RECEIVE and EVERY PAINTING SHOULD HAVE A HINT OF RED

“Painters use red like spice.” Derek Jarman

RECEIVE
by Sea Dean
OOAK ACEO 3.5" x 2.5" 
To view my Gallery or purchase this painting please visit Daily Paintworks. For immediate shipping, if there is no current bid inquire about the "Buy Now" price. Larger originals, prints or Art Cards in this series may be available.

Red is a favourite with many people; it is a stimulant, which excites the hormones, encouraging enthusiasm and confidence. McDonalds uses red because it encourages more purchases. Red is the colour of love and in some countries is signifies good luck. With all of that good press, no wonder an experienced Artist once told me that every painting should have at least a little red.  

Red isn't the most flattering colour for natural blondes so it took me a long time to try it in my work, but now I use it in most of my paintings to some degree.

There are many choices of red in Acrylic, some warm, some cool, some opaque and some translucent. These are ones I've tried so far. There are a few which are trying to replace the Cadmiums because of toxicity, but you really can't beat it for luminosity.

Cadmium Red Light is vibrant, warm and almost orange
Cadmium Red Medium is close to a true primary red
Pyrole Red is rich and translucent and really adds glow
Pyrole Crimson is darker but still beautiful
Alizarin Crimson is quite cool and deep but still reddish
Permanent Rose is opaque and a bit too weighty for my taste but sometimes useful
Then we have Burnt Sienna and Burnt Umber which are rich reddish browns. 
Red Oxide is one of my new favourites, giving a natural earthy hint to a landscape or nature study.

FREE SPIRIT
by Sea Dean
OOAK 5" x 7" Canvas Panel

To view my Gallery or purchase this painting please visit Daily Paintworks. For immediate shipping, if there is no current bid inquire about the "Buy Now" price. Larger originals, prints or Art Cards in this series may be available.

"Free Spirit" is a very red painting using quantities of Pyrole Red and Crimson. Here it looks quite dark, but it is vibrant in real life.

Surprisingly Red is a very difficult colour to work with because although it gives the impression of being bright, it actually has quite a dark value. Red is the first colour to lose it's intensity at twilight, because it has the longest wavelength of any colour. For the same reason it is notoriously difficult to photograph and depict accurately on the internet. 

Depending on what you place Red next to it can look bright or dark. Pair Cadmium Red Light and Brilliant Blue and you will have a lively look. Pair Alizarin Crimson with Ultramarine and you have an essence of mystery. Red is a difficult colour to master, but it is exciting to try all the different choices available. I encourage you to buy a different red each time you need some so you can experiment and find what  you like most. 

Sea Dean is an author, blogger, artist and art instructor. Her work hangs in galleries and collections around the world. She is a professional daily painter who auctions and exhibits work on the internet at Daily Paintworks as well as several traditional Galleries.

Cat # 13043 "Receive" and Cat # 12046 "Free Spirit"

First Posted on Artslant by Sea Dean on 7/14/12