Color: From Boring to Brilliant! | Instructor, Patti Mollica ©Patti Mollica

Homework assigment  Week 5: 

Using Colors of Your Choice
The goal of this exercise is to encourage a “think outside the box” approach to color choices. It also allows you to think about what colors are most appealing to you. What color schemes and palettes do you love?

Exercise:

For this exercise we will be working from reference image(s) that we have already explored in previous lessons and translate them to colors of your choice.

AFTER you have worked with at least one of the images from previous lessons, you can use your own reference images if you wish.

When working from your own reference, please post the following:

  • the value study

  • the inspirational color source or color scheme

  • your color painting

  • the reference image you worked from

Most color problems are not the “fault” of the colors - they are because the values don’t work on some level. I.e. if you are trying to depict a sunny day with contrasty highlights and shadows, and your values are off or innaccurate, you may blame the color as being too muddy, when in fact the problem is that there is not enough contrast in the values that are depicting sunstruck and shaded areas.

If you are a beginner and doing a value study is too difficult, work with a b/w reference photo, translate it into as many shades of greys as you need, and try to match the values you see. That will suffice as your value study.

Using a palette of colors you choose gives you a lot of freedom, but can also feel overwhelming, so don’t forget about all the color harmony techniques you practiced in earlier lessons.

Your inspiration for your color palette can come from anywhere. Here are a few suggestions:

  • pick up an assortment of paint samples swatches from a hardware store

  • choose an image from an artist who has used certain colors in their painting that you like

  • choose from a home decor or fashion magazine photo that features a room or outfit you admire

  • pick a fabric pattern that has a color scheme you like

When you post your painting, please also post the inpirational image you worked from.


Since this is an “anything goes” exercise, you may want to have some “reel it in” parameters in mind - just in case.
Here are some things to ask yourself:

  • Dominant temperature: A dominant color or temperature bias in your palette offers your painting a cohesive color feel. Temperature refers to warm colors or cool colorsd. If possible, try to avoid 50/50 warm / cool ratio. (red/green, blue/orange or whatever colors you choose). It helps to keep your painting either predominantly on the warm side - or the cool side.

  • Dominant value: if your painting feels “scattered” with contrasting values all over, check to see if there is a cohesive value design underlying the piece. What you want to avoid is an equal amount of light, middle and dark values scattererd around sporadically. Paintings take on more of a mood when there is a dominant value, the others being less prevalant.

  • Analyze your color inspiration source or image.
    Notice if there is a dominance of a certain color(s) and the proportion of that to the other less-dominant (or accent) colors.
    Notice the proportion of greyed down colors vs. saturated colors in the color inspiration you choose. Are most of the colors bright and saturated or muted and dulled? Mimic this in your painting if possible.

  • Stretch your colors’ variety by mixing them with other colors. It’s easy to create some unusual and sophisticated neutrals - those “hard to name” colors, and use them in combination with more obvious common tube colors.

In this lesson you do not need to work in any particular color schemes unless you choose to.

It’s helpful to know the rules in order to break them - especially when things aren’t looking right. The purpose of rules is to use them to analyze problems, if your colors feel problematic.

Shown are some sample artist’s palettes, feel free to use any of them as your color inspiration or choose your own.

Lastly if you would prefer to PLAY and EXPERIMENT rather than analyze colors, values, temperatures etc - go for it - and enjoy! Some of the best lessons are learned from simple experimentation with no rules or limitations in mind.