Green Banned from the Plein Air Painters Palette!

For the plein air painter, green is the most difficult color.  So much of what one sees in a landscape is green. But which green? Yellowish sap green? Blue-green viridian? Earthy oxide green? Brilliant phthalo green?  According to Roger Dale Brown, master plein air painter, begin with no tube green on your palette!

“I do not use a green because when I do, it becomes the dominant color in all the greens in the painting.  I mix the green for the specific area I’m focused on.  This insures a variety of greens—the key to successful painting.”                  ~Roger Dale Brown

The green that the eye sees depends on the season, time of the day, light conditions, and the subject matter—a meadow of wildflowers in full sun will appear a very different green than a shady pine tree thicket. Artists taking the Roger Dale Brown Plein Air Workshop hosted by the Gadsden Museum of Art, April 6-9, will learn how to mix the best green, one that is specific to the time and the situation, using a primary palette of red, blue, and yellow.  But which reds, blues, and yellows?  Mr. Brown shifts colors in and out of his palette but there are favorites that can always be found in his combination of warm and cool primaries and a few earth tones. 

As every elementary school child knows, mixing yellow and blue makes green. But there are an many greens in every landscape. Light or dark, bright or muted, warm or cool—in this workshop artists will learn to see green, mix green, and paint green in all its infinite variety! Sign up for the workshop and discover the secrets of mixing greens to capture a moment in time.  

About the workshop: Roger Dale Brown’s paintings have won first place and best of show awards, been juried into national exhibitions, published in Artist Magazine and American Art Collector, displayed in galleries throughout the United States, and collected by celebrities and corporations. He is dedicated to painting from life, on location, as the best way to enhance the ability to see the nuances of a scene. His goal is to capture the emotion what he sees and distill that into his paintings. Roger Dale Brown believes in passing along what he has learned through teaching. To learn more, visit Roger Dale Brown's website at www.rogerdalebrown.com

Workshop tuition: $425 (supplies not included).  A 50% deposit is required to reserve a space, $100 of which is not refundable.  Don’t delay, Mr. Brown’s classes fill quickly and space is strictly limited!  

To register for the workshop or request more information about the workshop (April 6-9) or the Southeastern Plein Air Invitational (April  9-13), contact Elaine at the Gadsden Museum of Art (256-546-7365 or ecampbell@cityofgadsden.com).