ROBERT BISSETT - Recent Paintings
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Fan and Umbrella
~6.5x4.5"
Watercolor on paper

Transparent and opaque on Bristle Board.

Backyard Poplar
~3x6"
Watercolor on paper

The limbs on this tree are amazing in the way they cantilever out horizontally. I've painted this tree many times...this is one of the better ones.
The painted image is about 3x6".

FORD
10x10"
Acrylic on canvas
NSF

A donation for the POAC fund raiser

These were found in a book today.
The first one I vaguely remember, but not the second one.

Will & Britta
12x9"
Acrylic on panel
NFS

A double portrait...soon to be married.

Mini - Art Lesson

One of the first rules in painting is 'never use black'. For the beginner interested in depicting a landscape or still life that is a good rule. Black can be used if it is mixed with another color so that it always has a color identity. Straight black will almost always appear to be a black hole on your painting, a dead spot. If you never own a tube of black and always mix your darks from compliments like Ultramarine Blue and Burnt Sienna you'll be ok, right? Yes, but there is at least one exception.

This past Friday I attended an opening for an artist I've known for several years. This artist is very talented and should go far. I have only one criticism...the darks in some of the paintings were so dark and neutral I thought they were from a tube of black. I learned that this artist's palette has mostly dark, low chroma colors. Near as I can remember:

Prussian Blue, Sap Green,
Indian Red, Yellow Ochre,
Blue Azure, Asphaltum and
Titanium White.

Here's what  Asphaltum is ...

Gamblin Asphaltum: A transparent brownish-black. One of the most popular colors of the 18th century recreated by Robert Gamblin, whose version is true to historic working properties - but lightfast and permanent. Pigment: Transparent Mars Red, Bone Black (PR 101, PBk 9)

Mixing Asphaltum with a touch of Sap Green the Mars Red would be neutralized to a very dark gray leaving only Black. Without having a tube of paint labeled 'black' on your palette it is possible to end up with black.

If you want to avoid this problem make sure your darkest dark, on a scale of 1 to 10 is no darker than a 2 and that it has a color identity. Here's an example...

Snow Creek Falls
16x20"
Acrylic on canvas

My palette was Black gesso, White, Yellow, Red, Blue. I began with an underpainting of intense red and oranges with lots of medium. Some of that still shows through adding life to the large areas of dark. In this painting I wanted to see what would happen if I really pushed the darks. Yet the darks are not black. Enough color has been added to give a hint of color identity in every area. Your monitor may show this as darker than it actually is. By lightening with the Levels tool you can see it better...

I bent the rule about black in this one for sure. Sometimes I actually use black. If you are looking for a rule to break, this is a good one. Breaking rules is how you end up with a painting that stands out from the crowd. Just make sure you understand the reason for the rule, then use your creativity to break it successfully!

Painting of the Day

Clouds on the Pack River
9x12"
Oil on panel
Retail: $650

Almost perfect day for painting out of doors, sunny, warm, light breeze, near Trestle Creek, Idaho, where the Pack River empties into the lake.

This is subject to the August 'Name Your Own Price' event...no reasonable offer refused, sales price will include shipping, 30 day no questions asked return, I pay return shipping, too. Make an offer, you don't know till you try. Some I would take half, maybe less...so, don't be shy.

NAME YOUR PRICE NOW