Millions of Colors

It may have been an early Photoshop ad: “Millions of Colors,” or then again part of an old ongoing Apple debate when they claimed software capable of “millions of colors” but provided monitors capable of displaying only a small fraction of those promised colors. No big deal either way. Just the contemporary version of a discussion that has probably been going on ever since early hominids first started streaking cave walls with various shades of ochre and debating which really captured the true essence of the charging mammoth.

I mentioned in my last post that the final step in RoseCabbage would be to choose the best color from “this collection.” But then neglected to include the image of the collection. Well, the “collection” is a mixed bag of various markers from various manufacturers, but I have neither enough of them, nor the skill at blending those I do have to approach anything like “millions of colors.”  This realization gave memyet another reason to marvel at the genius of the artists like Michelangelo, Van Gogh, Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun, etc.  How did they make those colors? I mean they couldn’t hop over to Michael’s or Blicks  or Jerry’s Artarama and pick up a few tubes of the good stuff. They had to mix different pigments with albumin, oils, and other binding agents - including blood if you are a fan of The Red Violin - to create the ideal paint or varnish.

Seems like a lot of steps and amazing expertise to arrive at “millions of colors.” I do suppose that this is one of those situations that argues for the whole idea of apprenticeships. Was there an apprentice in the Master’s studio who could do an awesome blue? A magenta to die for? Perfect varnishes? Perhaps using pigments like these we saw in a window in Florence?

The fascinating movie Tim’s Vermeer (Google it) gives us a peek at how one - at least a billionaire - might attempt to replicate these lost arts. But as we see, it would still be incredibly difficult even with a million bucks and a peek at the original owned by the Queen of England!

So what is the point of this rather strange post? Twofold I guess. First, I encourage you to invest in markers. Lots and lots of markers. Markers with as many colors and shades as you can get your hands on. A number of marker manufacturers have finally realized that whether you are doing faces, landscapes, or abstracts, a wide range of shades; black and brown and tan and taupe and peach and cream and pink ALL matter so be sure you have them in your collection.

Second, take a trip to a museum -fine arts. Obviously here in Chicago I would recommend the Art Institute of Chicago. Washington - The National Gallery of Art. West Coast - The Getty. Those are the biggies, but all you are really looking for are exceptional works by exceptional artists because while you would ordinarily step back from the painting to get the overall impact, here try getting up as close to the painting as the guard will let you and study how the various "pure" colors get - as the Brits would say - Hoovered up into your eyes to create a whole new world of colors. Wonderful.

Well, that’s it for now. Have fun!