Acrylic Painting Class

Right up the road from me is the Art Center where I am now taking a beginning acrylic painting class from Sharon Harris. Today was our first class and we learned about the color wheel and blending colors.


For our first exercise we're taking each primary color or hue, then blending them to get different values, temperatures, then a neutral. For example in the the first row I have used cadmium red, added white for a tint, added gray to red for a tone, added black for a shade, then added yellow to warm up the red, then added blue to cool down the red, then added green to neutralize the red. For the last set of colors in the red row I have added white to each of the previous sets to get what would be used for reddish skin tones.

In the past whenever I chose colors, whether it be painting a room, a quick painting on canvas, choosing a seat cover color, I just went by eye. Usually I'm pretty good choosing colors by eye, but sometimes the colors I chose weren't quite what I had in mind. So before I can start on a painting, I have homework to do. I want to get all the palettes done for all the colors so I can start painting.


The photo above shows the first acrylic painting I did of an ocean and sky about 50 x 60 inches. I knew nothing about acrylics and just masked off for a silver border and started painting the ocean water and the sky. I worked on that painting for weeks and finally saw some depth to the ocean and horizon.

This is the painting I left in my old house which Gary and I both miss terribly. We'd sit at the dining table, eating dinner and gaze out into the ocean, dreaming of different scenarios for what could be happening in the sea. Gary would joke I needed to add a life preserver with just an arm sticking up. Gary says he isn't artistic, but I know he is, he always comes up with wonderful ideas.

In my mind I want to do more abstract style paintings with lots of blended colors, textures and vague or ethereal suggestions of thoughts or ideas. I'd like to add some texture material like cheesecloth or sand, maybe some wax, or who knows what to the paint. I'm looking forward to this new exploration of art in painting. I want color, color, color, soft or bold, loud or retreating, gentle or demanding. I just want to get some paint colors on canvas and see where it takes me.

Did you remember to say white rabbit? I did, and I can really use some extra good luck this month, hope it works.