Still One of My Favorites!

This painting is of a spot in my neighborhood overlooking Pensacola Bay. I had just seen such an incredible sunset that I stood still to watch it, immersed in a shifting sea of orange and gold that filled my entire field of vision.When I painted the scene the next day I placed it within that sunset. I painted everything else with the sharp shimmer of intense light that had surrounded everything the night before. The painting was displayed briefly a few years ago. It has been in my studio since. It's still one of my favorites and is still available.

Sunset Over the Bayou - oil on birch panel - 30x40
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There's Something About Warm Colors

 When I was in Kindergarden I thought something was wrong with me because my favorite color was orange when everyone else's was either red or blue. For a while, I even hid my color preference from my classmates. But those sunny colors wouldn't stay repressed. There is something about warm colors that makes me smile. They are "feel good" colors.

Sunset Over the Bayou - 30x40 oil on birch panel
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Yellow is now the color that sends me scurrying through art bins looking for every variety and shade. Yellow is also the color that there is the most difference in from brand to brand. One company's Cadmium Yellow Light is another brand's Cadmium Yellow Medium.

One of my favorite yellows is Old Holland Red Gold Lake. Straight from the tube it's a slightly dark subdued orange red. Depending on what colors you place around it, it can look screaming red. But when you start to add white, it changes until it becomes a very soft light yellow.

I love how it modifies greens. They turn olive without getting dark and murky. As an orange, it seems richer than cadmium orange.

It certainly isn't an essential color for anyone's palette but it's one I never get tired of. What is your favorite painting color?