"The Colors of Fog"
8x10, pastel on board
A search for paintable scenes in fog isn't always successful. Fog, however, can change the most familiar spot into something new. Today, I took the students over to Con Robinson Point, a place I've painted countless times, hoping it would offer some view in this unseasonably foggy July. As luck would have it, the rock outcrop, a familiar friend, was just barely visible.
We often think of fog as grey, and as a very neutral grey at that. For this piece, I did an experiment. I divided my scene up into three value groups - dark, mid-value and light - and then selected pink and green pastels for each value group. For the distant parts, I picked cooler pinks and greens; for the foreground, I picked warmer pinks and greens. Pink (or red) and green are complements, and when layered lightly, mix into a wonderful greyed medley. For variety, I added a hint of blue and yellow here and there.
