Do you remember the first time you looked through a crystal, and brilliant, multi- colored fragments of light appeared? When you pass white light through a prism, it disperses into a kaleidoscope of rainbow hues and patterns. This is an example of looking at the ordinary in an extraordinary way. Prismatic painting is my way of bringing the everyday into a different focus and finding beauty in the common- place. Create Instant Backgrounds Prismatic painting is an inventive way to resolve what to put in the background — always the hardest thing to compose. The background is composed for you by the intersecting scribbled line shapes. A powerful image emerges from a ver simple subject. vFirst Paint, Then Draw Color Notes Playwththepgmens of the full-spectrum triad yereatinga page fl ofbeautfl Tepde Lookoutyeurwindow nd paint | watches of the colorsyousee. Free yourself | fompaintingshapes:justltyourselfgoin | nesploratonofolorpossiblves. Spray Jt paperwith water iret for aloose. we {reve paiorapplicatin. Lookforsemany | celorsaayoucanand then reereatetemin_ | eauty of the world around me. Jay, [often use the first paint, first, then adds color to the shi reat way to work in water coloris to reverse the usual order. Paint firs afterward, The advantage is to get some crucial color notes on ny page before the ight changes, to describe the subject on short amount of time. Use d to get ust the colors My sketchbookis a jewel box of impressions of the “When I want to capture both colorand subject quiel then draw method. Usually the watercolorist draws japes in the composition. For the sketchbook artist ag then draw that Lam sur or [run out of time and have to leave, Adding pen lin top ofthe color notes completes the pieture ina very what you know about color mixing with the full-spectrum triad ‘you want to recreate in your atmospheric underpainting, ‘watercolor. Ifyou wish. add penlineswhen | ‘the paintis dryto describe the view out of ‘your window: Draw Over Your Colors This page in my artistic journal was created by first painting, then drawing ona 10° x8" {25cm x 20cm) piece of watercolor paper. | Applied watercolor in a loose fashion, trying to ‘mirror the colors of the Parisian street scene in front of me. | didn't worry about the placement of the colors at all. The aqua blue of the sky, the feds and oranges ofthe flowers, and the yellow bfthe awning all appear in my underpainting, | added the drawing after the paint dried, using both fine and ultra fine waterproof fettip pens.turn CNe IV\InvTe Ze aee InTo ee Art Enroute While enroute—on yourdaily commateto ‘work, asa passengerin the car onthe way to the grocer store at the airportoronanair- plane—make page of one minite sketches One of my secrets is to use one minute drawings to jumpstart myselfinto opening | indhesmal frames format, and onein the ‘my journal and start to sketch. [ell myself am only goingtospend one minute _|_ open pageformat,Youwil he surprised ll per sketch, sixon a page—that's only sixminutes of my busy day. The truth isthat | theinteestingthings younotice when you assoon as I get going, I want to keep on going. Often lamenjoying the process so | Spt draw what saround you, eveninyour much that I choose to fiddle with one or more of the drawings to refine ther on ea ea eae ae forthe pleasure of it. Sometimes we have to trick our a nae just es into having fun. creativity. Or, perhaps you wil enjoy them Doth, as Ido. VIEW FROM LES BAUK DE PROVENCE Wiatercolr on Arches 300-1 (Ao gen) cl presee piper 198 1 24 (Hem 5 Gtem) TD Colection of Gearge Fabel Gather Reference Material These pencildrawings were When | retured to my hotel room later that day | painted this watercolor in my rmadein my aristicjournsl journal fiom one ofthe sketches. Can you see which one | used? | added sorme as|satonthe ground ontop dark shadows with a Pigma Micron gmmm pen to the drawing to emphasize the cofawindy hillin es‘Baux dark shadows under the tall cypress trees. The fullspectrum triad helped me cre de-Provence, France| drew ate a beautiful range of bright hues and lively, expressive darks. You can see that Quickly —not ust one minute, there are two more paintings waiting to happen from just afew minutes of but not much more. sketching.pe Draw With a Pencil With a 28 pencil lightly draw in a continuation of the photograph to give you a guideline for painting, It helps to draw in the architecture of buildings or, in this “case, the