Day 3

Guidelines

• Select 2 of your paintings to apply the following method to establish ONE colour Hero

•  Look at each painting and choose a colour that you have used somewhere in the painting.  This is going to be your Colour Hero.  It’s a guide for your colour choices.  Imagine that when you’ve finished the painting and it’s on a wall in a Gallery - someone could say “Look at that Gorgeous Pink painting”.  It’s not to say that it will be ALL pink - just that it will have quite a lot of ‘pinks’  in it. 

•  Mix up your Colour Hero - make sure you add a few other colours into the mix to make it a lovelier colour.  Mixing little touches of other colors make the colour less ‘hard’.  Using a stencil if you have some, paint some shapes over the top of the painting - varying the thickness of the paint so that in parts you can still see lower layers.

•  Now mix a light color and add some more shapes - remember whenever you mix a new colour to add a smidgeon of the previous colour into it to harmonize.

•  Next mix up your hero again - making it slightly deeper in colour - (add a little more of another colour into it).  Add this colour into the painting in places.

•  When the painting is dry it’s time to add the Ink.  Choose two colours and drop a few drops of each colour randomly onto the surface.  With your Colour Shaper or squeegee spread the ink around over the surface of the painting.  Let the ink pool and be more visible in places and also let it act like a thin transparent glaze in other areas.  Allow the colours to mix and see what new colours are created.  If it gets too dark you can add a little water to thin the ink down.  Have fun and look how your colour is intensified with the ink.   Allow to dry.

•  Using a light colour create contrast and define shapes in the composition.  Leave to dry.

•  Assess the Design in your painting - how do you feel about it.  Look at it in Black & White and decide whether it has enough strong value contrasts in it.  Imagine it on a wall - would it draw you in close?  Does it feel balanced?  Does it have DIFFERENCES?

•  If you need some stronger dark areas, mix up a dark colour.  This colour should have some of your colour hero mixed into it so that it harmonizes.  Bring some dark areas/shapes into the composition.

•  Now mix up a light colour again.  Add some light shapes into your painting.  This should create some strong contrasts between dark and light.

•  Bring your hero colour back into the painting - cover over some of the light and darks, connect the colour hero to shapes that already exist.  Think about DIFFERENCES in size, shape etc.  Bring related colours into the work to add richness to the range of colour.  

•  Add an accent colour related to your Hero and distribute it carefully in a few places - the accent has to be restrained so that it doesn’t distract from your Hero.

•  Keep adding your hero colour into the painting - or variations of it - to add depth and interest.  Use a range of media - dry and wet.  Scratch into wet paint - try and keep experimenting and playing right to the end.

   When you’re happy with the painting - you’re done!!  Congratulations!!