Paintings with juice

There is no magic formula in
painting, but you do need a bit of "juice'" zip, life, energy. I call that juice -- not to be confused with
alcohol. Some paintings work for an artist because they easily demonstrate all of the artist's favorite tools. This painting of one of my
best and constantly changing models,
Claudia, is such a portrait. It showcases what I feel is a most successful colour trio, turquoise, red and mid yellow.
The underneath ground is red, which
shows up embellished with purple,
pink, orange and blue in the pillows.
In some ways the painting is more
about shape and colour than anything
else. The skin colour pops because of
the black and dark blue, and the dark
colour heightens the punch of the skin
and the red, yellow and turquoise.
The figure is casual, relaxed
and elegant, painted in a free
loose style. She seems intelligent
and content. The whole painting has
the festive, joyful air I like in my life
and like to create for others.

If you paint, try the basic three -- red, yellow and
blue -- Robert Genn would say and add grey. In
this case, the mauve functions as a hot, vibrant grey.
http://www.painterskeys.com/

Have a vibrant evening.