Day 3 of 30 Day Challenge January 2015

Rooster in Sun Room, oil, 6 x 6, Day 3 of 30 Day Challenge, $85

click here to purchase

Outside it's a cold and over cast day today in Cheshire, CT. Snowflakes are falling and shades of gray and muted colors are most predominant.  But inside.. it's a different story.... It's still bright and saturated in glorious color!  
The color palette of this interior really caught my eye. Black, red, white and a touch of golden yellow and green foliage - When working with bold colors such as these it's easy for me to get caught up in their intensity but what I've found by studying other artists work, by  surrounding the high intensity color, such as the red in the rooster with slight  darker shades of the red it makes the straight out of tube red  - "pop" without going overboard.

I love experiment with color - mixing, layering and creating new colors - one of my favorite exercises to increase my color knowledge is to create a grid on a 12" canvas panel add a few diagonal lines and just start filling in the blocks (or triangles) with different colors. My goal is try not mix the same color twice. It's both a game and therapy at the same time.  It's amazing how many colors can be mixed from just 5 colors on my palette. 

This is a simple yet excellent color exercise to improve your color memory and mixing skills

I'm so excited to announce two NEW Classes at our Studio for 2015 - 

Figure drawing with Liz Scott on Friday mornings 10am- 1pm. Starting  January 23 - March 13 ( 8 weeks total)  Click here for link for more information and to register.
This class is structured for both beginners and for those who want to refresh their drawing skills. We will be working from a live model each week. 

And on  Tuesday nights 6:30pm-9:00pm  Color Class 101. 
January 16 - March 10  -This is a great class for beginners who want to learn the basics in mixing colors and  how to create color harmony and balance in a painting through simple and exercises that are both practical and beautiful. 
Sign up for individual classes, 4 classes or all 8!  Click here for more information and registration.

Thanks for viewing my art - until tomorrow - Blessing, Linda