Painting with a Warm vs. Cool Palette

By using just two colors of gouache (ultramarine blue and burnt sienna) along with white, you've got everything you need for creating a feeling of complete color.

Snow Pile at Hannaford Parking Lot

The blue-versus-orange polarity of color is the most basic and primal of all the complementary color combinations. We share the perception of this dynamic with all mammals. The perception of red and green is an experience we share only with primates among mammalian vertebrates. (Birds and insects also see red and green.)

(Link to YouTube) To capture that red car, I had to add just one color, alizarin crimson, to the basic complementary pair. This is a teaser from the Gumroad tutorial "Color in Practice: Black, White, and Complements."

Here are some additional promo quotes from experienced art teachers:

"James Gurney wrote one of my favorite books on color - Color and Light. Now finally, there's a video series! He's the perfect teacher for artists just starting to explore color in their work because he explains things clearly and provides in-the-field demonstrations. He eases you into color by starting with black and white, and then slowly introduces more colors as you get comfortable."

—Stan Prokopenko, proko.com

“After 30 years of being in the trenches, teaching college students the theory and practice of landscape drawing and painting there is always the intimidation of them taking it into the real world and practicing it. Watching James walk us through the process really sands off the "sharp edges" of translating tone to color in plein-air painting and makes it thoroughly understandable. My students really watched and listened to the "down and dirty" realness of the practical knowledge in the video and it certainly help them in their own artwork. Having been painting for years I watched and learned a lot myself, amazed at the fluidity and simplicity of how James presented the step-by-step instruction and painted results. This is such a great learning tool and would be a great addition to any classroom.”

—Gary Geraths, Artist and Professor, Otis College of Art and Design

"Colour in Practice is a superb instructional video. James' explanations are crystal clear and everything is beautifully demonstrated. For each colour palette, James shows you exactly how to build it and then shows you how to make great use of it in a step-by-step painting demo. James also provides handy painting tips as well as practical exercises that will make you a better artist. I highly recommend this for anyone who wants to improve their painting skills.”

—Anthony Walsh, Founder of Syn Studio : Art School