The Red Hood

The Red Hood
Oil on linen • 12" x 14" • Sold
I had a great time painting the double lighting in this portrait. When rendering a subject under more than one light source, I try to make one light dominant so they won't compete with each other. In this case, the cool window light from the viewer's right is stronger than the warm bulbs from the left.

I tried to emphasize the reds in this picture by using three strategies:  
1 limiting my overall color range to include (mainly) just the red family and its two neighbors on the color wheel, the orange and violet families;  
2  subduing every color except red. Too many intense colors will compete with each other and weaken a painting's overall impact;  
3 reserving my most intense red color for just one spot (the model's shoulder). I had great fun applying pure cadmium red medium with my palette knife to define the sharp edge of the hood overlapping the shoulder.

Have a great day everyone! --Adam
Posted by Adam Clague
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2 comments:

  1. UnknownJune 28, 2011 at 7:29 AM

    Hey Adam, I just wanted say that is really great. I am so glad to see you painting and producing such amazing work. Keep up the good work. I really appreciate your advice here on your blog. I look forward to following in your footsteps as I begin my MFA program this fall!

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  2. Adam ClagueJune 29, 2011 at 9:40 AM

    Thanks, Josh! I'm excited to hear that you'll be pursuing your MFA. Keep up the great work and effort you gave in my class, and you'll do terrific!

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