fence, to give your finished painting a convinc ing look This isa painting of my front gate, Can you see the paintingghegins? Hoved being | photo inthe sky above the trellis, What was a rather pede much more romantic depiction of my old fashioned fror blossoms in their full glory where the photo ends and e out of the able to cut the power lin strian photograph is now ntyard with the clematis ue Pot to Waele Paper 4 Gimyorpreteponhvo there of a piece of Arches cold i your artistic journal cet ressed watercol or paper or a page in els Gop the photograph as you wish. I don't want to cut or glue your photograph use a color copy. Underpaint at Each Edge With ano. 4 round, underpaint a pale version ofthe colors you see ch of the four edges. This will define the outside edges of your paint ing and give you a color plan to work from. Use the full-spectrum triad for a complete range of color possibilities and perfect color matchingRefer to Your Color Library Match the shapes and colors at the edges by using al four methods of mixing with triads: pure pigment, brights, shades, and grays and darks. Maintain a loose, vignette quality to your painting at the edges—it will breathe life into the photo- graphic image ‘Snap It Into Focus With the Darks This last step really makes the pain ing sing. Add the darks that you see in the photograph, especialy at the edges. Match both the light and the dark colors from the photograph into your painting, This is the way to make sure the transition from the photograph to the painting is smooth. Often its the addition of the very darkest colors that make the painting snap to lifepent a peaceful weekend ata friend's home in the country. The lovely ‘View out the window summed up my feelings for their warm and erful home. The combination of ink forthe window and watercolor for the landscape outside, helped contrast the sophisticated interior of the room with the nustic landscape. I painted the scene outside the window with a childlike primitive quality to convey the simple pleasures of their country life tofityour sketchbook, draw the window ledge, window frame, curtains and othe features of the room using a black pen. Draw the scene outside the window lightly in pencil, The great parts that your composition is already framed for you by the boundaries ofthe window. Bring Color to the Landscape With the ful-spectrum triad, paint the landscape framed by your inked win- dow. | made a rich variety of greens using my method for mixing brights and shades ‘Add Details, eth the fullepectiuin iad (ees pees 20. D ‘Add a few details andthe painting is rn and 31) AesMake Seven Paintings From One Lanclccape Leaving out a groundiisaliberati form of creative framing, You can easily paint the same scene several times, Jeaving out and including different grounds asyou change your frame of mind. In fact, you can frame one sub jectat east seven different ways. Background Mountains and sky ground Gadel and rocks Foreground ater and boat Foreground, Middle Ground and Background PHOTOGRAPH BY ROBERT CANTOR, ra Foreground Only Middle Ground Only Background Only ‘Middle Ground and Background Foreground and Middle Ground Foreground and BackgroundWe: aneatraordinary way. One painting depicts the sky, clouds and watery ‘waves of the seashore, The other describes the beach grasses and flowers growing near the dunes, {ve two paintings together to combine two observations of one theme, in 4 Paint Two Different Ways Identity two aspects of the subject and Paint each of them on a 4" x 6" (iocm x 15cm) piece of watercolor paper ora post ard, Paint one image depicting the sky, clouds and sea. Paint the second one showing the colors and textures of the beach grasses and flowers Cut Vertical Strips Vai sky/clouds sea painting on a Cutting board, stretch drafting tape across the top %-inch (6mm) edge ofthe paint ing and secure it. Use a craft knife and ruler to cut the painting into vertical strips, Cutting them alternately ¥4.inch (12mm) and Y4-inch (6mm) wide, Cut the strips only up to the lower edge ofthe tape, leav- ing the painting uncut underneath the tape.Using. a Red Filter to See Valves Being able to see the highlights, shad ows and everything in between isaskill worth learning. A trick [learned from a photographer friend is to use a red filter to view the landscape. Photographers find it useful to previsualize the land scape, obscuring color to mimic the contrast in blackand white film. As you Jookat the landscape through a red fil ter, all the value contrasts are height ened. You'll find it easier to see the ightest lights, the darkest darks and all the midiones in between because most of the color information is filtered out. I buy inexpensive clear red acetate at the art supply store and eut apiece into a 6 x4" (igem x 100m) rectangle, Tape the acetate onto the back of an inexpensive "x7" Gem agem) mat with a3” x igh” Gem x 11em) pre-cut window. 