Peter Donahue
@colornerd.bsky.social
Artist and color theory educator
Working on a Cassatt-style study, to explore the pigments she used and color theory ideas from the 1870s. (This is a demonstration for a class I'm teaching... but I like it and might develop it into a full-size finished oil painting)
November 23, 2025 at 11:52 PM
Working on a Cassatt-style study, to explore the pigments she used and color theory ideas from the 1870s. (This is a demonstration for a class I'm teaching... but I like it and might develop it into a full-size finished oil painting)
July 22, 2025 at 7:57 PM
where cool and warm light overlaps, you'd think they would neutral out. But cool light favors short wavelengths, and warm light favors long wavelengths. So, when you add them, you get a spectrum with a dip in the middle. magenta! so I painted a pale pink!
#colortheory #oiloncanvas #oilpainting #art
#colortheory #oiloncanvas #oilpainting #art
June 20, 2025 at 9:40 PM
where cool and warm light overlaps, you'd think they would neutral out. But cool light favors short wavelengths, and warm light favors long wavelengths. So, when you add them, you get a spectrum with a dip in the middle. magenta! so I painted a pale pink!
#colortheory #oiloncanvas #oilpainting #art
#colortheory #oiloncanvas #oilpainting #art
WIP, oil on 8" × 8" panel. Still life starring some random vessels from the thrift store. Lit with cool light from the left and warm light from the right. #oilpainting #oiloncanvas #art #painting
June 18, 2025 at 7:10 PM
WIP, oil on 8" × 8" panel. Still life starring some random vessels from the thrift store. Lit with cool light from the left and warm light from the right. #oilpainting #oiloncanvas #art #painting
Another study of potato and garlic, this time with a warm light source. 8" × 8" oil on panel
#oilpainting #oiloncanvas #art
#oilpainting #oiloncanvas #art
June 11, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Another study of potato and garlic, this time with a warm light source. 8" × 8" oil on panel
#oilpainting #oiloncanvas #art
#oilpainting #oiloncanvas #art
June 9, 2025 at 11:59 PM
June 9, 2025 at 1:21 AM
Did this sketch in oils; session was about three hours. While I've been painting for 30 years, I've only just started my plein air journey - any #pleinair #oilpainting folks have advice on process or materials?
May 12, 2025 at 11:53 PM
Did this sketch in oils; session was about three hours. While I've been painting for 30 years, I've only just started my plein air journey - any #pleinair #oilpainting folks have advice on process or materials?
Painted a red hat today.
March 24, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Painted a red hat today.
Work in progress. a tondo portrait of my daughter, experiencing a sugar crash after trying cotton candy for the first time. #oilpainting #art
March 20, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Work in progress. a tondo portrait of my daughter, experiencing a sugar crash after trying cotton candy for the first time. #oilpainting #art
Big blue underpainting is finally done. Gotta let this puppy cure for a bit. Oil on 24" x 30" wood panel. #oilpainting
March 18, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Big blue underpainting is finally done. Gotta let this puppy cure for a bit. Oil on 24" x 30" wood panel. #oilpainting
Small self-portrait study in acrylic. An attempt to demonstrate the effect of subtractive mixing: the cyan filter subtracts long wavelengths, altering the hue and saturation of the other colors in a predictable pattern. Did this as a demo for my color theory class with @drawingamerica.bsky.social
March 16, 2025 at 12:49 AM
Small self-portrait study in acrylic. An attempt to demonstrate the effect of subtractive mixing: the cyan filter subtracts long wavelengths, altering the hue and saturation of the other colors in a predictable pattern. Did this as a demo for my color theory class with @drawingamerica.bsky.social
Some experiments in acrylic. The top one asks, "can yellow ochre read as red?" The lower one asks, "can yellow ochre read as green?" The top feels more successful than the bottom.
March 13, 2025 at 1:49 PM
Some experiments in acrylic. The top one asks, "can yellow ochre read as red?" The lower one asks, "can yellow ochre read as green?" The top feels more successful than the bottom.
Trying put a blue underpainting, inspired by Maxfield Parrish's process. #art #oilpainting
February 14, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Trying put a blue underpainting, inspired by Maxfield Parrish's process. #art #oilpainting
Progress on "Self Portrait as Shadow on Snow." I snuck like so many colors into the "white" of the snow hehehe
February 7, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Progress on "Self Portrait as Shadow on Snow." I snuck like so many colors into the "white" of the snow hehehe
A palette exercise. Painted this clavulinopsis auranticocinnabarina using only viridian, cad orange, Mars violet, and white. I could have gotten the shadows deeper. I decided to shift the hue of the greens to retain chroma - pushing the coolness, as well as the contrast against the fungus. #painting
February 6, 2025 at 9:27 PM
A palette exercise. Painted this clavulinopsis auranticocinnabarina using only viridian, cad orange, Mars violet, and white. I could have gotten the shadows deeper. I decided to shift the hue of the greens to retain chroma - pushing the coolness, as well as the contrast against the fungus. #painting
another WIP. Believe it or not those dark splotches down there are going to be the bits of snow peeking between the trees. They won't look so dark once the simultaneous contrast kicks in!
January 27, 2025 at 8:39 PM
another WIP. Believe it or not those dark splotches down there are going to be the bits of snow peeking between the trees. They won't look so dark once the simultaneous contrast kicks in!
Painting my shadow on snow. Work in progress.
January 24, 2025 at 8:14 PM
Painting my shadow on snow. Work in progress.
Been mixing paint all morning. What bliss.
January 23, 2025 at 3:12 PM
Been mixing paint all morning. What bliss.
Thinking about doing a series of paintings, sort of Monet-style, of the water tower across the street. I can't help but notice how different it looks all the time.
January 22, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Thinking about doing a series of paintings, sort of Monet-style, of the water tower across the street. I can't help but notice how different it looks all the time.
It's been nice to meet a few folks on this app. Hi! I'm sort of lurking and reading and trying to understand the culture here. In some ways I am getting pre-algorithm Twitter vibes. But I'm curious, what are some ways you'd characterize the vibe on bluesky?
January 20, 2025 at 11:05 PM
It's been nice to meet a few folks on this app. Hi! I'm sort of lurking and reading and trying to understand the culture here. In some ways I am getting pre-algorithm Twitter vibes. But I'm curious, what are some ways you'd characterize the vibe on bluesky?
I'm an artist and color theory geek. I'm here as a tiktok refugee, and I'm still learning my way around and trying to understand how this app is structured, and what sort of things it would be valuable to post here. Suggestions and advice are welcome!
January 19, 2025 at 1:10 AM
I'm an artist and color theory geek. I'm here as a tiktok refugee, and I'm still learning my way around and trying to understand how this app is structured, and what sort of things it would be valuable to post here. Suggestions and advice are welcome!