Strickland Fine Art Studio LLC

Art and AI

6/17/2023 1:06:49 PM by Mike Strickland
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From the title of this Blog entry, you are probably expecting me to be anti-AI.  Not so!  AI can be a very useful tool for the visual artist. 

 

My favorite is ChatGPT. 

 

I recently bought the Portable Painter 6-well watercolor palette and the 12-well palette.  They are perfect for painting while traveling.  I was trying to decide what colors to put in my new watercolor palettes and decided to ask ChatGPT for recommendations. 

 

It gave a good answer, so I followed up by asking what order to put the colors into my new palette!

 

At first, I wasn't sure about Chat's layout suggestions.  I haven't been using a chromatic color wheel based palette.  As I thought about it though, it makes a lot of sense!  By mixing two adjacent colors, I can mix all of the colors between those two.  Then I can adjust the values by using the dark earth tones or white or yellow, and can then tweak the hue.  

 

I'm going to take Chat's advice!

 

Mike

 

Here's the conversation:

 

MLS
I need to select a general-purpose palette of colors for watercolor painting. I will be painting landscapes, cityscapes, and portraits so I need to be able to mix a wide gamut of colors and will be using Winsor Newton Professional tubed watercolors. I'd like a core palette set of six colors and then would like to expand this core set to twelve colors. Using the available Winsor Newton Professional colors what would you recommend?
ChatGPT

Selecting a color palette can be highly personal as different artists have different preferences, but there are some tried-and-true staple colors that are incredibly versatile. For a general-purpose palette that will be used to paint a wide range of subjects, you'll want to select a set of colors that can be mixed to produce a wide array of hues.

Here's a good foundational 6-color palette using Winsor Newton Professional watercolors:

  1. Cadmium Yellow Pale - A warm, bright yellow that is essential for mixing a wide range of hues.

  2. French Ultramarine - A warm blue, excellent for mixing greens and purples, and great for dark tones when mixed with Burnt Sienna.

  3. Cadmium Red - A warm red, excellent for mixing oranges and some warm purples.

  4. Alizarin Crimson - A cooler, deeper red, it can create a nice range of purples and is great for flesh tones.

  5. Burnt Sienna - A warm, earthy color that's excellent for landscapes and can mix with blues for dark tones.

  6. Winsor Blue (Green Shade) - A cool blue that's good for skies, water, and mixing cooler greens.

For an expanded 12-color palette, I would suggest adding the following colors:

  1. Winsor Yellow - A cooler yellow, excellent for mixing greens and adding variety to your yellows.

  2. Cerulean Blue - A cooler, lighter blue that's great for skies and water.

  3. Raw Umber - A versatile brown that can be used in landscapes and to mix a wide range of colors.

  4. Burnt Umber - Darker than Raw Umber and good for deeper shadows and can be used to mix blacks.

  5. Permanent Rose - A cool, bright pink that can be used to mix purples and brighten up other hues.

  6. Viridian Green - Although most greens can be mixed, having a green in your palette can be handy for landscape work.

This set should give you a broad range of mixing possibilities, from bright and saturated colors to more muted and natural hues. Remember that the specific colors you choose can also reflect your personal style and the mood of your artwork, so don't be afraid to substitute colors that better match your artistic vision.

 

MLS
OK, let's go back to the 12-color general purpose palette. The Portable Painter Classic palette I plan to use has two rows of six pans. In what order would you lay out the colors in these two rows and what would be your reasoning? Feel free to suggest alternate layouts.
ChatGPT

Laying out your colors can be quite personal and is often dependent on your workflow. However, a common way to arrange your palette is based on the color wheel and/or by temperature. This arrangement not only helps you easily find the color you're looking for, but it also aids in visualizing color relationships and harmonies.

Here's one way to organize your 12-color palette:

First row (typically considered the "warm" row):

  1. Cadmium Yellow Pale
  2. Winsor Yellow
  3. Cadmium Red
  4. Permanent Rose
  5. Alizarin Crimson
  6. Burnt Sienna

Second row (typically considered the "cool" row):

  1. French Ultramarine
  2. Cerulean Blue
  3. Winsor Blue (Green Shade)
  4. Viridian Green
  5. Raw Umber
  6. Burnt Umber

This layout groups colors by temperature (warm vs. cool) and by their positions on the color wheel. It puts the yellows next to the reds (as they are in the color wheel), followed by the earth tone (Burnt Sienna), and then the cool colors from blues to green, ending with the earth tones Raw and Burnt Umber.

 

 

An alternate layout would be to place your earth tones together at one end of the palette:

First row (warm colors and earth tones):

  1. Cadmium Yellow Pale
  2. Winsor Yellow
  3. Cadmium Red
  4. Permanent Rose
  5. Burnt Sienna
  6. Burnt Umber

Second row (cool colors and earth tones):

  1. Alizarin Crimson
  2. French Ultramarine
  3. Cerulean Blue
  4. Winsor Blue (Green Shade)
  5. Viridian Green
  6. Raw Umber

Here, you still have a general warm-to-cool transition but with the earth tones grouped together. This can be useful if you often use these colors together or want a clearer separation between your "pure" colors and your earth tones.

Ultimately, the best layout for you will be the one that feels the most intuitive and makes your painting process smoother. Feel free to rearrange as you see fit and based on your painting needs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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