"Red Hills" 9x12, oilOne of the new colors in my palette of Gamblin FastMatte alkyd colors is Phthalo Green. I've not used this color before, but when I was painting at the Grand Canyon recently with M.L. Coleman, he mentioned to me that he liked this color better than Phthalo Blue, which I do use. His argument was that the blue was too strong a pigment, and that the green could function as well in the landscape. Phthalo Green is a cool, blue-green, and one can see how it might sometimes be used as a blue.
For the painting above, I did exactly that. The sky I painted with Ultramarine Blue to give it that summer-time feeling of intense sunlight drenching the landscape. (If you've been to the Southwest during the monsoon season, you'll know what I'm talking about!) However, toward the horizon and on the left, I used Phthalo Green rather than blue. It worked perfectly to warm up that part of the sky. I also used the color in the areas of sunlit vegetation, neutralized a bit with Napthol Scarlet and Chromatic Black. I think Phthalo Green will now become a regular member of my traditional oil palette, as well.
By the way, you'll note I've put a new template on this blog. It's cleaner, and in the process of implementing it, I also cleaned up some of the links. Hopefully, it'll work well for you if you're trying to find something! As another bit of news, I've created a blog for our Pumphouse Studio Gallery, which will be located in Sedona. If you've not heard about our new studio space in Sedona, here's a link for that: www.PumphouseStudioGallery.com. Trina and I are looking forward to the new studio space.
