Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788) English Academic Painter
The Blue Boy was composed to prove that the old rules were usually nonsense. Since the Renaissance it was thought that the color blue receded and so should not be put “into the foreground of paintings but should be reserved for the distant backgrounds, for the fading hills on the horizon (Gombrich 32). ” Thomas Gainsborough wished to prove the theory wrong, so he painted a boy in a bright blue suit and set him against a warm orange background. By reversing the colors, he proved that a good painter did not need to follow any rules for art, but could manipulate the colors to achieve effects that were even the opposite of those that the rules describe.
While many English painters of the time followed the traditional rules of painting and wanted to invent new rules in addition to the old, Gainsborough simply refused to copy the masters and their methods. Gainsborough took a fresh approach in a time when rules in art weighed heavy on the profession. Gainsborough was so successful as a portrait painter that he was not able to devote his time to landscapes; the subject he really loved. (Gombrich 357).
MIXING INTERMEDIATE COLORS
To understand more about color, mix a primary hue with the secondary hues on each side as seen on the color wheel. This will give you intermediate hues. Do this with each primary hue as shown.
Primary Secondary
Primary (red)
The result of mixing a primary with a secondary is an intermediate hue.
Intermediate (red-violet)
4. Dip the brush into the next color and mix it with the first color in the palette. Continue mixing on the palette for changes. Rinse each time you begin to mix a new color. The original cakes should stay clean of other colors. Secondary (violet)
Test the color mixture on a trial sheet of paper. Add water to lighten the color. Add more pigment to make it brighter. When the test color is correct, brush it onto your picture.
Mix all color in the empty space of the palette. Keep the colors clean by rinsing the brush before dipping it into a new color.
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