Linda--

I've said too much in this thread already but I have to check in regarding these. They're exciting and ambitious pieces. Congratulations. Thanks also for sharing what you've learned.

I thought that your comment on cads being the condiment and not the main course was a very astute summation.

Best to all--TE

Here's a close up

Oh by the way I don't mean to have so many posts here, I just think all these paintings are relevent to the topic, and so they might be a tangible example of the topic.

and yes I've been painting like a fool lately.

Congratulations on these wonderful commissions. Your work gets stronger with each painting. I'm very happy that the change of palette has worked out so well for you, and so quickly. I

Linda, these are very impressive pieces and I am even more impressed with your lightning fast speed -- amazing!

Paxton palette?
 

Linda:

First -- very nice work.

Second -- Paxton palette? I suppose I was "sleeping in class" when this palette topic came up. Is it in this thread, and I missed it?

Yikes, I found it!
 

Linda:

Again, nice work.

And, once again, through the marvel of modern electronics (read that as search engine), I found the Paxton palette.

I wrote to Marv the other day, after spending an entire morning playing with these two reds (I like Venetian better) and told him that with a bit of tweaking, it was possible for me to get all the same color(values/hues) that I have been working with up to now. However, I was really impressed with the soft and delicate flesh tones I could get with these "earthier" colors.

Linda,

These are terrific paintings and should really have their own posts in Unveilings. I'm impressed by your industry, talent and passion. Keep up the great work!

Wonderful looking work Linda. :) You seem to be getting a better feel for the colors with each painting.

Thank you everyone for the encouragement! I'm so glad you guys see improvement. This journey at becoming a portrait painter over the last few years has been filled with thousands of nano baby steps, and it's fun to see progess every once and a while. I"m still terrified and clueless, but I look forward to trying out more palettes of other artists - it not only put me more in control, it's an "organized" way to learn about different paint colors and what they give.

And I'll be sure to pick up some Venetian Red in the morning!

Marvin -

Was Paxton's Pallette used by the rest of the Boston school?

TIA if you know

Hi Sharon,

I love the Michael Harding oil paints. They are denser than the Blockx which are too thin for my liking. The are heavily pigmented and can always be softened by the addition of a little oil. I mix my own grays.

Paxton's flesh colors are beyond compare and the understated nature of his application is, for me, evidence that he doubled as a zen master. He would use Vermillion when it was called for. I saw a painting last year in which he used a hue progression of Venetion Red to Indian Red to Alizarin to paint a red cloth next to a nude figure. Those colors just resonated in juxtaposition to the neutrals surrounding the figure and drapery.

Personally, I find that the experience of looking at intensely colored paintings becomes a jarring one, after a period of time. I believe that subtle colors are more appealing in the long run. I look to Paxton, Bouguereau and Monstead (a landscape painter who studied with Bouguereau) as great examples of this.

It's very hard to have the figure come forward against a full tilt boogie cadmium red background. A successful painting is one where all elements maintain their proper relationships. The Paxton painting I described is a wonderful demonstration of this. Many painters through history successfully employed red backgrounds without grabbing for those cadmiums. Van Dyke is a great example.

On another note I'll be in Boston this weekend at the portrait conference. As I don't get up to Boston often, I want to see as many Paxtons as possible. Can you let me know where I should look. I've got my sites set on the Museum of Fine Arts (The Necklace) and now, thanks to you, the Voce Gallery.

Thank you for continuing this topic. I have finally read it now, but wish that I had done it earlier. I see things clearer now.

And about Marvin

I assume you mean the exact colors and not the actual piece of wood?

I've heard numerous variations but I got the skinny from James Childs who studied with Ives Gammel a student of Paxton's.

Flake White, Ivory Black, Raw Umber, Light Red (varies by brand), Indian Red, Alizarin Crimson, Yellow Ochre, Ultramarine Blue, Viridian, Burnt Sienna, Naples Yellow Light, Vermilian and Cerulean Blue.

The reason I use Flake is because Paxton used it. I assume he used it for the following reasons: it allows for the creation of more luminous skin tones because of it's translucency; the lead content makes a far superior paint film; it doesn't cause hue shifts like the more bluish whites and it makes for faster drying times.

Hi Sharon,

Long time!?!

Anyway, I'm glad you and Claude are back together. Especially for Claude's sake. The English Red goes by many names. Each manufacturer has different names for the same color and different colors for the same name. Michael Harding makes Venetian Red, which is what I use. Everything I use is Michael Harding colors, including Ultramarine with the exception of Blockx Crimson Lake which I use instead of Alizarin, for reasons of permanence. I am currently seeing if the poor permanency rating of Alizarin is flawed, based on a bad example tested. Stay tuned.

