"Ask John" - Glowing Under-painting

Artist Carol Kairis writes...

Hello John

Great to find your new Blog site. Appreciating  the glow you achieve with your under-painting, I’m hopeful you may help me with a oil painting I’m working on. It is a painting of the amber glow across the Tyrrhenian Sea (Ansedonia , Italy) at Sunset. The glow holds hues of gold, (little orange and red undertones). I really want to play up the amber glow with just a hint of the orange and red.  What color for the under painting should I use? Then which glaze would compliment that to obtain the best results?

Thank You. Carol

Hi Carol;  

I am attaching three paintings of sunsets I have done in oils, as examples of how I approach the task.

 

The under-painting in this lake scene sketch was a yellow ochre. It was done very quickly as the sun was changing as I watched. 

The same conditions applied when I painted the rose coloured sunset in the Canadian Arctic. I had only a few minutes to apply the rose under-painting and add the dark mountains and yellows in the sky, as the ship I was on was moving at the time. 

This winter scene above was done in the studio with a yellow under-painting. The violets provided a nice complimentary colour to the golds.  Basically, I like to choose a under-painting colour that provides an overall harmony. The use of complimentaries adds some drama to the painting.

I hope that this is of help. Please keep in touch and thank you for your question. 
Best Regards. John.

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