Stretch Yourself

Hi Everyone,

getting ready to go out painting today I decided to make a small change to challenge myself. I removed all the colours from my bag that I usually use and put in some of those tubes that I had picked up at the shop because I loved the idea of using them, but had never got around to it.

In the end I didn't have any blue at all, just purple and black, some alizarine crimson and cad yellow which I do normally use but hey, I needed some warms, and a phthalo turquoise and zinc white. It was all quite weird but it forced me to really think about my mixtures and I also felt like it gave me a bit more freedom in 'letting loose' and having fun because I was treating it as an experiment and so I wasn't so concerned with the finished result.

For beginner painters I normally recommend just sticking with a few basic colours, getting comfortable with those for a while and then adding an extra colour or two gradually, but for an intermediate painter who wants to shake things up a bit I highly recommend breaking out some alternative colours, or making any other change that keeps the painting process playful and inquisitive.

"Westerly, Waipu Golf Course" 10x8" Oil on Linen by Richard Robinson

Waipu golf course - inbetween squalls.

All the best with your painting,

Richard