I don't use Raw Sienna for two reasons. Paxton didn't and it's redundant based on what the other color mixes can give you.

Isn't Flake white poisonous? They sell it here in the stores in litlle cans instead of tubes. It's too dangerous and they manufacture it primarily for restoration purposes.

I edited this post later and added these links:
http://forum.portraitartist.com/showthread.php?t=347

http://www.michaelharding.co.uk/safety.htm
(thanks Sharon)

Wonderful info
 

Marvin,

Hmm, I am slowing coming around in my journey to become a portrait artist to the Paxton palette. (Perhaps that brainwashing you mentioned in an earlier post somehow works through the computer?) I have taken meticulous notes about the Paxton palette and will give it a try. Also I'll find any books I can on Paxton himself. I am actually not unhappy using cads but I think that is only due to my ignorance of knowing what else to do. Thank you for posting so much information about this palette.

Sharon,

I tried to send you an e-mail yesterday using the e-mail address from your website but it got returned. (I'm sure it was technical problems on my end). Could you e-mail me and then I'll hit 'reply' in response to your e-mail? I'll be in R.I. in June and am interested in meeting you and seeing some of your work in person!

Joan
[email protected]

Having just spent a week with Gary Hoff in Bill Whitaker's workshop, this is what I have learned about flake white and other lead products:

1. Bill says "Just don't spread it on your toast"

2. Gary says (he is BTW the Dean of Cardiology at his University) (oh, and by the way completely delightful guy) " I have never ever seen a case of adult lead poisoning."

Don't let your kids eat the stuff, and wash your hands before eating.

I had my friend the toxicologist-who-always-wanted-to-be-an-artist over at my studio a few weeks ago and he was of the same opinion as Dr. Gary... but my friend was horrified to discover that I walk around with my brushes stuck in my mouth most of the time. (Not the bristle ends, I'm not that absent-minded.) My use of Maroger probably increases my risk.

At his suggestion, I'm getting a base-level blood test for lead at my next physical. If I come out clean then the rest of you are probably clean, too.

Meanwhile, my parrot that sits on my shoulder while I paint recently did a spectacular belly-flop into my lead white on my hand held palette. I guess I'm using him as an early warning system, sort of a canary-in-the-coal-mine thing.

Now, Linda, you HAVE to post a picture of you painting with a parrot on your shoulder. That, I gotta see!

I'm waiting for somebody to start a new thread under the "Studio" topic, titled "Studio Pets." I have a feeling that there's a lot of them out there.

Linda- I'll start it, I have a house full.

Jean

To say I nearly fell off my chair laughing is an understatement!

I just read through this thread for the first time. Very interesting, and I'm looking forward to trying out the non-cadmium palette on my next piece.

One thing I didn't understand, when Marvin speaks of using neutral grays to reduce the chromatic intensity (rather than complements), what paint color is that exactly? I've seen a line of neutral grays in acrylic, but I don't recall seeing any in oil. Or is he just speaking of mixing black and white to make the various values of gray?

(Taking his workshop is on my list of things to do as soon as possible).

thanks in advance for the info.

Ken--

Neutral gray in the generic sense, not a specific brand or color out of the tube. It's a mixing discussion, not a purchasing one.

You can gray down colors essentially two ways--mix them with their complement or mix them with gray. The gray can be mixed with black and white or any of a thousand other combinations of colors. A black and white mix will yield a rather cool gray, black and white being more or less both cool colors. On the other hand, you might want to mix a more warmish neutral gray into whatever color you're trying to gray down. Experimentation yields knowledge.

It's just that mixing a color with its complement will generally gray it down faster, and may yield a more sumptuous result.

I won't speak for Marvin, but when I want to gray down a color, I just look for a neutral gray that's somewhere on the palette already, with a warm or cool cast that I want, and grab some of that. Or I use the complement, as described above. In the case of Marvin's specific palette, he has a row of neutral grays already mixed in each of the ten values on his scale, made from raw umber, black and white. Obviously, I'm a lot sloppier and less disciplined.

If the value of the gray or complement being added is the same value as the color you're trying to neutralize, the value won't shift--an important idea for us tonalists.

Marvin, correct any of this you wish. Good to have seen you the other week.

Best--TE

Hi Ken.

