Little Color Studies

I have been finalizing my palette colors for my trip to Provence, France.  I thought I would use my color wheel and do some quick, small color studies to see if I am loving the watercolors on my travel palette.  Here are two that I worked on today.

I have to record the colors that I use because I will forget what they were.  This is a good way to make a record of your favorite color combination.  Why not start a little notebook to keep your studies in.

Capturing the Colors of Greece

Red Roofed Church, Ano Syros, Greece

Part of the joy of painting on location on the island of Syros, Greece is to recreate the reflecting colors of the cobalt blue sky, turquoise ocean and the warmth of the sunshine on the white buildings.  Our watercolor journaling class will learn how to paint colorful whites using the local colors.

An easy way to paint a beautiful white is called Wet into Wet painting.  Wet the area you want to appear white with clear water.  Add enough water for the paper to be wet and shiny but not enough to make a puddle.  Then drop in little amounts of paint and let the water carry the paint around.  In this painting I picked the blue of the sky, the reds from the church roof and a little yellow to create the feeling of the warm sun shining on the white walls of the town.
If you are interested in signing up for this Watercolor Journaling in Greece Class, please visit the American College of Healthcare Science.

Lots to learn about Color!

Ingrid making a beautiful color study

Kim showing her book with her painted cover

Comparing books

More color studies

It has been a couple busy weeks teaching classes and trying to keep up on the holiday hoopla around the house.  Needless to say, my house doesn't look at all xmas-y yet as my priorities are always with my classes.  Friday I finished teaching The Good, the Bad and the Beauty of Color Class and everyone left with a beautiful spiral bound book full of color studies.

Getting Ready for the Portland Art & Soul Retreat 2010

One of my favorite things that I do when I get ready to teach my Watercolor Journeys, Inspirations from Travel Class, is to put together watercolor goody bags for each student.  They are filled with art prompts and useful items for creating art in your journals.  There are still a few spots available in this class if you would like to sign up!  If you live in the Bend area, I am teaching a similar class at Arts Central, called Watercolor and Mixed Media for the Traveling Artist.

Demonstration at Bend's Fall Art Hop: October 1, 2010

What a beautiful evening it is going to be in Bend.  The weather is warm but autumn is in the air and the trees are showing their fall colors.  I am packing my car with new paintings, prints, cards and new jewelry and a few supplies to set up a watercolor demonstration at the Birkenstock Store.  I will have some examples of what I will be teaching in my upcoming class at Central Oregon's Art Central.  Come by and see what is new!

Painting Plein Air, Photos from our Hood River, Oregon Watercolor Trip, 2010

The weather was beautiful and the sunflowers were in full bloom.  We spent the day painting en plein air, which is the French term meaning, in the open air.  The impressionist artists of the late 1800s made this popular because of the invention of tube paint.  They no longer had to grid and mix their own paints with powders and linseed oil.  If you are ever in Paris, France, be sure to visit the Sennelier store where many Impressionist shopped.  It is much the same as it was in the 1800s!