Monochrome
Sharpen Your Creativity
During a recent workshop in Africa we painted a 900 year old Baobab Tree at one of the resorts we stayed in. Rather than trying to introduce too much color to what was an almost monochrome subject I decided to use a neutral black mixture.
To mix this black I used Ultramarine Blue and Alizarin Crimson to achieve a strong, dark purple then little by little reduced the purpleness with the addition of a strong transparent yellow. The yellow I used was Quinacridone Gold.
Being transparent, it didn’t lighten the value of the mixture. This worked well for the Baobab. The slight variation in color with different mixtures kept the painting interesting without needing to introduce any obvious color variations.
Although the painting was done with an almost monochrome palette the slight variation in color temperature keeps the painting interesting and emphasises the intricate texture of the tree.
I really enjoyed the simplicity of this approach so started experimenting with a couple of premixed darks.
The two pans here contain Ivory Black (slightly warm) and Neutral Tint (slightly cool).
The other tools here are
● A ½” bristle brush
● A ½” Long Flat Taklon brush
● A ⅛” Long Flat brush
● A #2 Rigger
● Some white gouache
● A set of waterproof fine liner pens from .05 mm to 1.0 mm
Here, the Neutral Tint leans more towards a blue black giving the sketch a completely different atmosphere more suited to the maritime subject.
For this sketch I used the Ivory Black, some liner pens and a few fine lines of white gouache.
The subtle warmth of the Ivory Black suits the weathered, rustic nature of the subject.
For these old boat sheds I used Neutral Tint and Ivory Black plus the liner pens.
It amazes me how such a small shift in color temperature gives the suggestion of color.
This sketch of Florence was a complicated subject so I started by drawing it out with a fine liner pen. Once most of the detail was complete I added washes of Neutral Tint.
After the washes dried I used a thicker liner to adjust and darken some of the windows and arches.
Here the coolness of the Neutral Tint adds to the rough marine atmosphere of Monterey Wharf. With this technique the washes can be very loose and rough.
The sharp, precise pen lines make an interesting contrast and add a feeling of detail and accuracy to the sketch
This quick little sketch was done first with loose fine liner marks then right at the end, a few strokes of neutral grey with the ½” flat brush adds a little subtlety to the drawing.