Module 1 - Chapter 9 (Page 14)

Chapter 9 - Playing with Primaries

Sample 1

I find these colours quite 'jarring' together and I found that the red dominated the sample, with the yellow almost 'disappearing' into the background. I wouldn't normally use these colours together as although they are dynamic and energetic together, they are also quite harsh as a colour combination.

Sample 2

For the second sample with automatic patterns, I chose a stitch that had lots of open space to see how this affected the overall result. This was almost like making a tint with white paint, as the overall effect is much softer and less dramatic than using satin stitch. I found this much more pleasing and would possible use this as a technique in the future.

Sample 3

I enjoyed experimenting with secondary colours and  found that although using satin stitch produced a dramatic and dynamic effect like the primary colours, that the result was slightly less harsh, although probably still not one that I would use if choosing my own colour scheme. I found that the purple would start to dominate easily, if not carefully used.

Sample 4

When trying the same secondary colours with an automatic stitch, I chose a slightly more closed, flower shape to see how this differed from the automatic pattern in Sample 2. Using an open stitch again had the effect of producing a lighter tint than the original shade and I could see possibilities for further use in the future.

Sample 5

For sample 5, I layered yellow stitching with its complimentary purple. Bearing in mind that the purple had a tendency to dominate the colour scheme in sample 3, I was careful to use enough yellow for this not to happen. I didn't really like the final result, as the yellow doesn't 'blend' into the purple, even though they are stitched over each other.

Sample 6

For sample 6, I used red and its complimentary colour, green. I was more pleased with the effect I achieved with this experiment, as the colours seem to blend together in some areas and almost create brown where the stitching is dense. Perhaps this was because the flower stitch that I chose was more 'closed' than the stitch I used for sample 5?

Sample 7

For this sample, I chose a very 'open' tulip shaped stitch (No. 66), used in reverse directions across calico. I was really pleased with the scribbly, random effect that this produced, and the way that the colours seemed to blend together where the stitching was layered. This is a stitch and used of colours that I would definitely choose to use in the future if trying to mix colours through stitch.


Sample 8

For sample 8, I used the tulip shaped automatic stitch (No.66) that I  used for sample 7. I wanted the colours to blend together, rather than oppose each other, so used secondary colours next to the primary colours that made them. The darker tonal colours, like purple, blue and red blended together more successfully than the lighter ones (e.g. yellow), but I was pleased with the  effect that using yellow under green and next to blue created. This was less jarring than layering only the yellow over blue.

Colour Grading - Sample 9

For this sample, I chose to create different shades of yellow, using a mixture of threads. I used two different coloured threads through the needle for every other shade and went over the single colours twice, to achieve the same thickness and texture. I was particularly pleased with the lighter colours that I created and the gradual change in shades, but did find that the heavy stitching pulled the fabric quite alot.

Stitch width = 5.1
Stitch length = 0.4

Colours used (Madeira threads, unless stated):
Brown 1145
Light brown 1126
Mustard yellow 1025
Golden yellow 1024
Light golden yellow No. 20 (Coats)
Acid yellow 1223
Lemon 1023
White

Monet and Colour

Monet started out as a tonalist. He later chose the impressionist approach because he wanted to study the effects of light on the objects around him. Monet painted on canvas which was a light color, such as white, very pale gray or very light yellow and used opaque colors. A close-up study of one of Monet's paintings will show that colors were often used straight from the tube or mixed on the canvas, but that he also scumbled colours (using thin, broken layers of paint that allows the lower layers of color to shine through).

Monet build up texture through his brushstrokes, which vary from thick to thin, with tiny dabs of light, adding contours for definition and color harmonies, working from dark to light.

He used quite a limited range of colours in his palette:

lead white, chrome yellow, cadmium yellow, viridian green, emerald green, French ultramarine, cobalt blue, madder red, and vermilion.

You will see some ivory black in his paintings before 1886, but he abandoned it for his later work and used more vibrant colours to mix his greys.

How to Paint like Monet- Use Broken Colours: Visual Colour Mixing

To paint like Monet, you will need to use a technique called “visual mixing.”

Monet did this by, for example, putting a stroke of pure red right next to a stroke of pure yellow. Side by side, the two spots of colour produce a rich and vibrant orange.

He also laid in large masses of vibrant colour first. Then he would apply strokes of pure colours over them to enrich the original colour masses.

As an example, see the chart below for mixing orange.

The first spot on the far left is orange colour straight from the

tube. The second is a juxtaposition of pure yellow and pure

red side by side. The middle spot uses the same yellow laid

on top of a wet spot of red.

The fourth is the result of yellow mixed into red using a wet

 into dry technique (scumbling—painting opaque or semi-

opaque colours over dried darker colours). It is almost the

same as the third, but more vibrant. The last patch on the far

right is the result of directly mixing the red and yellow paint.

You can see that the second, the fourth and the fifth

 spots seem more vibrant and interesting. The colours are not

 only mixed but seem to vibrate.

Monet mixed his colours using either a wet into wet

 technique or scumbling (wet colour spots on dried layers).

 He would mix a series of secondary colours on the

 palette, and placed them side by side or, dabbed them

 all over keeping the colour spots separate.

Examples of Monet's Work

Sunrise

Water Lily Pond

Water Lily Pond Evening (left side panel )

Waterlilies - my version

This version was painted with watercolours, using a mixture of purples, reds, blue, green, yellow and orange. I dabbed the colours next to each other, using the end of a small paintbrush, to recreate the effect that Monet used in his original paintings. I also waited for some layers of paint to dry, before dabbing over the top of them with a different colour.

Stitched Sample 10 - Waterlilies

I used black felt as a background for this sample and used the 'tulip' shaped automatic stitch (No. 66) that I used for my previous 'playing with primaries' samples. I chose this stitch because it gives a very 'free' almost scribbly effect when used in different directions. I started by stitching the purple sections and layered the other colours over each other to give an impression of my own painting. I stitched quite heavily, but let some of the black background show through. This took around 9 hours to complete, and I could have carried on layering the colours over each other, but I felt that this would be overdoing the stitching. I was pleased with the overall sample, particularly  where the darker colours blend together and seem to create new colours.

Colours used:
Purple 1122
Blue 1134
Dark green 1051
Turquoise green 1301
Red 1147
Orange 1278
Lilac 1080
Golden yellow 1024