Abstraction Using Color

The next painting class with Cynthia Herron emphasized abstraction using color.  I took a photo of a puppy as my subject.  Here's the final painting.  I'm still pondering whether or not I like more realistic or abstract paintings.  This painting still has a lot of realism in it so that you recognize the dog.  The painting is 12x12 inches.

I started with Daniel Smith's venetian red gesso as an under painting.  The first colors that I choose I did not like.  The values are too similar.

I played with the colors in Photo Shop and came up with a different color scheme.

Then, I walked to Fred Meyer to select matching or similar colors in paint chips. 

I mixed these colors and wrote the paint names and amounts on the back of the paint chips for future reference.  It was a challenge to mix the paints and come up with the colors that I wanted.  The photo of  the final painting has a greenish tint to it vs the original.  He is cute.  I'm not sure this is my style of painting.

Color becomes more complex the more I study it.  I want to learn more and explore it further.