#art spectrum

[sammroo167]

Noosa, kabi kabi country, 2025

[okbgoauche]

[cadva]

☁️ it’s good to paint again.

[plague-deene]

[createdbyleahgay]

My Favourite Colours

Colour is such an important part of my creative process.

Whilst I love muted soft tones, more often that not you will find me leaning into bold bright colours because they bring joy, that enliven the senses, and I think they communicate better the wonder in my subject matter. Being close to a flower, even a white one, makes you realise that they are vibrant and varied in their colour and tones.

Mixing Colours

I love it when I achieve just the right tone to set off the image I’m creating. Often there is a touch of alchemy involved and an absolute knowledge that it will be almost impossible to re-create the same tone again.

In some ways I’m fortunate that the brand of gouache I use, Art Spectrum, has a limited range of colours in its range (42) by comparison with for example Winsor Newton (82) or the range of colours available in acrylics or oil paints. It forces me to observe, mix and create.

I also have to spend more time working my cool and warm tones to bring the best out in each colour that I chose to use.

My Favourite Colours

So what is my favourite colours to use? I can say with certainty that every painting I’ve created has had Burnt Sienna in it and coming in a very close second would be Prussian Blue. Both are beautiful in their own rights, but equally useful for altering the tone of other colours when I’m attempting to add tone to a work.

Is White A Colour?

My art wouldn’t exist without the colour white….but is it a colour? I like to think it is, mainly because it is the foundation of colour, and in particular with gouache, the foundation of the very paint that I use.

Hot On The Palate Right Now

Whilst I have favourite colours, I also have ones that come in and out of high rotation. 5 years ago I was obsessed with Ultramarine (still a massive fan) but at the moment I can’t get enough of Reds. I mix and match, us low lights and highlights in other tones, but the basis of my florals always seems to come back to red.

Am I Missing Something?

There are so many colours that attract me and my all time favourite is actually blue.

Is there colours you’d like to see me using more in my artwork? I know when I was commissioned to paint some golden gum flowers last year, I realised that I need to spend more time exploring this cheery colour but its yet to feature too highly.

What is your favourite colour you can’t get enough of?

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[alexbutlerart]