Colorless

I finished the underpainting for my pillar of fire from Exodus. The entire process is done using Burnt Umber for a base. The highlights are Titanium White and the shadows in the sky are Payne's Gray. Believe it or not, there is no black in my palette. As the whole point of glazing color over a base layer is to reflect color through the work, black does a poor job reflecting light, and so gives the appearance of "holes" in a work. Payne's Gray is an "almost black" in that it dulls the color and darkens it without fully removing the tint. When color is applied over the area, the added depth feels even darker than black.


The composition without color.

Layering in color after forming the shapes and values in a work allows some freedom and variation in the creative process. In this initial step, I can keep my eye on composition and form, and wait to gauge the relationship of colors in the next. In many ways it is like saving my work in stages. In many ways the difficult part is over, as the composition has been defined.

All that remains now is coloring book, and who doesn't like to color. I just need to be careful to stay in the lines.

Something to chew on
Do we truly appreciate the gift of grace? As Bob at Mr. Standfast writes, there are consequences to underestimating the love of Christ. From his post:

Having been saved by grace, I will struggle to bring about my sanctification in the strength of the flesh, simply because I had chosen to believe that grace was not enough.

We waste our lives trying to make up the difference between what God has done for us and the price we believe we need to repay. It is an impossible task; grace is a gift beyond measure. It is a gift He wishes for us to receive in its fullest. Thanks Bob, for the encouragement to rest in Jesus even more.