Here's an in-class demonstration for my students at Art Center. It's always a labor of love. You have to 'put it on' for the students and give it your all, even if you're not actually excited about the motif. Students learn alot about painting simply seeing someone paint and explaining their thought process, so for the benefit of showing another generation about the art of painting, I go for it with my demos... but usually I find the light and color in those flourescent and spot-lit classrooms very uninspiring and that's where 'putting it on' comes into play. ^_^
This painting is a two color palette: burnt umber and ultramarine blue. A warm color and a cool color and the entire range of greys in between. The idea for the students is to primarily concern themselves with seeing the 'values' of the scene but then begin secondarily to assess the temperature of a particular value, is it warm or is it cool. The result with this two color palette is intended to feel very 'real', almost as if it's in full color but in reality is overall quite neutral. The next week we add yellow ochre and terra rosa and are able to achieve nearly full, realistic color. Those four colors and white are all Franz Hals ever needed!
Here's the painting. It's not bad, given that in the classroom environment it's always like painting a portrait in an emergency room. It needs serious work but the sitting is over so what are you gonna do? On to the next. ^_^