Day 4 of 30 Day Challenge January 2015

Black Leather Chair, oil, 6 x 6, Day 4 of 30 Day Challenge, $85

click here to purchase

Two years ago, my friend Joane invited me to do a demo for their art club at Gateway Community College in New Haven. During the demo..
The professor asked, " Do you use black paint from the tube?" 
My answer: " No... well I can't say never but I can say rarely" and the students were shocked! 
(I'm sure Professor Baldassani had explained to the class how to make black from complement colors, but perhaps they thought  - only teachers make their students mix black rather use black from the tube)
One student said "well then, how do you make black? "
My answer: " I prefer to mixing ultramarine blue with raw umber to make black- because it comes out a richer and deeper black than using any black right from the tube - but there are may different ways to mix black"

I wonder if ...  the next time these students prepared their palettes for their new assignment they passed right over their tube of Mars Black paint and opted to mixed their black instead?

I really do like working with a very limited palette - 6- 8 colors at the most... and with plenty of practice - it's amazing how many different colors can be achieved.

"Practice, Practice, Practice" oil, 12 x 16 - this is a great exercise to practice by painting the same subject with different background and base color combinations. 

 Color is so fascinating to me and I love to read and research about color. One of my favorite books on color is by Betty Edwards. Ms. Edwards is the author of "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" a very popular book used by many art teacher for students of all ages. 

Edwards states that learning about color should happen before learning how to paint. And I would agree. The more you learn about how to mix colors the easier painting becomes. 

"These three subjects, however, are best learned in sequence first drawing, then color then painting."

We are offering all three at our studio..

Friday morning Figure Drawing with Liz Scott. click here for more info and registration

Tuesday evenings Color Class 101 - I'll be instructing - click here for more info and registration

And of course our Corks and Canvas Painting Parties are always a great way to learn how to paint! Click here for calendar of upcoming parties