When Less is More

"My Dining Room"
Oil on Canvas, 29 x 23 3/4
John Singer Sargent

For a variety of reasons, ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous, I have recently launched into a new series of paintings using only three colors. Yes, that's right, only three tubes of paint. I have been working exclusively with white, black and burnt sienna. It's amazing how much you can say with just these three.

"Morning Light"
Oil on Paper, 8 x 6
(c) Lesley Powell 2017

As soon as I finished my first painting with this extremely limited palette (immediately above), I was hooked! Flooding into my mind came images of paintings I have loved over the years, which I remembered as virtually monochromatic.  Perhaps my all time favorite in this category is John Singer Sargent's painting of his dining room, seen at the top of this
post. It takes my breath away. I don't know what pigments Sargent used to paint this one, but all of that dark, punctuated by that fresh light, tells me everything I want to know. It's so believable that I feel as if I could walk right in.

"La route"
Oil on Canvas, 60 x 81 cm.
Nicholas de Stael, 1954

"Paris, la Nuit"
Nicholas de Stael, 1954

Though he is known for his impasto paint and bold color, Nicholas de Stael also painted some "neutral" works that really sing. I am intrigued by his nocturnes of Paris city scenes, such as the one directly above, which are practically black and white. They use very simple, graphic shapes, and yet they too are immensely believable. De Stael and Sargent were both terrific draftsmen and virtuoso painters. It's no wonder that they could create an entire world on a flat surface, using only subtle variations of color.

"Still Life; 1962"
Oil on Canvas
Giorgio Morandi, 1962

And of course I would be remiss to write about paintings with subtle palettes without mentioning the great Giorgio Morandi. His work is so quiet, yet so powerful. He painted the same tabletop vessels over and over and over again. One critic wrote that he was like a composer working with a few notes to explore all of the variations and possibilities. We rejoice in the sensuousness of the paint, and the subtlety of the colors. I challenge you to name anything that would be improved in this painting by the addition of more intense color.

"La Reserve"
Oil on Linen, 10 x 10
(c) Lesley Powell 2017

I close with another one of my own limited palette paintings, and an interesting link. Here's a great piece by a watercolorist, John Lovett, who travelled abroad with only three colors. He used almost the same palette as mine--white, burnt sienna and indigo blue (which takes the place of the black in my palette). Looking at his work may give you another "Aha" moment about how much is possible with how little. Enjoy!