Thursday, August 25, 2011

ten things i learned painting a large branch

photo: jetheriot

1. Even gray comes in shades of gray. A shade of gray can seem neutral on a swatch or looking down into an open can of paint, but when an entire wall has been painted, and especially when that wall is in a room carpeted with a different shade of gray, the hue of the paint is all too obvious and can take on unflattering tones of blue or yellow unexpectedly.

2. An image painted in contrasting grays can be as bold as an image painted in black and white, but is more soothing to the eye and more elegant.

3. Dorian Gray on Gauntlet Gray is a harmonious combination.

4. Some things cannot be rushed, nor should they be even if they could be. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

5. A mural clothes a room like a scarf adorns a body, coloring the space around it with a palpable emotion.

6. When clothing a room with an image, it’s better to let the space suggest the image rather than starting with the image and figuring out how to make it work within a space. To use the clothes analogy, it’s better to start with the body and dress it in the clothes most becoming to its complexion instead of trying to wrap the same stock scarf around every skin tone.

7. An image, when enlarged to mural size, should have a mixture of details and proportions, its contours small enough to add visual interest and richness, yet large enough to accommodate the width of a workable paintbrush.

8. The songs of Debussy promote graceful brushwork.

9. I enjoy painting silhouettes of moss-balls.

10. Patience, patience, patience.