I am not Marvin, but here is my perception of the theme.

When painting portraits you work with very limited colors in the flesh tones. Instead of mixing Cadmium Yellow, Cadmium Red, Viridian and White, you simply use Venetian Red and Flake White. It is less hazardous, and therefore easier.

The Cadmiums are so strong that you will never need a color that strong. The earth colors are closer to what you actually need. That

Also, this for Long John Brandon--

Maybe I could paint with a parrot on my shoulder, but doesn't the eye patch kill your ability to discern perspective?

Just wondering--TE

Grays
 

I use both Tom and Marvin's method.

I premix two or three neutrals using a string of five values using black and white; raw umber and white, and a curious greenish/yellowish gray from raw sienna, black and white. I do this most of the time.

However, as Tom points out, eventually, my palette is full of the most curious puddles of gray and I often fetch some neutral color from one of these.

Sometimes, the random little piles of neutral colors seem to work best because they are already composed of colors I've applied to the portrait somewhere, and it seems to give a sort of unity to the work.

Both the "Tom" and "Marvin" method work well for me.

By the way, Marvin, this whole discussion has led me to use less and less cadmiums, and now, my palette much quieter, and I seem to be doing better. Thanks for kicking me off the cadmium pile.

Peter.

Yes both are toxic. Flake white contains lead which can only be harmful if ingested or inhaled as dust. Wash hands before eating and don't sand the painting.

Turpentine can be absorbed through the skin and the fumes are very noxious.

Intelligent use of materials is the key.

Sharon,

I'm baaaaaaack!!! The workshop was great. So many talented people.

Richard,

The majority of the greatest paintings ever created used no cadmiums. I detect a theme here. Using cadmiums in flesh is like learning to parallel park in a Boeing 747.

Joan,

I have created a specific arrangement of colors on my palette based on Paxton's colors. This includes a string of neutral grays which I premix and tube.

Ken,

My neutral grays are based on 9 equal steps between the extremes of black and white paint. Other brands that manufacture neutral grays use theoretical black and white points. The values are threrfore skewed.

Speaking of Equal Steps of Gray!
 

Marvin,

I went to the extreme last year and premixed and tubed 50, yes I said 50 equal steps of neutral gray! This set me back several hundred dollars in materials expenses. I used Old Holland Ivory Black and Titanium White, because Old Holland happens to make a very pure Titanium White that isn't cut with Zinc or anything else. These particular black and whites are of roughly equal tinting strength, which made the formulations simpler. I gave these grays graded appellations of 5, 10, 15, 20, etc., to 250. 0 is pure black and 255 is pure white, which makes a total of 52 equal steps. You may notice that these numbers relate to the standard RGB Grayscale in Photoshop. That was my idea, to directly be able to translate any given grayscale value in Photoshop into paint values on the canvas. This works very reliably, but in practice it is just about as good to eyeball in the approximate values.

Regards,

Garth

Garth, how do you measure on the photo reference? Do you use the Photoshop?

This should be a separate topic about " How to measure values"

Allan

Photoshop Histogram
 

I'm a newbie to Photoshop, myself. But Photoshop allows you to scan your photo, almost pixel by pixel, and tells you the values of R, G, and B whereever your cursor is on the photo. If it is in b&w, it will give you a pixel by pixel grayscale rating -- degree of black or white.

I'm just getting into the program, but it looks as though it will be very useful.

Another thing it will do (I'm told) is let you take photos apart and do something like cut and paste different parts. For instance, I'm finishing a portrait of a woman who had her photo taken 10 years ago in Australia. She is holding a koala bear. But since then, she has had her hair completely re-styled, and she's lost weight. So, we took new photos, and I put the old koala bear in the arms of the "new woman." If I had known how to use Photoshop, I could have done it all onscreen, and then printed it out. As it was, I had to do my own cutting and pasting.

Garth,

I use my nine grays to neutralize (reduce the chroma/intensity) any color I mix to modify it without altering the hue or the value. If I were to use a gray mixed from just black or white (which both contain blue) the grays wouldn't be neutral and would therefore cause hue shifts.

I mix my other colors to the proper value and hue before adding the gray, where necessary. Due to the malleability of oils, I can easily achieve intermediate steps by brushing together two tangent values and/or hues.

One of the main focuses of my teaching is that the paint I apply to a flat canvas needs to be altered from perceived reality in order to achieve the quality of spacial illusion that the old masters were so deft at creating.

