Curbside pickup

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

I started this watercolor recently because I really wanted to capture the layers of green foliage that we see in summer. I have mentioned in past posts that the color green is the hardest for me to paint. In the last year I have been attempting to improve upon my greens. At this point I do not use any right out of the tube. I do not prefer the golf course or graphic design greens, which you see in many publications or in advertising. 

Thus, for now, I have settled on three mixtures that provide varying degrees of green. For a rich, earthy green reminiscent to me of Albrecht Durer's large piece of turf, I use Prussian blue with aureolin. For a shadowy green offering a more muted effect, I prefer mixing Payne's gray with new gamboge. For large evergreens such as a spruce I use phthalo green with Payne's gray and alizarin crimson. This provides a strong sense of presence, which counterbalances the lighter areas in a picture, such as in snow. I have learned that if you add burnt sienna it will darken the color.

There is a shadow green that I purchased on our vacation to Maine this summer, which I like to mix for dark ocean effect. There are so many other greens available that I periodically use, such as viridian, olive, Hooker's, and sap but I have learned to appreciate the richness and variation from mixing my own.

Of note in the above watercolor, is that the greens seem to be the darks in the picture. I traditionally use green as a complimentary color or in a lesser role such as an accent of a feature. The brick path is complementary to the greens around it, thus creating an overall harmonizing effect. Anyway at least that is what I have noticed.