How to choose the right color is a question that often
bothers professional painters and those who are just getting started. Although
there is no definitive and concrete answer, there are some guidelines that can
help. In this article, Brooklyn-based landscape painter Al Serino states
the basic pros and cons of each technique. Once you find the right balance
between what you consider as pro and con, you will find the right colors for
you.
Generalization is impossible, as choosing the color with
which one painter will achieve his maximum depends on his skill, technique
development, but also on his patience and other personal characteristics. So,
if you are tidy, precise and simply hate the mess, there is little to no chance
that you will be comfortable with colors that can dirty the entire space around
the artwork as you apply them. In addition to that, Al Serino believes it
is important to consider the future observer. Different colors and techniques
evoke different emotions.
There are many types of paints, but in most cases, artists
choose to paint with watercolors, acrylic or oil paints.
Watercolors are easy to use. Simply dilute the desired
color with water on the pallet, then apply it to the canvas. If you need to make
the picture lighter - use more water, if you need to darken some parts - take
less water and more color. If something needs repairing, the water will help to
clear the excess. Watercolor paintings are always easier and more emotional and
technically simple. That's why this is an ideal option for beginners.
Generally, watercolors are in most cases accessories that
make the painting somehow blurry, muted. It will evoke the appropriate emotion and
feeling on landscapes where let’s say, it is raining. When such landscapes are
well done, you can almost feel the humidity and the cold. Oil paints, on the
other hand, will produce shapes of clear lines that almost always appear rich
and radiant. Whatever emotion you want to convey in detail, you can’t go wrong with
oil paint. Acrylics are somewhere in the middle. Again, Al Serino reminds us that the artist’s technique is crucial in order to get the most out of acrylic
paints and to enhance their similarity to watercolors or oil paints.
