Project 3 Colour - Stage 3, Exercise 2

In retrospect, choosing a fabric with a billion colours on it for a colour matching exercise wasn't the best idea.  On the top row the paint to the left is just normal half pan watercolours and to the right it's acrylic, of the two I think I achieved better results with the watercolour but I wasn't entirely happy with either attempt which is why I went on to make another one underneath made up of, watercolour inks on the left and gouache on the right, I think the gouache is a more accurate match for the bright colours of the fabric, and it would've turned out better if I'd been patient enought to let it dry between stripes! The watercolour inks gave a much more subtle result but it's the one I like the best.

Project 3 Colour - Stage 3 , Exercise 1

Yay! Time to get out the paints and start playing.

I ran through some mixing techniques with different media.

Firstly watercolour -

 From the bottom row up, because I put the photo in upside down, pure colour, diluted with water, mixed with black, mixed with white and mixed with grey.

In this one I concentrated on using deep red watercolour ink and exploring all the different shades I could achieve with it.  From the top, diluting gradually with water, adding white, adding black, adding grey and then on the bottom row I spaced out for a while and added blue to it, completely forgetting that green is actually reds complimentary colour, Doh!

 I moved on to acrylic paint next, again from the bottom up, pure, dilute with water, white paint added, grey paint added, black paint added, complimentary colour added, it was after I painted the first row that I remembered that the compliment to red is green so this one is also in blue, oh dear!

I used deep violet acrylic in this one, again adding water, white, grey, black and then orange as the compliment.

I feel like I'm saying it a lot, but this exercise was a really good reminder for me, it's a long time since I've sat down and really thought about colour and how to  create the one I need.

Project 3 Colour - Stage 2, Exercise 2

I struggled with this one a bit, I stared and stared and stared and I just don't see it.  I suspect that maybe the grey paper is not the right shade of grey, but it seems to be next to impossible to buy grey paper in town.  I understand what I should be seeing and why so I'm just going to leave it at that for now and if I come across grey paper on my travels I shall try again.

Project 3 Colour - Stage 2 , Exercise 1

I can't decide whether these photo's are just lit slightly differently or if the different colour perceptions are showing up really well, I suspect it's the former.  To the naked eye, the difference is definitely there but it's quite subtle.  I think it was quite an important lesson for me to revisit, I have spent the last few years avoiding using many bright colours, often limiting myself to black and white, I think I was a bit scared of it, but I'm feeling more and more comfortable with it the more of these exercises that I do :)

Project 3 Colour - Stage 1

I feel a bit like I've done one of these colour wheels anytime I've undertaken any sort of creative learning from Primary school upwards, so I spent a good ten minutes huffing and hawing and prevaricating and rearringing everything and thinking I really couldn't be bothered and then I got over it and started and really enjoyed doing it as I always have.

I made three different wheels, using, from left to right, Aquatint pencils, Watercolours and Oil Pastels

So gorgeous I could just.....

......pass out, is what I said, vomit is what Beardy said.

This awesome sugar, pigment and 'stuff' creation by Australian artists Pip & Pop blows my mind but the photographs on their website are a squillion times better, I just long to be able to shrink down to the size of a lego man so I can live in one of their wonderful worlds!

Check them out and then go and play in the most gorgeous interactive web experience I have ever seen We Miss You Magic Land

Sketchbook 2

I think I really have to get some more colour into this book!