James Gurney | Street Painting in Black and White, Sample from "Color in Practice" @JamesGurney | Uploaded April 2020 | Updated October 2024, 19 hours ago.
One-minute trailer for "Color in Practice, Part 1." Full video available here:
GUMROAD (HD download or lifetime streaming): gum.co/color1
SELLFY (HD download): sellfy.com/p/pxj10r
CUBEBRUSH (HD download): http://cbr.sh/mk6vg3
DVD: kunaki.com/msales.asp?PublisherId=136361
SUMMARY:
I start by painting this street scene of a limousine using casein, an old fashioned forerunner to acrylic that uses milk protein for the binder. Then I share examples of other plein-air black and white paintings in gouache.
The Lincoln Town Car painting is painted over an underpainting a warm glowing center and cool blue borders. The spotlight effect of this underpainting inspires me to transform the otherwise flat lighting of broad daylight into a dramatic, nighttime mood reminiscent of film noir.
If you’re just learning to paint, or if you’re trying out a painting medium, painting with black and white helps to reduce the variables. That way you can concentrate on just one of the three dimensions of color, namely value, and you can deal with hue and chroma later.
Pure black and white is a completely valid choice on its own terms for creative expression, especially when you want a stark, moody feeling. And it has practical benefits. If you’re trying out a new kind of paint, such as gouache or casein, you don’t have to invest in the full color set.
RECOMMENDED SUPPLIES
Richeson travel brush set: amzn.to/2xwq1Rr
Richeson “Grey Matters” brush set: amzn.to/2YeNO0P
Goat hair mop: amzn.to/2RQrPwk
Tutorial on how to make a sketch easel: sellfy.com/p/LnZ8
Water cup: amzn.to/2soTw2L
Pentalic watercolor sketchbook: amzn.to/2L989y2
Tripod: amzn.to/2xrRaFc
Cotton rag (a clean, discarded t-shirt, towel, or cloth diaper will do)
GOUACHE and WATERCOLORS USED IN THIS VIDEO
NOTES: You’ll notice that I often use gouache and watercolor interchangeably. Gouache and watercolor have slightly different formulations, but they’re compatible with each other, and both are pigment-rich paints with gum arabic as the binder. The opacity depends on the pigment: Some gouache colors are very transparent, while certain watercolors can be relatively opaque. In working practice, the point is that they all become opaque when you add white. Whichever you choose to use, I feel it’s important to use fresh tube colors rather than pan colors because you get much more paint of the right consistency to work with.
Titanium white (gouache): amzn.to/2XSOld4
Raw sienna: amzn.to/2uXM82i
Yellow ochre: amzn.to/2SfXc2O
Light red, English red, or Venetian red: amzn.to/2OmRwTL
Pyrrol red (gouache): amzn.to/2XdPcS7
Ivory black: amzn.to/2Ta46s7
Burnt sienna (gouache): amzn.to/2TEoC4D
Ultramarine blue (gouache): amzn.to/2X9GZ1k
Prussian blue (gouache): amzn.to/2JVbVwb
Permanent Green pale (watercolor): amzn.to/2wXABBI
Quinacridone Violet (gouache): amzn.to/2RUvglI
Dioxazine purple (watercolor): amzn.to/3eDmIte
Terra rosa (watercolor): amzn.to/2qRjCNN
Transparent red oxide: amzn.to/2Y6NhxD
ADDITIONAL PAINT COLORS AND SETS YOU MAY WANT TO TRY
• Richeson casein set: amzn.to/2L02U6R
• M. Graham gouache primary set: amzn.to/2Zwd6rt
• Winsor & Newton gouache primary set: amzn.to/2JiDMbo
• Holbein gouache set: amzn.to/2KW4s1j
• Royal Talens gouache set (8 colors): amzn.to/2MGftGf
• Shinhan Pass watercolor/gouache hybrid set: amzn.to/2xw7EvV
• Holbein Acryla Gouache (really matte acrylic): amzn.to/2L0g3MT
BOOKS BY JAMES GURNEY:
Color and Light: A Guide for Realist Painters: amzn.to/2JhWtfc
Imaginative Realism: How to Paint What Doesn’t Exist: amzn.to/2LbVHhc
OTHER OFFICIAL SITES
Instagram: instagram.com/jamesgurneyart
Pinterest: pinterest.com/GurneyJourney
GurneyJourney Blog: gurneyjourney.blogspot.com
JamesGurney Website: jamesgurney.com/site/shop
Facebook group "Sketch Easel Builders": facebook.com/groups/403006076777641/?source_id=121255121263267
Facebook group: "Color in Practice":
facebook.com/groups/160510955315435
One-minute trailer for "Color in Practice, Part 1." Full video available here:
GUMROAD (HD download or lifetime streaming): gum.co/color1
SELLFY (HD download): sellfy.com/p/pxj10r
CUBEBRUSH (HD download): http://cbr.sh/mk6vg3
DVD: kunaki.com/msales.asp?PublisherId=136361
SUMMARY:
I start by painting this street scene of a limousine using casein, an old fashioned forerunner to acrylic that uses milk protein for the binder. Then I share examples of other plein-air black and white paintings in gouache.
