color as... Value-- Temperature-- Saturation

I photographed my son, Ian, then placed a grid on three blank papers. This was the starting point from which I would explore the technical narrative of mixing, saturates and neutrals and interpreting his image anew. The first one above is SATURATES plus titanium white--a value study.

Graphite study in black, grey and white scale.

Gouache study in black, grey and white.

Now to explore color as temperature: WARM Light and COOL shadow using just cadmium orange and phthalo blue plus titanium white.

Reverse study: COOL light and WARM shadow.

The primary colors--orange and blue plus white-mixed produced a range of neutrals which lower the intensity and suggest another quieter view of Ian. This one, WARM light, COOL shadow.l

Again this painting, like the previous, is done using the neutrals I mixed from orange, blue and white. COOL light vs. WARM shadow.

Kimberly Trowbridge emphasizes: Painting is a theatre of possibility- a fiction; an abstraction. When the opportunity presents itself to open to the technical and poetic narrative--What questions arise that are looking for a new response or pull you away from sticking to just what you know. Will you actually take a risk and seek the "road less traveled"? Above, I included one additional saturate, cadmium yellow, to my palette and soon I welcomed the arrival of colors, never before imagined: olive and avocado green, Meyer lemon, chocolate mousse, dusty navy, nutty brown, moldy green etc.