Warming Trend (Triad 5)

 

7/3/22 Maple Leaf neighborhood (triad 5)

On a drizzly morning, the trees I see through the livingroom window looked like a good test of another primary triad (above). Our neighbors’ ornamental plum on the left, which blocks much of the view, makes a stark contrast with the small green tree across the street.

The next day near the retirement community where I sketched the flags, I spotted a pair of trees with magnificent crowns that seemed disproportionately large for their slender trunks. I scribbled a quick thumbnail to check the composition, then made the color sketch (below). Compared to my thumbnail, which is proportionally accurate, the sketch is hilarious: I got so excited about the trees that I made the cars way smaller than they should be! The trees look like a skyscraper! (But we’ll pretend that happened as a result of my conscious use of artistic expression.)

Thumbnail for sketch below

After the previous four primary triads, I tried one more that was the simplest of all: It’s the same as the CMYK-based triad (Caran d’Ache Phthalocyanine Blue [162], Purplish Red [350], Lemon Yellow [240]) that I had been using before I decided I needed to warm it up, except I swapped in the slightly warmer Yellow (10). I think I like this triad best – it mixes with Phthalocyanine Blue to the right warmth of summer green that I was looking for. I also like the warm neutrals I can mix with all three (as seen in the tree trunks and shaded side of the building). I sure took a roundabout (though fun) journey through blues, only to realize that the simplest and most obvious change was the one I wanted!

7/4/22 Green Lake neighborhood (triad 5)