As mentioned in some of my previous posts, I’ve been taking a class called Color Dynamics at Laney College in Oakland.

This class is led by Anna Vaughn, and focuses on the interaction of color as developed by Josef Albers. The studies that we’ve experimented with, learned from, and gained immense knowledge from are skills and techniques that I’ve really come to value.

I have to say that I’ve missed out on a lot, not knowing or understanding, or even being comfortable with color!  Only a few months ago, I was the person that said: “Wooowww! It’s SUCH a nice day out! ….. I think I’ll wear GRAY!” (Okay, I admit that it was only a few weeks ago, and I actually still really love my plain black, white, and gray colored clothes.)

Nevertheless, this class has taught me a lot about how to utilize color in my art pieces, which was always a challenge for me in the past without any formal training. Ever spend weeks on an awesome outline drawing, only to mess it up when you plop down some color you realize doesn’t work at all? Yeah, that was me. This class has taught me a lot about how to use and how to MAKE colors work to enhance your composition, and how to create the feel and mood of your piece.

But I think the greatest lesson this class has taught me is how to be COMFORTABLE with color. Now, even if I “mess up” and use a color I wasn’t originally intending, I’m not afraid to experiment and explore different mixtures to create a completely different composition than expected.

Below are several lessons I’ve learned that I’d like to share with you, along with the works I created to complete these experiments. I’m proud of my pieces, and I hope you enjoy them too!

Make One Color Appear As Two

This was one of our first lessons that shocks me even now! For me, this was the phenomenon that got me fascinated about our perception and understanding of color, and how much it exists in our everyday world (yet we know so little about)!

The exercise is to make one color look like two completely different colors. This is done by changing the background colors. Here’s an example:

Assignment: Make one color appear as two different colors (by changing the background colors)

Notice the small, olive-green square in the middle of these two bigger green and blue squares. Because of the contrast in hue, value, and saturation of the green and blue background squares, it makes the smaller, olive-green squares look like two different colors.

(Don’t trust me? If you’re using Firefox, download the Colorzilla plugin and use the eyedropper to see if the colors are the same.)

Isn’t that AWESOME!?

Transparency

The illusion of transparency was a very fun project for me! Maybe it’s the challenge of having detailed, precise lines and borders in order to successfully create the illusion, or maybe it’s just because it looks so cool!

The illusion of transparency is created by slightly altering the tone of your colors to make it appear like there’s a transparent sheet (like a photo gel) on top. Here’s what I did:

The Illusion of Transparency (03-26-09)

I first laid down the main brighter yellow ochre and purple, then laid down the darker yellow ochre and darker purple tones (the circlular and triangular dark shades).

For the gouache paints that we’re using, it’s really important to lay down each tone separately. Otherwise, the color/tone on the bottom might come up and the illusion won’t work. Each have to be laid down separately, and you have to make sure the lines and borders are precise in matching up.

I also learned the illusion of transparency and space. That is, creating the illusion of a transparency behind or in front of an object. Here, I created an illusion of a red ribbon flowing behind and in front of a few white transparent lines:

The Illusion of Transparency and Space (03-26-09)

To create this illusion, follow the same technique as the above Illusion of Transparency exercise: lay down each tone separately, and make sure your lines are precise.

Additionally, to make the ribbon look like it’s flowing BEHIND the white transparent lines, mix the two together and add a little more of the foreground object’s color. So, I mixed red and white (making a pinkish color), and added a little more WHITE since that’s in front.

Similarly, to make the ribbon look like it’s flowing IN FRONT of the white transparent lines, mix the two together and add a little more of the foreground object’s color. So, I mixed the red and white, and added a little more of the RED since the ribbon is in front of the white.

Pretty simple, eh? :)

Developing a Palette

Here’s another fun project I’ve really enjoyed: Create 3 pieces with the same composition, and use different reds, yellows, blues for each one. (For any greens, purples, oranges that you use for each piece, you must mix the primaries that you’ve chosen to use for that piece to create those greens, purples, oranges, etc).

Ready, Set, Go -- 3 Primaries Palette (04-27-09)

Left: I used yellow ochre, crimson red, ultramarine blue
Middle: Lemon yellow, brilliant red, gray
Right: Medium yellow, burnt sienna, sky blue

Each piece is 3×4 inches and was very fun to patiently work in all the details, and slight shading. I had no idea that the colors would come out so differently for each piece, so it was definitely a great surprise! Each came out very special and unique in its own way.

Which one do you like more? I’m drawn towards the middle one the most!

Altering Palette

I just completed this today! Create 2 pieces with the same composition. Paint the first piece normally. For the second piece, use an additive color for each color used. The result will make the colors in the piece look more unified.

The additive color I used was a blueish gray.

Boxer (04-29-09)

Teehee! Isn’t my boxer guy cute? I couldn’t stop giggling when I was painting this!

Have any feedback about any of these pieces? Let me know what you think!
Want to see more of my previous work? Feel free to visit my Portfolio!