November’s Palette

As September surrenders its green to yellow and, October re-invests nature with warmer color, November  introduces new harmonies of blue and orange and, violet and yellow.  I have mined the palette of  the mid 19th century paintings of Turner to find a palette  and   luminous atmosphere appropriate   for  November.  His late paintings erased edges in favor of  a suffused and dissolving light. The following examples  in painting and photography  demonstrate  the unique qualities of November’s light  as informed by Turner.   First consider this scene from September (example 1) and contrast it to the same location later in November (example2).   I follow these examples with more November photos of the same forest and river. The images are dissolving in the face of solar glare. The advancing or lower area of the frames are redder while the back areas are bluer, paler, and more indistinct.  See examples 3, 4, 5 and 6.

example 1. September’s view:

example 2.  November’s view, same site:

example 3. November’s  warm to cool, front to back, sharp focus to soft:

example  4. another version of the same location but, a different color palette, from blue green to warm. The sun appears twice:

example 5. In lieu of a stream, use a path to advance toward the sun.

example 6. a double reverse, The blue in front of the  warm colors. The palette is still November.

Here are two paintings using the complementary harmonies developed in the photographs above and borrowing from the palette of Turner. Each is 24×24, oils on brushed gold anodized aluminum. The brushed gold substrate participates in the luminosity of the yellows and reds. I pushed the color in the photo but, pushed it harder in the painting.

example 7. painting after photo in example 6.

example 8. painting after photo in example 4 only using violets instead of blue-greens.

These photographs of mine are influenced by the late paintings of Turner as he turned to directly face the sun and exploit its corrosive effect on edges.  Consider these two images of Turner from the end of his life, one from 1843, the other from1850.  Notice the erasure of edges, the simple juxtaposition of two complementary colors. Turner had been reading both Chevreul’s newly translated book on the principles of harmony and contrast as well as Goethe’s work on complementary color and simultaneous contrast.  His first example shows a palette of dissolving yellow and violet. His second palette concentrates more on yellow, burnt orange and blue.

example  10.  Turner’s watercolor of Lake Zug from 1843.

example11. Turner’s  “Visit To The Tomb” of 1850.

My last example shows a interior version of Grand Central Terminals main hall. The  white face of the clock occupies the place of Turner’s sun. Instead of yellow light from the sun I used a blue-white which contrasts against the peripheral iron oxide colors. I borrow from Turner the dissolution of objects and edges to reinforce the erasing effects of overwhelming light.

example 12.