A Kaleidoscope of Color
This week, I had a Kaleidoscope of Color creating a riot in my studio. I call it that because I’m continuing with the theme following the Kaleidoscope classes focusing on color. I absolutely love color and have struggled at times obtaining bright vibrant colors in my art.
Based on suggestions from a few of my readers, I purchased the entire Kaleidoscope 2023 course. I was on the fence, but thanks to those who gave me the nudge, I went ahead and took the plunge.
In the interim, I used the time last week to play with a few more of the Kaleidoscope Taster lessons. I share the results below.
Sparkling Hummingbird by Eulalia Mejia
Eulalia’s lesson focused on using secondary colors from the color wheel. Secondary colors are created by combining the primary colors of red, blue, and yellow resulting in three secondary colors – green, purple, and orange.
Although most of the artists in Kaleidoscope that I’ve encountered offer traceable templates, I chose to freehand the drawing. I think I pressed too hard, as the lines were more obvious than I wanted. I could have used a kneadable eraser and lightly erased leaving a less obvious image. In any case, I went ahead with the painting. What do you think?
Expressive Color Block Owl with Kim Dellow
Kim used the primary color scheme to teach a loose style of painting. She started with a warmup sketch using Derwent Inktense pencils. I didn’t have the exact pencils, so I used Caran D’Ache II Neocolor crayons. These are water-soluble crayons and blend well.
I loosely scribbled on the paper, leaving the negative white space of a rough owl shape. I started with red and added yellows and blues.
Since the crayons were water-soluble, I sprayed the whole thing with water and let it drip. I liked this warmup lesson result so well, I didn’t go to the actual full lesson.
Reef Gazing with Sara Catena
Sara’s lesson focused on using the triadic color scheme. Triadic colors are three colors evenly spaced on the color wheel, but not primary colors in this case.
I freehand drew the background, with a permanent Sharpie pen! No chance to erase mistakes! The whole background is then painted magenta which is allowed to peek through in subsequent paint layers.
I love the fun and fresh result of this painting.
Takeaways
Kaleidoscope lessons so far have pushed me beyond my usual style and I’m trying new and different tools and techniques. I also like that it has given me an opportunity to use the supplies I already have in new and different ways. Overall, the program feels fresh and vibrant.
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