New Tricks 2013-W01

The saying goes, "you can't teach an old dog new tricks" and I agree with that statement but perhaps not in accord with the conventional wisdom.  Many (younger) people probably understand this expression to mean that (we) old dogs are unable to learn new things.  Instead, I believe that you can't teach new tricks to old dogs because (we) old dogs have already seen all the tricks.  Or, in hipster standard punctuation:  Already. Seen. All.

My mother, for example, was adept at keeping on top of the assortment of shenanigans that I and my brothers got up to as kids.  Only later did I come to understand that her tactical advantage came from her years of experience making mischief as a child.  Live and learn.  With that theme in mind, today was more of a learning day than an artful day...

I decided to fuss around with the color green.  Many if not most painters would nod in agreement if I said painting greens is a challenge.  Making green is easy.  Making good greens, not so much.  Although I know some tricks of green, I still have plenty of scope to refine and expand that knowledge.  All of which relates back to my palette makeover from October.  Three must-have greens got restocked, when suddenly I got stalled at a fork in the road.   Should I stick with a couple of pre-mixed green paints I've been using, or switch to two basic green pigments and later mix them into whatever is needed? 

It's a puzzler.   So instead of mulling over a grid of boring swatches, I elected to make this pastoral scene from assorted greens I mixed up using all sorts of stuff.  Everything but purple.  I'm afraid the hideous result proves that "more is less" but regardless, here is today's ghastly assay of green.  (If it's any consolation, I learned some stuff AND I have a good painting in the vault for you to enjoy next week.)  Peace!

Green Exercise

p.s. Somewhere in My Gallery is a another version of this I painted four or five years back.  FYI.