Balancing Colour

The golden colour of the skirt has made a big difference to the colour balance of the whole painting, especially noticeable now that the shirt has turned grey in preparation for its own turn to change. Now that the green is gone from the dresses the girls present an almost entirely warm palette within the greens and blues of the outer world. I’ll pop in some blues to the shadows very late in the painting to balance the warm and cools of the piece, but needn’t worry too much about the outer world because there’s already a lot of warm and cool vibration going on between the surfaces of the marble and in the plant life.

I’ve added some Iron Oxide Red to the Empress’ extended foot and the creepers beneath it, also increasing the shadows immediately beneath it with some Raw Umber. The big toe has been redrawn, but needs more attention before I’m satisfied that I don’t need to redo the entire foot.

I’ve used a 00 Silver script brush to put down white highlights along the  leading edges of the marble slabs, making them appear to pick up a highlight and deepening the gaps between them.

About pearce

Michael Pearce is an artist, writer, and professor of art. He is the author of "Art in the Age of Emergence."
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