Experiments in Color

I struggle sometimes with seemingly unenthusiastic use of color. Of course, nature tends to be seen in shades of gray with bursts of color sparingly intertwined. Yet I admire the painters who freely use vibrant hue in their work. I've been working with some small oil studies the last couple of weeks hoping to free up a bit of the uninhibited artist within.

As you can see in the detail view, the application of paint in small buttery dobs is quite a departure from my typical style. You can also see that I'm not exactly smacking in strokes of raw color. That means more glorious practice is ahead! These small studies are relatively quick and fun to paint... so there will be many more to come!