Blog – Celebrating Color

My Visit to San Miguel de Allende

April 17, 2022 By Carol McIntyre

My visit to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, in March, brought me intense colors, wonderful food, old cobblestone streets, fascinating murals, rooftop restaurants at sunset, ancient cobble stone streets and much more.

International travel is one of my favorite ways to experience our world and open my eyes to new perspectives, cultures and life styles. In addition, it challenged me physically because San Miguel de Allende (SMA) is built on a hill and there is rarely a flat area larger than a block. Stairs are everywhere and the old streets and sidewalks require vigilance to avoid tripping. Despite this, I walked for miles. I can’t remember when I last walked 2-5 miles a day for 8 days (thanks to my Fitbit I know)!

Why SMA? It was an art workshop that enticed me to Mexico. Last fall I had decided that I wanted to improve my ability to convey drama and to be more consistent with impactful compositions. When a workshop taught by an abstract painter entitled “Contrast and Composition,” crossed my email, I decided to sign up. I was also ready to travel after a long dry spell. [Read more…]

Why Paint a Series?

February 7, 2022 By Carol McIntyre

Have you ever thought about painting in a series? If not, why not? …And what is it?

A series is a cohesive collection of paintings whereby the viewer has no doubt the same artist has created each piece. A series communicates a common thread that connects the paintings. Every painting can standalone, but together the visual impact is greater.

The series’ common thread can be established in a number of ways, including: technique, color palette, subject, medium, size, etc. This theme or thread is stated and restated in different yet interconnected ways. This facilitates the viewer’s ability to understand more easily what the artist is saying visually.

One of my first series, back in the early 1990’s, incorporated musical instruments and flowers. They were painted in watercolor and each was a full sheet or 22″x30.” Notice the unique edge on each piece and that the flower’s petals are strategically placed as if they are playing the instrument. There were 12 in this series. [Read more…]

How Do You Mix Gray with Purple?

May 18, 2021 By Carol McIntyre

Learning how to mix various grays, is important in our painting world. We need de-saturated or gray-like colors give our eyes calming places to rest. These wonderful colors also help to make our more intense or saturated colors sing. What do I mean by GRAY?

I am referring to grays that carry a hue, such as a green-gray or a blue-gray. I am also referring to a gray that either leans toward a warm gray (carries a titch of brown) or a cool gray (carries a titch of blue.)

It is important to note that none of these grays are created by mixing white with black. By the way, I never mix gray using black and white because it is dull….it has little life to it.

When I begin to mix grays, I always ask myself, “What is the color opposite of my base color?” As you know, the opposite of purple is yellow. There are basically two yellows available to us. They are a green-yellow and an orange-yellow. Which yellow will yield the gray I am looking for? Watch the video below for the answer.

Please pass the vlog along to others who may be interested.

Gratefully and colorfully yours,

Carol

What are the Major Lines in Art?

April 16, 2021 By Carol McIntyre

When was the last time to the lines you use in your work or in someone else’s? What are the major lines in art? What do they convey? Try to name the five types of lines in art before reading further.

I confess, I hadn’t consciously thought about it for a long time until I was in the early stages of creating my latest series entitled Colorscapes.

Early in 2020, I began this series for a solo show that was to happen in 2021. (As you may know, it has happened! Visit my portfolio page). After I had completed a couple of paintings, I saw a horizontal line continue to show up. This got me curious to learn more about this line to bring it further up into my consciousness. Below you will notice this horizontal line employed a few different ways in “African Winds,” yet all in one area. There are additional lines incorporated as well.

What are the Five Major Lines in Art?

[Read more…]

How Did I Create a Solo Show During COVID?

March 15, 2021 By Carol McIntyre

Back in December 2019, the gallery owner of G44 Gallery, Colorado Springs, surprised me with an invitation to have a solo show in 2021. Not only was I honored and excited, but I also had a strong visceral reaction of “Yes! That will be perfect timing.” Ha! Little did any of us know what the future had in store for us.

How did I begin creating for this upcoming solo show?

At the time of the invitation, I had just begun experimenting with a new medium — cold wax with oil — followed by an excellent cold wax workshop taught by Tish Lacy Reed in January. Subsequently, I dove in with great gusto. At this point – about the Feb/March time frame – I wasn’t thinking about a series or my show, I was dedicated to learning about cold wax with oil.

During my 30+ years of painting, I have worked in watercolor, pencil, oil, pastel and acrylics, and in that sequence. During each medium, I focused on just that one medium. In other words, I have never jumped from one to the other and back. Why? Because I wanted to get to know the medium as well as I could and enjoy all of its characteristics. My subject matter also evolved along with these medium changes. [Read more…]