Watercolor workshop: Color!

Welcome back!

I LOVE COLOR. It is short of a miracle that I don't live in a house with each room done up like a paint-chip display at the hardware store. Don't you just love those? All of those colors arranged so harmoniously with each other!

Here's the thing about color: once you understand it, your whole life gets easier--and more colorful!

Colors are divided into groups:

Primary colors are your foundation. 

Red, Yellow, and Blue.

You can't MIX these--you have to buy them. 

If you have your primary colors plus Black and White, you can mix any other color.

Secondary colors are what you get when you mix your primaries.

Red + Yellow = Orange. 

Red + Blue = Violet. 

Blue + Yellow = Green. 

 If you have your primaries and your secondary colors you have a rainbow.

Tertiary colors are what happens when you mix a primary and a secondary. 

They are: red violet, blue violet, 

blue green, yellow green, 

yellow orange, red orange. 

Yes, the primary's name goes first--they're that important! 

You may remember the color wheel from your grade school days:

Complementary colors are opposites on the color wheel: Red and Green. Orange and Blue. Yellow and Violet. 

If you mix them together, you'll get a brown that is pretty close to black. 

But if you put them next to each other, it makes them pop! And will make your art (or your wardrobe) more vibrant.

Analogous colors are neighbors on the color wheel: 

Red-Orange-Yellow. 

Yellow-Blue-Green. 

Green-Blue-Violet. 

These colors will always look good together.

This week, you should make a color mixing chart! 

It will give you the full range of possibility that you have with your palette, plus get you used to working with your brushes.

Since I am working with a sixteen-color palette, I made my squares a half-inch. If you aren't as into rulers and measuring as I am,  go more free-form. 

The way this works is: 

Make a nine inch square. 

Measure off a 1 inch column* on the left and a 1 inch row on the top. 

Then measure off half-inch increments for columns and rows. Connect your measurement lines**, and voila! You have a grid. 

* Columns go up & down. Rows go left & right.

** I mark of measurements on the top & bottom of the page--and connect those. Then I mark off measurements on the left and right of the page and connect those.

For each column, write each of your colors at the top (in that one-inch space that we so cleverly left open)--until you run out.

For each row, write each of your colors on the left (in the one-inch space)--until you run out.

You should have a red on the top AND a red on the side, an orange on the top AND an orange on the side, etc.

Paint the color in each square that has that name. 

I did columns first. 

Above, you'll see a column of each color in the 16 color palette.

LET THE PAINT DRY.

Then paint across the rows with the corresponding color. 

You will paint OVER the squares you painted.

When you're done, it should look like this: 

Kind of fun, right? (Or not. Again, I LOVE color, so I get a kick out of having my own personalized paint chips)

Now you have a reference sheet for your palette! Oh, the possibilities!

You can pick any 4 color neighbors and they will always look good together.

Be aware of the colors that you are drawn to. Look in your wardrobe and see what colors you have the most of. Look around your space and see what colors you have chosen to bring into where you are. Jot down in your sketchbook/journal when you see color combinations that you really like.

Next week: techniques and tips!

Watercolor Workshop!

Starting today I am offering a FREE watercolor workshop. It will run 6 weeks and feature a new technique each week. 

Welcome! I am glad you have decided to join me. I really enjoy watercolors. My love started in 1995 when my Grandma bought me a Windsor & Newton travel set. I had never before seen watercolors look like they did--saturated and mixable. I took classes in watercolor at a local art center on my summers home from college. Now watercolors are my go-to when I am doing a quick rendering, they travel well, and they can be quite versatile. I hope that after you've completed the workshop you will find yourself reaching for your watercolors more often.

Now onto supplies!

Brushes! 

We'll do what I consider the very basic--what I pack when I'm travelling.

You'll need two round ones--a big and a small.I use a #4 and a #8. They are sized by number, the higher the number, the bigger the brush. If your watercolor set came with one that has actual hair-like bristles you can use that for your small. If it has those black plastic bristles, throw it out. 

You'll also need two flat ones--a medium and a large. I use a 1/2" and a 3/4". The flat ones are sized by their measurements.

Please don't be intimidated by the your choices in the brush aisle at your art store. You don't need top-of-the-line, but don't buy the super cheap brushes, either. (They shed their bristles like mad, and you'll spend a great deal of time picking stray bristles out of your work) Buy "student quality" brushes--they are economically priced and made of synthetic materials. I personally like the Windsor & Newton brushes.

Pencil & Eraser

For quick sketching before painting. 

Pen

With indelible ink.

You can buy a Pitt pen, and Micron, or a fine Sharpie pen.

Crayon

In white, for the resist technique.(We'll get to that)

Paint!

Spend the money and get paint (semi-moist watercolors) by Prang. A set of eight costs around $7 and a set of 16 costs around $13. Crayola is nice, but you won't get the full-saturation. If you already own watercolor paint in tubes, great! Go ahead and use those. Every basic set should contain: Red, Orange, Yellow, Blue, Black and White. If you're going to be mixing your own purples make sure your red is Alizarin Crimson. 

Paper!

We're going to take a minute to talk about paper. Because I can hear you now: Paper is paper, right? 

No. Not really.

Do you remember in grade school when you would paint with watercolors and your paper would tear and get these little paper-lint balls all over? 

Yeah. That was the worst. It put me off of watercolors for a long time.

That's because the paper you were using wasn't the right weight.

Paper is categorized by weight in many instances. Take a look on the front label of your paper--usually the weight is listed near the number of pages. The higher the weight, the more liquid a paper can absorb before it begins to curl or disintegrate. For watercolors, I recommend 120lbs or higher, but you can squeak by with 100lbs if you're careful.

Watercolor paper is ALSO divided into three surface categories: rough, cold press, and hot press. Hot press is the smoothest of the three. I suggest you get a watercolor paper sampler and see which finish you like the best.

If you want to know more about paper, visit here.

As we do other projects, we may need other supplies--but it will be things that you have around the house (or can scrounge from your neighborhood diner).

See you next week for our first project!

Weekend wedding

Hello to one and all!

Here are the photos of the prayer flags at the wedding ceremony.

There were enough to drape them around the entire structure.

A job well done, I think.