Today's Demonstration - lower left painting
Keeping in mind that this was just a trial run, I sketched and painted this very quickly, using a large brush. I learned from the first two sketches what I did and didn't want to do as far as lights and darks and balance.I knew I needed to get rid of the bright white porch pillars. In the two-color painting (on the right) I scrubbed around a bit to dull down the white, but knew the three identical shapes just didn't work, dulled or not.
For the full color sketch, lower left, I used only three colors - you can see them in the little mixing saucer. The colors are ultramarine blue, quinacridone red, and hansa yellow. If I'm painting with a triad, I like to keep them separate from my regular palette, because, without thinking, I will just start grabbing for other colors.
The colors in the painting got a little muddy, and I'm not pleased yet with the foliage at the top. I have to do the same demonstration again tomorrow, so I'll see what I can do to fix those problems.
By the way - isn't that little saucer the cutest thing you've ever seen in your life?! A friend bought some in England. We all fell in love with them, so she called the store and had them ship some to us. I think they are called china tinting saucers. I really don't know what they are used for, but I thought they were perfect for triads. The fourth space is good for keeping a neutral mix going.