Painting an American Flag
At the supermarket parking lot, I cast an eye skyward.
It's a cloudy day with a steady breeze from the south. The flag catches my eye, and I decide to paint it in gouache. I mute the colors and warm them, which means the blue is just a gray. I gradate both the flag colors and the sky colors toward an imaginary fiery orb behind the flag.
(link to YouTube)
As I say in the video, local colors become interesting when they are transformed by a system of illumination. That's how you animate colors—modulate them according to a logic of light. That logic might be atmospheric perspective, light and shadow, or in this case, halation / lens flare / or color corona.
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This is beautiful and rewarding to watch and learn from you on here! I loved how you engaged with the worker and had a true genuine conversation with him! Thank you for your book Color and Light!
Once, while painting some old trees a photographer passed by and we talked about a local artist and their process. The photographer was so enamored by the artist we talked about. I surround myself with painters, and I forget how special it is for non artists to see it happen. It is genuinely a humbling experience to create and have people curiously approach.