Therefore, I view any photo reference with a grain of salt because of the inequity between the way my eye and the camera perceive values and colors. Photos to me appear to flatten what my eye sees even further. I tend to approach all photos as being questionable at best, but I guess to each his own.

My question to you is how exactly do you translate this info into color?

Marvin,

I totally agree with you. I question the validity of photos the very same as you. Your method is very practical and purposeful. My grays are indeed too cold for mixing purposes and I don't use them like you use yours. What I did was an interesting experiment, but I confess I have not really fully found a practical application for it yet. This exercise has played no role in any recent paintings of mine, except to make me perhaps more aware of subtle tonal relationships. It does nothing for color development except to steer the color toward a sensible value. But like you, the final arbiter is my eye. What ever doesn't jive in the translation will be altered to create the desired spacial illusion.

Regards,

Garth

Help with Paxton
 

Can anyone direct me to Mr. Paxton's palette?

I've done the requisite search of this site, and have found a lot of references to this palette, but I'd like to see it for myself.

If it exists on this site, can someone tell me where, please.

I know I've posted it before but here it is again according to James Childs who studied with Ives Gammel, a student of Paxton's:

Light Red
Indian Red
Ultramarine Blue
Raw Umber
Flake White
Ivory Black
Viridian
Alizirin Crimson
Yellow Ochre
Burnt Sienna

Additional Colors when needed:
Naples Yellow
Vermilion
Cerulean Blue

Marvin -- Mea Culpa
 

Marvin:

Indeed, you have posted it before. The moment I saw it, I recognized it. Thanks for your enduring patience.

I should have asked for the formula for "nuetral" grays. This kind of baffles me. Grays, it seems to me, will, or can be either warm or cool, depending on how you make them and whether you've purposely, or inadvertently gotten the mix a little too blue or orange, as in the case of burnt sienna and ultramarine blue, which can lean brownish (red), or coolish (blue).

Grays made from complements can slip subtley into warm or cool.

You noted that gray from b&w is bluish, and thus, cool

How do you hit that neutral mark, and with which paints?

Flake white, ivory black and raw umber are my ingredients for neutral gray.

I generally eschew the use of compliments, especially those based on the standard color wheel (scientifically inaccurate) for reasons too numerous to mention here. Obviously my grays employ complementary colors but I base them on the five primary Munsel color wheel which is universally accepted as the standard of color measurement in industry. Black is a blue purple and raw umber is a yellow, true optical complements.

In terms of how to balance them I provide in-depth instruction and demonstrations on mixing grays as well as all colors, in my classes and workshops. Anyone who wants to save themselves years of scrambling around might consider this option. One demo is worth a million words!

Grays, Paxton, books . . .
 

Marvin:

Thanks for your insight to the color behind the colors in black and raw umber.

Is there a book, or books, that I can buy that will give me this kind of basic information?

You'd be surprised (well, probably not) at the number of artists to whom I have posed questions of this sort who simply could not answer, except with vague references to mixing complementaries.

I've been at this (mostly on my own) for a number of years, and I've always had a haunting feeling there was more to color than what I saw on my palette.

You're a good man, Charlie Brown! \

I have a nice ($) commission coming up. A couple more like that, and you may wake up one day and find this retired old fire horse looking back at you in one of your workshops. Let me warn you, I ask a lot of questionss.

Thanks Richard. I wish there was such a book. The problem is, as I see it, that most authors, as well as teachers, don't really search for the answers but merely repeat rhetoric. It is my contention that most good artists are successful in spite of and not because of their training.

My goal is to understand how things work and why. True knowledge is what turns me on and it seems to get my students pretty darn excited as well. It would be a pleasure to give answering whatever questions you come up with a shot.

Money in the bank!
 

I'm a little surprised at the lack of gratitude towards Marvin in his bringing to bear the subject of dispensing with cadmiums. I don't mean in regard to the improvement of your flesh tones - I mean the improvement in your bank account! Cadmium paints are notoriously expensive compared to earth colors - think of the savings!

Why, you'll be able to send yourself to - mmmaybe - a Mattelson workshop!!!

All kidding aside, from every arguable point of view, be it historically-based (as it is) or no, the Paxton palette makes the most sense. The amount of overmixing I've done in order to tweak the chroma out of cadmium colors has been enough to give my right forearm a "Popeye" look.

I know it seems so unlike me, Marvin, to cop so quickly to something you've suggested. Perhaps I'm not as stubborn as I was when I was a student. Could it be that having 2 kids has worn down my stoicism?

Be well, and keep that Flake White off your toast!