The Lincoln Town Car painting is painted over an underpainting a warm glowing center and cool blue borders. The spotlight effect of this underpainting inspires me to transform the otherwise flat lighting of broad daylight into a dramatic, nighttime mood reminiscent of film noir.
If you’re just learning to paint, or if you’re trying out a painting medium, painting with black and white helps to reduce the variables. That way you can concentrate on just one of the three dimensions of color, namely value, and you can deal with hue and chroma later.
Pure black and white is a completely valid choice on its own terms for creative expression, especially when you want a stark, moody feeling. And it has practical benefits. If you’re trying out a new kind of paint, such as gouache or casein, you don’t have to invest in the full color set.
RECOMMENDED SUPPLIES
Richeson travel brush set: amzn.to/2xwq1Rr
Richeson “Grey Matters” brush set: amzn.to/2YeNO0P
Goat hair mop: amzn.to/2RQrPwk
Tutorial on how to make a sketch easel: sellfy.com/p/LnZ8
Water cup: amzn.to/2soTw2L
Pentalic watercolor sketchbook: amzn.to/2L989y2
Tripod: amzn.to/2xrRaFc
Cotton rag (a clean, discarded t-shirt, towel, or cloth diaper will do)
GOUACHE and WATERCOLORS USED IN THIS VIDEO
NOTES: You’ll notice that I often use gouache and watercolor interchangeably. Gouache and watercolor have slightly different formulations, but they’re compatible with each other, and both are pigment-rich paints with gum arabic as the binder. The opacity depends on the pigment: Some gouache colors are very transparent, while certain watercolors can be relatively opaque. In working practice, the point is that they all become opaque when you add white. Whichever you choose to use, I feel it’s important to use fresh tube colors rather than pan colors because you get much more paint of the right consistency to work with.
Titanium white (gouache): amzn.to/2XSOld4
Raw sienna: amzn.to/2uXM82i
Yellow ochre: amzn.to/2SfXc2O
Light red, English red, or Venetian red: amzn.to/2OmRwTL
Pyrrol red (gouache): amzn.to/2XdPcS7
Ivory black: amzn.to/2Ta46s7
Burnt sienna (gouache): amzn.to/2TEoC4D
Ultramarine blue (gouache): amzn.to/2X9GZ1k
Prussian blue (gouache): amzn.to/2JVbVwb
Permanent Green pale (watercolor): amzn.to/2wXABBI
Quinacridone Violet (gouache): amzn.to/2RUvglI
Dioxazine purple (watercolor): amzn.to/3eDmIte
Terra rosa (watercolor): amzn.to/2qRjCNN
Transparent red oxide: amzn.to/2Y6NhxD
ADDITIONAL PAINT COLORS AND SETS YOU MAY WANT TO TRY
• Richeson casein set: amzn.to/2L02U6R
• M. Graham gouache primary set: amzn.to/2Zwd6rt
• Winsor & Newton gouache primary set: amzn.to/2JiDMbo
• Holbein gouache set: amzn.to/2KW4s1j
• Royal Talens gouache set (8 colors): amzn.to/2MGftGf
• Shinhan Pass watercolor/gouache hybrid set: amzn.to/2xw7EvV
• Holbein Acryla Gouache (really matte acrylic): amzn.to/2L0g3MT
BOOKS BY JAMES GURNEY:
Color and Light: A Guide for Realist Painters: amzn.to/2JhWtfc
Imaginative Realism: How to Paint What Doesn’t Exist: amzn.to/2LbVHhc
OTHER OFFICIAL SITES
Instagram: instagram.com/jamesgurneyart
Pinterest: pinterest.com/GurneyJourney
GurneyJourney Blog: gurneyjourney.blogspot.com
JamesGurney Website: jamesgurney.com/site/shop
Facebook group "Sketch Easel Builders": facebook.com/groups/403006076777641/?source_id=121255121263267
Facebook group: "Color in Practice":
facebook.com/groups/160510955315435