1 tuckit into my sketchbook so I have it handy while I'm composing my land. scapes. Use what you lear by looking through the red filter when making your value plan Turn Your Inspiration Into Shapes This is @ photograph | took while on a painting vacation in the Dordogne region of France. | was attracted to the irises prowing lke purple flags in the pocket garden in front ofthe house. | had a litle bt of time to draw and paint, s0 | pulled out my sketch book, | spent a ew minutes brainstorming what appealed to me about this vilage house. | redized | loved the contrast between the rugged stone construction and the bilan, fresh, dewy rs garden tucked into the front ofthe house. Next, | got started ‘making thumbnail shape plans. | chose one to develop further into a painting deni Values With a Red Fier Ia ed 0 male my value plan pled my red acetate ite more lear ml tha mye iter wth ne wel ves on seehow telight fone in font of te tses st dave flag behind thems, theped me note the dork value ofthe wooden shutters and door set agains he ston the house. fs oe 1d out from theTriads Have Ferconal ity! My palette is made up of twelve colors that form four different triads. I call them the full-spectrum, earth, water and sun triads. As I gotto know each triad, it became clear to me that each one possesses an essentially unique personality. The way the pigments blend, mixand marry within each trio of colors creates an unmistakable atmosphere and mood, Irealized I had unlocked a marvelous tool for self- is names cor expression. I gave the t responding to their color personalities. Later I realized that these names echo the ancient world’s understanding of the four elements of the universe— air, earth, water and fire. However, don't take these labels too literally. The sun triad isa lot more than yellows and oranges. The water triad is a lot more than blues and grays. And, the earth tri~ ad is alotmore than greens and browns, Earth Triad + Holbein Permanent Green #2 4 Schmincke Ultramarine Violet Holbein Cadmium Red Light or Winsor & Newton Cadmium Scarlet Characteristics: Minerals, stones, tl, bricks, diffs, soil, mountains, weathered teiture, dusty, sandy, field, farms, plant lf, orchards, weeds, natural elements, wood, texture, grasses, strength, groundedness, calm, tera firma. Full-Spectrum Triad 4 Winsor & Newton Winsor Lemon or Holbein Permanent Yellow Lemon 4 Winsor & Newton Winsor Blue (Red Shade) 4 Holbein Permanent Rose or Winsor & Newton Permanent Rose Characteristics: Multihued, fullness, airy, wind, abundance, potential, promise, horn of plenty, cornucopia, rich, profusion, treasure, fruitfulness, vigor, trans Parency, clear light, optimism, clarity luscious, succulence, wholeness, fulfillment wellbeing,Ferfect Complements Create Ferfect Blacks Golortheorytellsusthatanycomple- manufacturers havealloffered me dabs paint forone that is close in colorto one mentary pairs mixed together create __and tubes of painttotry. WhenTeven- in my palette. There isan easy litmus black. Complements are those pig tually found just the righttwelve pig-__test to see ifyour pigments an accurate ments that aredirectly opposite each ments, [shouted "Eureka! I've gotit!” _ color substitute. Mix your pigment with other on the color wheel. Each pair of complements makesaper- its complement, and see if you, too, get Overthe years. friends, students, _fect black. black, Ifs0, you have found a substitute. friendly art supply stores and paint You may want to replace a tube of Yellow Violet Winsor & Newton we Winsor Lemon or Holbein Werte Permanent Yelow Lemon Yellow-Green Holbein Permanent Gre Red Holbein Permanent 8 rimanert Rose Blue-Green Holbein Marine Blue or Cerulean ue Red-Orange. Holbein Cadmium Red ght or Winsor & Newto (Cadimism Scale Blue ‘Winsor 8 Newton \winsor Blue (Red Shade) Orange Holbein Cadmium Red Orange Blue Violet Schmincke Uramarine Violet Yellow-Orange Winsor & Newton New Gamboge o Holbein Gamboge Nove vn