Painting Class – Mixing Colors

This month I am taking an acrylic painting class through my local art league.  My goal is to learn about mixing colors, not painting a still life.  I am not proud of any of my 3 paintings, but they are color studies more than anything else. 

My teacher went to art school.  She is knowledgeable, but not particularly friendly.  That’s OK because I’m only with her for 6 weeks and then I will return to my drawing class with the teacher whom I really like.  My painting teacher talks a lot – about tints, shades, brightness, dullness, tone, etc.  It’s all a little overwhelming because most of the time I am trying to remember if I am supposed to mix the phythalo blue with the magenta or the ultramarine blue with the cadmium red.  Did she say to add a drop of cadmium yellow or did I make that up?  We have to lay our supplies out on the table exactly the way she tells us.  She claims to have eyes in the back of her head.  She would have made a good 5^th grade teacher in the 70s.

First class. So many colors!
So overwhelming.
Didn't bring enough paper towels - I am messy!

Complementary colors - blue and orange.
Feeling a little more comfortable.
Tried a little shading.

Next set of complementary colors - yellow and purple.
More shading and experimentation.
Decided not to get hung up with shape of the yellow bowl.
Seriously thinking I want to be an abstract painter. 

We work with 6 paint colors plus white.  Thankfully my sister, the artist, says that is correct.  Although I am not really enjoying the class, I am definitely learning a lot about mixing colors.  I intend to paint over all of my canvases very soon.  At least I tried something new, added to my knowledge of art, and explored (#wordoftheyear).

I hope you keep exploring too.

- christina