a mahl stick to steady my hand as I delineate the fine details on the gate.
Morning Glories are made of some special colors I use from time to time, Magenta and Dioxazine Purple. White is added to make the various shades. After adding the leaves the long, dangling vines are pulled into the wet paint of the wall with a fine liner brush.
A folk art cross, tucked under the draping blossoms, brings a touch of interest to the old wall. Thank you for visiting today. Hope you’ll come back tomorrow and follow along. If you would like to receive an email every time I publish a new post please feel free to subscribe to my blog. CLICK THIS LINK and scroll to the upper right side of the page. You will see a heading EMAIL SUBSCRIPTIONS. Just enter your email address and click the button “Sign me up!” It’s easy. And if you enjoy my blog please CLICK the FaceBook LIKE Button. As we say in Texas, “Much Obliged!
Mikki Senkarik 
February 24, 2015 at 7:41 AM |
Mikki,
Thanks so much for the red gate video. You put in just the right amount of detail without overworking it. And I enjoyed seeing how you went about placing the shaded part of the gate first, then the light. And how it only took a few well-placed strokes to indicate the shadows falling across the surface. Well-done!
February 24, 2015 at 7:51 AM |
This is beautiful. I love your work, and how you share your method. Thank you so much.
April 26, 2015 at 5:46 AM |
Beautiful mikki.