Using White
One white pastel and 20 tints
When you paint, do you use white? Do you use it straight out of the tube? Do your paintings ever look washed out after adding those puffy white clouds to your landscapes? If you answered yes to any of these questions, I’ll let you in on a little secret I learned in the one-and-only workshop I ever attended. Stop.
Yep, that’s right. Stop using it- at least straight out of the tube. Mix a tiny bit of another color into it. Don’t worry, it’ll still look white, it just won’t wash out the rest of your beautiful work. Use a warm color for sunlit areas, and cool tones for shady places. Save the white for an emphasis or focal point, and use it very, very sparingly.
An example of this can be seen in my previous post displaying the Shell Seekers. I used the white pastel on only three places in the entire piece. Everything else has a tint. Scouts honor! Can you see where I put the white pastel?
It’s on the girl with the red hat. Green hat girl didn’t get any at all. Neither did the whitecaps. Honest. Still can’t find it? It’s across the rump, on the left thigh area, and that little dip in the skirt near her outstretched hand.
So, the next time you reach for that nasty, colorless white, add a tiny bit of something else to it. I think you’ll be pleased with the results.
Technorati Tags: soft pastel, using white, using tints, artwork
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I have to admit that when I paint I’ve used pure white…and it looked awful. I had to learn the “tinting trick” the hard way so I’m glad to hear I’m not the only one.
That piece with the girls looking for shells is really refreshing and I was proud of myself for finding the pure white bits!
Good job Rita! I think they’re a lot harder to see in the reduced JPG!
I’m fascinated by the visual phenomenon created on a painting when too much white (or black) are applied in their pure form. They’re the WMDs of the paintbox, and should be kept far, far away from the work!
I think you’re pretty smart to have figured that out for yourself. *Gold Star*